Hosting Hun: A White-Out Celebration

Louis Park ’26 and Dorothy Lee ’26 in News | May 3, 2024

As Lawrenceville prepared to host its first official inter-school dance, music and excitement filled up the Clark Music Center this pastSaturday, April 27, welcoming students from the neighboring Hun School. This event marked the introduction of a new culture to dances at Lawrenceville, fostering connections beyond the gates of the School.

According to Vice President of Social Life Grace Chu ’24, the idea of an inter-school dance has been discussed for a long time. During the 2022-23 school year, Lawrenceville hosted a similar event, known as the MAPL Dance, but the weather conditions of that night hindered many guests from arriving. Though this past Saturday’s dance was initially modeled on the MAPL Dance which involved multiple neighboring schools, the Social Council ultimately concluded that inviting a large group of students from one school would be more appealing to students.

“I feel like it's always fun to meet new people,” Chu said, “I've heard whispers about how people want to meet people from other schools.” She considers the event a success and believes that “everyone had a really fun time.” Although the dance began with a few attendees, the number gradually increased throughout the evening. Chu especially enjoyed the music at the dance, adding, “The DJ, [Simona Audzeviciute ’26], played a good exit song…I think people enjoyed that.”

Audzeviciute described her role as “stressful, yet fun.” “As a DJ, you have to read the room and make the songs that you play enjoyable for everyone,” she explained. Audzeviciute believes that her music “did a pretty good job of…[fitting] into the energy of the room” and hopes to DJ in future school dances as well.

One attendee of the dance, Georges Casassovici ’25 appreciated how Audzeviciute took students’ recommendations into account through an electronic survey. Reflecting on the overall event, Cassassovici noted the vibrant atmosphere and the joy of mingling with peers from both Lawrenceville and the Hun School. “It was amazing to see students from both schools coming together and having fun,” he said. Casassovici especially loved getting to meet new friends from Hun and sharing laughs with them: “It was definitely a night to remember!”

Despite the overall positive reception of the Hun x L’ville Dance, not all attendees shared the same sentiment. Robbie Chang ’26 noted that there were far fewer students from Hun than from Lawrenceville and that most of the invitees were freshmen. “I thought the dance was lackluster at best,” he explained. Chang also remarked having observed an “awkward energy” at the dance even when attendees “tried to have a good time.” In regards to future events, Chang suggested hosting dances at larger venues, as well as planning another dance with the Hun student body, one possibly at the Hun School.

“I think we should definitely do an inter-school dance again,” concluded Chu. She hopes that Lawrenceville will continue to connect with other schools and expand its list of invitees. As the first of many to come, the Hun x L’ville Dance has allowed Lawrenceville students to interact with members of different communities, opening conversation for new forms of dances and other social events at the School.

Related Articles

Recent Articles

Menu

Hosting Hun: A White-Out Celebration