Did you know that Lemont High School used to have a winter dance called MORP? MORP was our casual dance, with black lights, neon colors and white clothes.
How did this dance come to be? It started with the turnabout dance: a semi-formal dance where the girls ask the guys. This didn’t last long, as students didn’t want to get dressed up in the middle of winter.
“I think just for the timing of doing it in February,” Student Council sponsor Kathryn Kupcheck said. “Kids just didn’t really want to leave their houses, you know, in formal wear, so we tried to make it more casual, so that is what turned into MORP.”
Wondering why you haven’t heard about the dance before? It’s been at least five years since the last MORP dance. This year’s seniors couldn’t possibly have had the chance to attend one.
The reason the dance died down is simple: lack of student interest. This is surprising considering MORP was considered the most popular dance at LHS at the time.
“[MORP] was the best dance. The kids had so much fun when we did it,” Kupcheck said. “The problem is like I feel like nowadays kids are more concerned with just getting their pictures taken at the event, and then they want to leave and go to an actual party somewhere.”
This is a familiar issue, as it is the same reason that Homecoming is starting to decrease in popularity. It seems that no matter what the dance is, students are only willing to dress up, take pictures and go to a dinner or a party but skip the dance itself.
This brings up the question: if we brought the dance back, would anyone actually attend it? In a recent survey taken by current LHS students, it was found that 81.6% of 76 student respondents think that the school should bring back MORP.
“There is too much time in between Homecoming and Prom without a school sanctioned event,” sophomore Ella Kincaid said.
“[MORP is] a good excuse to go out with friends and get dressed and have a good time and great memories,” senior Dayanara Murillo said.
“I came from [Downers Grove South High School] and I thought it was normal to have winter dances,” junior Emma Lappay said. “When I came to Lemont I was shocked.”
The consensus seems to be that LHS is lacking in dances, especially considering how many other schools have at least three dances a year. So, what do you think, Lemont, do you want MORP to make a comeback?
