On Saturday, May 4th, Amador Valley hosted its annual Senior Ball. The event took place this year at the San Francisco Design Center.
“We picked this venue in particular because there’s a lot of open space. So there’s a lot of space for activities, for food, for games, and then for the dance floor,” said ASB Executive Officer Shreya Thandapani (‘24), who was part of this year’s planning committee.
The event took place mainly in the center atrium, with the mosh pit front and center. Students could also access the three additional floors available far above.
“We looked at other schools that used the venue and they really liked it. It’s very open and accessible with different floors, so it’s very organized as well,” said Thandapani.
On the third floor, a variety of activities were available to attendees. With foosball tables, photo booths, ping-pong and air hockey games, and poker tables between the floors, students had plenty of fun options to try.
“We have a lot of different games and activities so that any student can choose what they like. Even if they don’t like the DJ, then they can do foosball. Or if they don’t like foosball, they can do the DJ,” said Thandapani.
Another highly-praised aspect of this year’s senior ball was the variety of food available. Students enjoyed crêpes, tacos, nachos, mac and cheese, and ice cream. The venue even provided a chocolate fountain for students to dip fruits and sweets into.
“We have a lot more food options than we usually do at the ball. We haven’t really incorporated this into our dances before,” said Thandapani.
The same company that catered to the Senior Ball also served this year’s Junior Prom, to wide approval. In addition, a bar served soft drinks and lemonade to keep attendees hydrated.
“The food was so good. Honestly, everything was really good, especially the sweet crepes, they were amazing,” said Kaley Roe (‘24).
The main attraction of Senior Ball was, of course, the dance floor. With bright stage lighting, smoke generators, and two DJs, most students gathered there by the end of the night.
“The song selection was great, especially towards the end. And the moshpit itself was tiring but very fun,” said Aarav Kakad (‘24).
The theme of this year’s ball was “Van Gogh’s Starry Night,” a little different from typical school dance themes. Many dressed in dark blue and gold to match the theme.
“The past few years we’ve been doing The Great Gatsby, and switching off two or three different themes. But this year is a really new theme and is kind of out-of-the-box, because we’ve never done a painting theme before,” said Thendapani.
To match this theme, the venue was flooded with blue and gold lighting. The walls were awash with projections of the Starry Night painting.
“The venue captured the theme perfectly. It was a surreal experience,” said Ziyan Liu (‘24).
Overall, the event received high praise from party-goers, many of whom considered it a big improvement from the previous year’s Prom or Senior Ball.
“Senior Ball was fun and way better than Prom last year. The venue was a lot nicer, and they had a lot more better food,” said Karan Gupta (‘24).
Students arrived at Amador by 5:00pm to begin signing in and loading onto buses.
This year’s Senior Ball took place at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria.
All 4 floors of the venue were booked for students to explore and take pictures at.
The chocolate fountain was highly popular among the students.
After dinner, students gradually drifted to the dance floor with their friends.
Some activities at the venue included foosball, ping pong, card games, and photo booths.
The dance floor quickly grew crowded and the DJ soon turned up the volume on the music.
