Middle School Dance
Posted by BeaniePole1792@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 114 comments
Did any one have a middle school 8th grade dance? My daughter went to hers and it was like prom. She dressed the occasion but I paid $12 for the dress. It was a 2 hour dance. She told me that a group of kids came in a limo. I am like get out! It’s 8th grade.
She went by herself. None of her friends wanted or couldn’t go. She mingled with kids she knew that she calls associates.
I don’t recall having any 8th grade dance but I also had a messed up school life - 6th was in elementary and I went to a junior high - 7th,8th,9th. Then I moved in the middle of 10th.
I also learned that even though I moved a lot, it’s not really a reason I didn’t have close friends. My daughter has been in the same house, but with school choice and just growing up, you change and kids go to different schools or you just have different goals.
MundaneHuckleberry58@reddit
Everything has cascaded down.
8th grade dance attire = our hs prom
Current hs prom = getting glam squad, ordering a unique dress months in advance & having it tailored, etc.
Ok-Concert-6475@reddit
We had semi-formal dances in middle school. Girls typically wore dresses (but not crazy fancy like prom), and guys wore suits.
AggressiveWin42@reddit
We had dances every other week in junior high - “fortnightlies.” Everyone dressed normally.
AshDogBucket@reddit
We had dances all through middle school. And yeah I think there was a big one for the end of 8th grade.
Thatonegirl_79@reddit
My friends and I went all out for our 8th grade graduation and dance back in the day. My best friend and I were the only ones with a limo because she had a hook up through a family friend.
pbellyup@reddit
We had dances in 8th grade. It was called cotillion and the local Catholic schools attended. I think we dressed up and jumped around to that Kris Kross song and danced to Ace of Base.
watchtimeisit@reddit
1995, I wore a button-down with a banded collar and went through existential crises asking my crush to dance. Next day, she told the class I’d poked her through my slacks to ‘Lady in Red.’ Mortifying!
BritOnTheRocks@reddit
My daughter just had hers last night, apparently the kids vote on dress code every year and this year they went with formal. Yeah, we overpaid for her dress and hair, but honestly it was worth it for the time she got to bond with her Mom and to see her confidence sky rocket (she’s usually a shy kid).
Fun_Committee1478@reddit
This sounds cute as hell. I have twin daughters and would love doing this with them once they’re older.
abbydabbydo@reddit
How do they split grades in the UK?
BritOnTheRocks@reddit
If you’ve read Harry Potter, it’s that.
Fun_Committee1478@reddit
Yes!!! 1996 and it was called The 8th grade Twilight Ball!! I went with one friend of mine, we dressed up. I actually liked it!! (I was also a dork and went to all the proms and homecoming dances in HS too)
junepath@reddit
Yup, 8th grade dinner dance. They still do it. I didn’t go but I remember girls getting pretty dressed up for it. They used to do it at a fancy banquet hall but when I was in 10th grade a kid brought a gun and killed a teacher and shot two students and now it’s just in the high school lunch room.
amccune@reddit
Did you mean JUNIOR HIGH?
DCpurpleTart33@reddit
We wore jeans, danced in the gym to boyz 2 men and left room for the Lord. That was 8th grade dance for me. I might have worn a body suit…
Poison_Ivy_Rorschach@reddit
That is a perfect description! Slow dances were just swaying with your arms on his shoulder and his hands on your waist and no one making eye contact, while “end of the road” played.
ST_Lawson@reddit
"everything I do" by Bryan Adams
Adrasteia-One@reddit
Haha, yes. I felt so grown up asking girls to slow dance. For being such a timid kid, I found my groove for a bit. "Save the Best for Last" was our slow dance song.
craighaney172@reddit
Ours was “I’ll be” by Edwin McCain.
Apprehensive-Tone-55@reddit
Oh lord. That’s the longest song when you’re dancing with somebody you really don’t want to be who has their hands a little too close to your butt.
VersionCapable@reddit
This exactly. I went to middle school in a church basement and our dances were often mixers from other smaller church schools in the area. I think we had about 2 a year, one in the winter and one right around the end of the school year. I remember getting more dressed up for the winter one, but also remember wearing shorts and a tie dye tshirt to the end of year one. But yeah the whole thing was just one big awkward night in the cafeteria. Only a couple of the cool girls had boyfriends. The rest of us just met up at the dance, there was no dinner out before or limo. All I remember were the awkward slow dances and the dance circles for the faster songs.
