By Allison Antram
Staff Writer
On Saturday Oct. 4, Asbury packed out the gymnasium at the Providence School, showed their school spirit and danced the night away to celebrate 125 years of Asbury. The night included a photo booth, a s’mores bar, a choreographed dance competition between the classes and much more.
The event, largely organized by the Special Events Committee, was a huge success. More than 350 students attended.
“[We] were so pleased with the way everything turned out. We really wanted to honor [Asbury’s 125th anniversary] by celebrating Asbury and having people show spirit for their school,” explained senior Hannah Mobley, Special Events Committee co-chair.
This is Mobley’s second year as a committee chair, along with senior co-chairs Licia Keiser, Jessica Pence and Emily Hudson. Mobley said their experience allowed them to learn and make the dance even better this year.
“I also really enjoyed seeing the class dance-off. It’s so fun to see all of the talent in each class,” said Mobley, describing her favorite part of the evening. The Unshakable class dance, led by seniors Peyton Shell and Phoenix Skye, won the competition to beat the Anchored class, who came in second place.
“I definitely did not expect to win because all the other class dances were so amazing! We just went up there, had an awesome time and hoped for the best. Everyone in our class worked really hard and the hard work paid off,” said Shell. Shell and Skye also choreographed last year’s dance for their class and jumped at the opportunity to plan this year’s.
“We had an amazing time bonding with our class while teaching and learning the dance [last
year], so of course, we were pleased to get to choreograph for our class again this year,” said Skye. “Our main goal was to make it fun and upbeat…Everything is awesome!”
Their dance was clearly successful, but they both enjoyed the experience more than anything.
“The dance is not really about the competition as much as it is building class spirit and becoming closer as a class,” said Shell.
Another homecoming tradition was celebrated at Saturday night’s dance – the dance between the newly-crowned homecoming king and queen. At halftime of the soccer game, it was an- nounced that Natalie Anderson and Bryce Ury had won king and queen.
“It’s definitely an honor, as well as a surprise,” Anderson said of winning. “Asbury has become a place of family,” she continued, “this is a happy reminder of that.” Anderson also commented on her class dance and their victory and quoted, “Everything is awesome!”
The music for the night was provided by DJ and Asbury senior Hunter Miracle. “He did such a wonderful job and kept people dancing all night!” Mobley said, thankful for a great homecoming dance. “I would just like to thank all the students for coming out and partying it up with us. We can’t have a successful dance without students and they made Homecoming 2014 a night to remember for sure!”
The success of this year’s homecoming goes beyond dancing for many. Not only did the event allow the classes to come together and celebrate as a community, but it also took on special meaning for the Unshakable class, as it was their last homecoming at Asbury.
“Even though we are all a little sad that it’s our last homecoming dance, we couldn’t have asked for a better night,” Mobley said.