Format Of Homecoming Dance

Post Reply New Topic

greetings I was working on a story which is based in modern times at a school and begins at a home coming dance. I have never been to one so I was wondering how they were arranged.

I'm not sure what you're referring to exactly in terms of what details you want but I've been to probably half a dozen between junior high and high school.

Well guys find a girl they like (or their girlfriend) and they ask her if she would like to go to the dance with her. Sometimes people go by themselves or with friends but that wasn't the "cool" thing to do.

Usually the cheerleaders or student council arrange it and it takes places in the school gym or other large room like the cafeteria. It has a theme that is decided on by the arranging group like under the sea or in the stars and the decorations follow that theme.

Usually it is a pretty formal event. Guys wear ties and girls typically go buy a dress for it. The dresses are usually a step down from prom dresses, like this one for example (they are usually shorter):


She goes and gets her hair and makeup done, and then the guy comes and picks her up (or if he can't drive, his parents will sometimes pick them up) and then he takes her out to dinner (often times a group of a few couples will go together). From there they head to the dance. At the dance there are professional pictures you can have taken. Most people stand on the side and socialize but some people dance. There are school officials there monitoring the event. Usually there's a DJ hired but sometimes they find a way around that, for example at one of mine a student did the music.

After the dance the popular kids go out and get drunk at a party. The other kids may go watch a movie or just hang out someplace. Or a couple might go find a quiet place to pull over

Hopefully that helps you a bit.




edit: forgot a detail. At my schools at least the guys were supposed to buy or make the girls a corsage
and the girls were supposed to buy or make the guys a boutonniere


Usually parents would document them putting the flowers on each other once the guy arrives to pick her up.

you've been a great help is there a certain way its arranged at the main event. Like events or certain schedule that is common. Also when are the king and queen announced usually at the end of the night?

My schools never had kings and queens but I would imagine they would do it about 1 1/2 hours into it so that people who are fashionably late are there but people on time haven't started to leave yet. Like if the dance were from 6 to 10 they'd probably do it somewhere around 7:30 to 8:30 but that's just guess.

Actually now that I think about it, the homecoming court was announced at my high school during the pep rally on Friday, and the queen was announced during half time of the football game on Friday, so by Saturday that was all said and done.

The dance goes along with a homecoming football game, so that is how the date is normally determined. Our school had Friday football games, so the dance was on the following Saturday. The football game designated as homecoming was decided on by administrative people like the athletic association or the student council. It ideally falls on the first home game after a few away games to welcome the football team back to the home stadium.

My schedule at them would be something like:
Week prior - get dress and boutonniere
Friday - football game
Saturday -
1 pm shower
3 pm do makeup
4 pm do hair
5 pm put on dress
5:30 date arrives, take pictures, etc
6 pm - dance starts but we're not there yet
6:30 arrive at dinner (either a restaurant or a house with parents cooking)
7:30 arrive at dance
7:45 get professional pictures taken
8 dance, socialize, etc. etc. (there was no real schedule here at the ones I went to since there was no king/queen)
9 leave dance, go to some sort of offsite social gathering, or sometimes we would just go back to my house and hang out or watch a movie
11 pm or midnight - date goes home