Sensitive_Pianist777@reddit
I'm 79er. The RMB songs were huge at the time .
big_king_swinging@reddit
Oh no! The bodysuit! Ha! Almost forgot em…. lol 😂 perfect description brw
bobgoblin888@reddit
We all awkward slow danced to End of the Road, leaving room for the Holy Spirit. I wore one of my many shades of colored jeans from Express and a flannel.
Impressive_Plant_643@reddit
No room for the lord at my dances!! This was the age of put a leg between their leg and hump
Its_me_jen331@reddit
Oh my god are you me?
lifeat24fps@reddit
I swore a purple suit. I was stressed that I wasn’t going in a limo. Everyone said they were coming in a limo. Nobody came in a limo.
Pinklady777@reddit
Yes, we had a middle school dance. But I just wore a dress I already had and walked there and home after. It was about a mile away. Are you in an affluent area? The limo sounds a little extreme.
HeyYouTurd@reddit
This is me. Right before my 8 th grade dance. I loved this dress so much! I got it at Gadzooks in the mall and thought it was so cool.
Starbreiz@reddit
Yeah we did this in the 90s. I was a real outcast though. I went to this dance and it was suuuper awkward.
violetstrainj@reddit
Not when I was in middle school, those dances were all after sporting events and were super informal since everyone was sweaty. But, when I was a senior in high school, my school decided to throw a “spring fling” dance the weekend before prom so that the underclass kids wouldn’t feel left out. My little sister got to go, and she went dress shopping with me, and I just felt that the whole thing was unfair because I’d waited 13 years to go to prom, and my sister got to go in eighth grade.
Tinkerfan57912@reddit
My daughter’s was a mini prom too. Not sure when that happened. She wore a white sweater and black maxi skirt, the other girls were in prom dresses and, the boys in tuxes and suits. Mine, we wore what we wore to the other dances, a nice dress, not a prom dress.
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Aggravating_Finish_6@reddit
Yep we had one. It was formal but not like Prom level. We wore short dresses that we bought for like $50 at stores like Deb. Got our hair and nails done. It was held at a local banquet hall. I’m sure our parents drove us.
DrDarcyLewis@reddit
We had a "graduation dance" in 8th grade, but my district was K-8 so that kinda made sense. You either went on to the regional high school, county vo-tech, or your folks were paying out for one of the many Catholic high schools.
Astrazigniferi@reddit
My 8th grade dance was the only time I’ve been in a limo. My friends wanted to get one and we went as a group. I wore a knee length babydoll dress with rainbow sparkles from Maurice’s and platform shoes. Mostly it was pop music and stuff like the YMCA and the Macarena, but I did slow-dance once with a boy I liked. I think I was too nervous to even talk while we danced.
AdumLarp@reddit
We had an end of year dance right after our 8th grade graduation. Semi formal, since everyone had dressed nicely for the graduation ceremony. Don’t remember which songs we danced to. This was 1994. I do remember dancing with a girl I liked, but not that way. She had a crush on me tho so I figured what the hell.
DickBurns01@reddit
It was called Jr high when I went and they had socials
RBXChas@reddit
When I was a kid, we had an 8th grade dance that was a big deal, like girls wore fancy dresses and boys wore suits.
My kids’ middle school did not have this.
Maybe it’s regional? I grew up in the northeast US, but we live in the southeast.
BeaniePole1792@reddit (OP)
This was southeast..
RBXChas@reddit
Hm, and the city where we live is big on pageantry, so I was surprised they didn’t do anything big.
NoContextCarl@reddit
If I remember correctly I went to ours in either 7th or 8th grade. Was more of a casual hang out with music than a traditional prom.
jenbenfoo@reddit
The only dance I can remember from 8th grade is the one we had after graduation....but i went to a private Christian school and even in high school we didn't have many dances.
Lcky22@reddit
We had a formal 8th grade dance that I didn’t go to but some kids took limos. The middle school I worked at ‘04-16 had them the same night as 8th grade promotion which meant most kids wore the same thing to both so dresses at promotion were insane. The school I work at now doesnt have one, which surprises me.
Spread_Kindness_@reddit
We had dances in junior high (6th-8th) every couple months. They were right after school let out on a Friday for 2 hours (like 3:30-5:30 pm) so you wore your coolest outfits to school that day. They were in the gym and everyone had to leave their shoes in the locker room so as not to scuff the gym floor. Everyone danced in socks.
bumfuzzledbee@reddit
8th grade was 98-99 for me. We had two or three low key dances and an 8th grade formal at the end of the year. It wasn't too the level of prom but we definitely got our hair done and had fancy dresses on. Wouldn't surprise me if some kids did a limo, but my friends and I didn't. Probably those big platform steve Madden shoes though since they were the height of sophistication
Ok-Worldliness2161@reddit
We had an 8th grade dance, people dressed up - but not prom level - and there was a lot of grinding or “freak dancing” as we called it back then. I think I remember that Ride It, My Pony song playing
Scissorsguadalupe@reddit
We had middle school dances 6th-8th. In hindsight it was weird. It's like going to a company party. High school I went to one homecoming dance and no one was really there. I ended up just walking around the perimeter of the school and talking with this girl, who though I saw her everyday in the halls for four years, I never talked to again.
Adventurous_Pin_344@reddit
Hell, we only had a senior prom. No middle school dances or even dances before my last year of HS. (Okay, there was always homecoming, but I rarely went to anything except senior prom because I actually had a boyfriend by then.)
Flight_Not_Fancy@reddit
we had our 8th grade dance in the cafeteria/atrium area of our school right after the graduation ceremony. We decorated courtesy of our local party good store. DJ kicking tunes, 8th graders dancing awkwardly. Had so much fun with my friends. One of my favorite memories was the dance off between one of my classmates and a Japanese exchange student. They both had moves! The joy of simpler times.
frolicndetour@reddit
We did but it was after school and we wore our school clothes and the boys sat on one side of the gym and the girls sat on the other while some random "DJ" blasted the Green Jelly song Three Little Pigs.
Affectionate_Ask_769@reddit
We had an 8th grade graduation dance and some kids came in limos. We wore semi formal dresses to our graduation and following dance and most of the boys wore suits.
ArtsyRabb1t@reddit
We had MS dances and dressed nice. Events have gotten crazy. They do a daddy daughter dance and there are frequently limos. This is for elementary school. I mean whatever sprinkles your cupcakes.
NewsgramLady@reddit
The way your schools were structured were just like mine. (6th grade in elementary and 7th, 8th, 9th junior high)
Impossible_Memory_85@reddit
The 8th grade dances are when my silk shirts got busted out of the closet.
Smurfblossom@reddit
My middle school had dances. They were always after school and lasted about three hours. There wasn't time to go home to get all dolled up and the dress code was more casual anyway. Everyone just ditched their backpacks in their lockers, went to the dance, and then it ended in time to get home for dinner.
kathatter75@reddit
We had an 8th grade dance, but it was a Sunday dress kind of dress code.
LackingUtility@reddit
My school had them, but we were K-8 and then 9-12 at the high school, so 8th graders were like “seniors” in the elementary school.
Sensitive_Pianist777@reddit
I went to a grade 7-8 middle school. Our dances started at like 2pm to 4:30 or something. 3 or so a year.
Grade 8s had graduation and then the dance after that was like a prom dressed up.
Academic_Run8947@reddit
We had a big middle school dance every year in June. 6th, 7th and 8th grade. It wasn't as fancy as prom but we dressed up and went as a group.
I have two boys that are in middle school and high school. Neither have ever had any interest in any dances. My older kid has no problem finding a group that's going to the movies instead of homecoming.
gracefularthur314@reddit
All 3 years of middle school (6th, 7th and 8th where I am) we had dances around the end of the year. Most of the girls would wear dresses and some of the boys would dress up, but jeans were ok too. I guess I was in a more liberal school because we did not have to "leave room for Jesus". There was grinding for the dance songs and hands on butts for the slow songs haha
Asleep-Elderberry260@reddit
All of my dances in middle school were casual at the end of the school day, except our last 8th grade dance. That we dressed up for, but not like for prom. It was pretty extra though. They turned the gym into a park with actual trees. One of the girls parents owned a nursery, definitely some wealth in town, one of our chaperones was a very famous movie star. I didn't appreciate how famous she was at the time because she was just my friends mom. It was really cool but it was like years later that I thought these had to be the type of moms who inspired the Pinterest generation of party throwers.
username_smusername@reddit
My kid’s school actually cancelled theirs for this reason. My son went a few years ago. Had him in a button up shirt and dress pants, nothing crazy. I pulled up to drop him off and there were kids in tuxes and girls in full on prom dresses with limos.
When it was my daughter’s turn the following year it was cancelled because it had gotten out of hand. The school didn’t want families feeling as though they had to go all out for a middle school dance.
Ours were always after school so it was whatever you wore that day.
Timely-Ability-6521@reddit
Omg I heard the Tootsie roll when I read the title..... 😂
Usirnaimtaken@reddit
We had middle school dances all the time that were causal after school. But there was one formal 8th grade dance where people went all out.
I remember we did a nice dinner before and some people did arrive in limos. I arrived in my mom’s van with my “date” and another couple of friends.
ooo-ooo-oooyea@reddit
We had an 8th grade dance. The main songs were Achy Breakey Heart and Titantic Song. My mom made me go, and I slow danced with Stephanie. It was awesome.
Then my friend got caught with a "knife" and we all got thrown out. Good times.
Interesting_Owl7041@reddit
I had one, and we did dress up for it. It was capped the 8th grade semi-formal. Not to the level of a prom, but we definitely wore dresses and did our hair and makeup. This was in 1999. I still have pictures of me and my group of friends before we left for the dance.
Frecklefishpants@reddit
We had a number of grade 8 dances that were held in the school gym and we just wore normal clothes.
We had one grad dance that was held in the high school gym and we all wore semi formal dresses and some kids had limos.
Hungry_Reading6475@reddit
My daughter just went to hers. She wore a $30 dress from Kohl’s and I dropped her of in my bitch’n Camry (lol!). I didn’t see any limos and the kids I saw outside were a mixed bag. A few girls in dresses approaching prom level and a few guys in full suits, but most were closer to what my kid was wearing.
My daughter said most of her friends were there (she’s going a pretty good gang of kids she hangs out with). I so glad she’s having a great schedule experience, mine was miserable.
More-Soil7455@reddit
We had an 8th grade graduation dance. I wore a little black dress and my mom braided my hair and put some mascara on me. I felt very underdressed when I walked in the community center to see the other girls dressed in semi formal dresses and full hair and makeup. This experience had been repeated throughout my life lol
bippityboppityhyeem@reddit
My 8th grade dance was like that (no limo though). All the rich kids had prom like dresses. I stood out with my simple cotton one :(
BigPoppaStrahd@reddit
We had dances in middle school and high school. The middle school ones weren’t formal, just an evening to hang out in the school gym while a dj played the hits.
IComposeEFlats@reddit
Yeah, I feel like we had more dances in middle school than high school.
Middle school dances were like every month, you didnt dress up that much, it was more like clubbing than prom.
High school we had like 2 per year, a winter formal and then prom in spring for juniors/seniors (and underclass dates), and they were definitely suit/gown affairs
abbydabbydo@reddit
Same
HicJacetMelilla@reddit
We had an 8th grade dance and it was a really big deal. It was like mini prom in a sense, but we also knew it wasn’t prom. I think it was because it was our first real formal dance.
The school banned limos or anything like that, I think we were allowed corsages, and we weren’t allowed to have dates from other schools. And it was only 8th graders, so you couldn’t take a 7th grader as a date. I have mostly good memories from mine, with one bad memory with my mom (heaven help those of us raised by emotionally immature boomers).
WheelLeast1873@reddit
We had them in 7th and 8th grades. My school was very small so there were not they many kids there. It was just kids hanging out and occasionally awkwardly slow dancing with each other.
ButterscotchAware402@reddit
I was a weirdo/loner, if there were dances before junior prom I didn't care/don't remember. I'm sure there were but I was too cool for school (dances).
I did go to two junior proms and two senior proms though.
litchick@reddit
Yes, we had multiple dances every year in Junior High, they were all casual, in the gym. In 9th grade we could start going to the December semi-formal at the high school.
msheehan418@reddit
Yea that’s how it was with my stepdaughters. It was damn near a prom. We had dances but not mini proms
BeaniePole1792@reddit (OP)
Yep— prom jr. I wish it lasted until 9. 2 hours seemed really short to get all dressed up. Daughter now knows what to do for HS though - friends group. But I am proud she went by herself
msheehan418@reddit
Oh my daughter had to have professional hair, make up. Luckily she found a used dress but she looked so gorgeous. Then real prom came and I spent way too much money.
OkOccasion5397@reddit
I went to a small school. They used to hold Jr high dances in the gym and serve refreshments from the cafeteria. Casual dress. I think 9th and 10th grade, in the winter, they held a "semi formal". It was like a mini prom. One year I went with friends, next year my bf. We dressed up and there was a photographer for pics.
calimota@reddit
Southern California in 89-90, our school was 7th & 8th grade. We had several Sock Hops, which occurred immediately after school. Low lights and a DJ in the Multi Purpose Room.
Then once a year we had an evening dance, also in the MPR, but with some balloons and decorations.
Getting up the courage to ask a girl to “go with you” to a dance was a big deal.
I kissed several different girls during those dances, including a particularly memorable one named Nikki.
Warren Blackwell was the best dancer in the school, but I have no idea where he went to high school after that summer.
Ianthin1@reddit
We had a Sadie Hawkins dance a couple of years of Middle school, but it was for all grades. There definitely were no limos or prom-like attire. Mostly church level clothes and a gym full of complete awkwardness.
Notredamus1@reddit
I went to a few middle school dances but didn't attend any in high school. The middle school dances were really fun. Some of my friends were break dancers. So we would hype up battles at the school dances. Good times.
BigE429@reddit
We had an 8th grade formal. It was in the school gym and everyone got dressed up more than we would for a normal school dance, but not as fancy as a prom (the guys wore ties). 8th grade was the year Titanic came out, so the played My Heart Will Go On quite a few times.
59apache01@reddit
Never had anything that fancy in Jr High
Exciting-Argument-67@reddit
We had an 8th grade formal, but it was only *slightly* fancier than a regular school dance. I wore a dress I got from Goodwill. Kids were trying to do the Roger Rabbit on the dance floor.
Listening_Stranger82@reddit
Yup. I definitely had an 8th grade dance. It was casual though.
mallanson22@reddit
It wasn't fancy for us. We even had dances throughout high school that was DJ in the cafatorium. Only dressed fancy or anything was prom.
SilverAsparagus2985@reddit
Yes we had an 8th grade dance and it was painfully awkward and unusually sweaty. But we all dressed up in semi-formal like homecoming.
cordelaine@reddit
in my khaki pants
qwerty-game@reddit
We had an 8th grade dinner dance. We did all dress up some, but not fancy like a prom. It was a nice time. There were some parent chaperones. We also had dances in the gym about once/month for 6-8th graders.
Don_Shetland@reddit
We definitely had junior high dances but no came in a limo
BibFortunaCookie@reddit
Yeah all our middle school dances took place outside in the courtyard between our school buildings. We all dressed casual or wore dresses from Kmart lol.
switheld@reddit
we had one but it was like during the day? on a normal school day towards the end of the year, in the gym or assembly area where they had a stage on one side. it was the same big room we had chorus recitals and plays and science fairs in. all the girls stayed on one side and the boys on the other, except for a few semi-established "couples" who slow danced together. it was weird and daylight streamed into the space so we were all mainly just goofing around doing kid n play and the running man and ice ice baby dances. i think the music must have been pretty good. I think i just wore normal clothes.
LemurCat04@reddit
We had nearly weekly Friday night CYO dances. Every parish hosted a different week, so we’d get to meet all the kids we’d be in high school with if/when we matriculated to the parochial high school. They weren’t big deals, honestly we wore jeans and t-shirts 90% of the time. We also had an 8th grade graduation dance that we wore our graduation dresses/suits to. That wasn’t as much fun as it was just our school.
lnc_5103@reddit
We had a dance to celebrate the end of the school year. We wore department store dresses and drank crappy punch and had cookies. There were no limos. One of our teachers DJ'ed. It was fun.
SeaworthinessNo4647@reddit
We had a big deal 8th grade dance that was held at a location other than our school's cafeteria (the normal dance location). I don't think it was limo level but I remember shopping for a nice dress for the big dance.
Anxious-Cupcake-84@reddit
Our 8th grade prom was a big deal even tho it was held in the cafeteria. I went with my friend group and vaguely remember it being fun.
walter_grimsley@reddit
My school held something called a Barn Dance. It was square dance and rodeo/country themed. This was in Staten Island New York around 1990 or ‘91.
I don’t know what happened, but I have zero memory of this night, despite knowing that I attended. It was the only school dance I ever attended.
Longjumping-Bell-762@reddit
We had lots of dances in middle school, but there was a big one in the spring of 8th grade. My friends and I dressed up in weird artsy outfits that we thrifted or borrowed and went as a big group.
The best year was 6th grade. We had four dances that year just for our grade. Each dance consisted of 4 strobe lights in each corner of the lunch room. They were so much fun to go to. The strobe lights allowed for us to dance without feeling self conscious.
BigBabyWhale@reddit
Yea, we had one. We all got dressed up. Mom still has the picture up 😂😂
FandomAddict82@reddit
I only remember being painfully underdressed in long sleeve shirt and long skirt. Everyone else was dressed like they were going to a prom. 🙃
Poison_Ivy_Rorschach@reddit
We had dances but never a formal like prom until high school.. It would be homecoming, winter, valentines, and spring. Everyone just showed up in casual clothes and there was music in the gym and usually a table where you could get snacks.
Fickle_Wrangler_7439@reddit
Yes, but I missed it because my rich uncle needed a babysitter for his Broadway trip.
Got to eat super fancy hotel food and watch a toddler for a week instead. And he did take me to see The Lion King at the end. As a treat for the servants, I guess, lol.
He and his wife saw one or two shows a day. He's mostly a dick who married up and became worse, but he is the only reason I got to see original cast Lion King and the only time I ever stayed in a 5 star hotel.
LacyKnits@reddit
We had middle school dances. I wore a knee length babydoll style dress and butterfly clips. I fit right in.
Dances were in the cafeteria.
But "Activity Nights" were more common for us, there was dancing in the cafeteria, but the gym was also open and sometimes there were games set up in the lobby area. (These three areas were all close together and reasonable to monitor. And the spaces were kept pretty well lit.)
Blackbird136@reddit
We had one, but I didn’t go. Felt too awkward about not having a date (🤪) even though the vast majority of my friends didn’t either.
I really didn’t develop any kind of social confidence whatsoever until 11th grade. The low self-esteem came from switching schools almost every year I think.
East-Kaleidoscope132@reddit
We had 8th grade prom. It was held at a Marriott and we all got dressed up.
jaxsonMiss@reddit
I only remember one 8th grade dance that occurred during school hours, so they forced the entire grade into the gym for an awkward experience. I just sat on the floor against the wall the whole time.
My daughter just had her version of your 8th grade prom a couple weeks ago. It was billed to be casual but the girls were obsessed with their dresses.
VicYuri@reddit
Yes it was in the school gym. It's funny I remember in the list of rules they gave us. A long with what the girls could wear regarding dresses. There was in big bold letters which may be why I remember it. Was please no limos this is not a prom.
DachshundNursery@reddit
We had dances every other week at the Boys and Girls Club and then also a few at school. They were super casual unless they were specifically a semi formal.
mr_Papini@reddit
I went to at least two middle school dances and all I remember is they were awkward as fuck and played the Ghostbusters theme at least twice both times
likesblackcoffeebest@reddit
My school called it 8th grade prom but it was a poor rural school, so there were no limos, just an arms race of lifted trucks.
My kids did not have the same thing but they had homecoming in middle school, which I didn't, and that was a kind of similar event (minus the arms race of lifted trucks lol)
LilMushboom@reddit
There was an 8th grade dance at my school but I don't remember it being a big deal. Most kids were too shy to actually dance together. The Macarena was involved but in our defense, it was 1997