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Ah, prom. From the illicit temptation of underage drinking to the simple beauty of an over-corsaged wrist, the high school formal is an American tradition. But with the end of the prom season quickly approaching, our reader Laura wanted to know where exactly the dance originated. Matt Soniak’s got the answer below.
Where Do Proms Come From?
Just in case you were home schooled in a survivalist compound, the prom is a semi-formal dinner and dance held at the end of a high school academic year. Today, the prom is completely inseparable from the American high school experience, and it often features fantastic displays of excess– dresses with four or five figure price tags, transportation by stretch Hummer, weekend-long after-parties. But that’s not exactly how the tradition started out. The first proms were held at colleges and were simple, home-grown events meant to teach good manners. More specifically, the dances got their start in the Northeast in the late 1800’s. According to historians, one of the earliest references to prom comes from the journal of a male student at Amherst College who, in an entry from 1894, describes his invitation to, and experience at, an early prom at the nearby Smith College.
How they migrated to high schools is another story. Parents and educators thought that a (heavily chaperoned!) formal dinner and dance would instill social skills and etiquette in young adults, so they started holding their own versions of the balls for the rich and well-to-do. They even borrowed the name; “prom” is a shortened form of promenade, the march of guests at the beginning of a ball or formal event.
By the early 1900s, the prom had spread to high schools. The very early ones were like those held at colleges: the senior class, dressed in their “Sunday best,” gathered in the gym for tea and light refreshments, socializing and dancing under crepe paper streamers and the watchful eyes of chaperones. But by the ’30s, proms were being held nationwide. The events began to feature a banquet dinner with music provided by a local band or a record player. And in 1936, “The Junior-Senior Prom: Complete Practical Suggestions for Staging the Junior-Senior Prom,” the first guide to planning and holding a prom, was published.
Up until the 1950s, proms were still being held in high school gyms. But as the country benefited from the America’s post-war economy, proms began to transform into more elaborate events. Gym were abandoned for banquet halls, hotels and country clubs. Of course, the fancier venues necessitated special shopping trips for the perfect prom dress. The emergence of prom dresses, in turn, gave rise to the prom corsage. By the end of the 80s, the prom had taken on almost larger-than-life status, which it maintains it today– a far cry from its humble beginnings.
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Comments (13)
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Ours was held on a small cruis boat in the San Francisco Bay – very crowded, but nice. Our school administrators didn’t want us having it at a hotel because they thought it encouraged promiscuity, but few other venues could fit out huge class.
posted by Leah on 6-8-2009 at 11:30 am
I sent that question in too, thanks for answering it.
RE Leah:
We didn’t have our prom on one of the cruises around the SF Bay but we had our grad night on it. It was super awesome.
The school used to go to Disneyland but it was getting more expensive so less people were doing it which made it even more expensive. Ours was the first class to try to the Blue and Gold Fleet cruise around the bay. With it’s much smaller $50 price, it was a massive hit.
posted by Sarah in CA on 6-8-2009 at 11:55 am
My prom, in 2000, was in my high school gym — I didn’t even know there was any other way until I moved out east for college (I grew up in Indiana). A few people got limos, but most people just drove to the prom themselves. The after-prom party was in our cafeteria. Surely I’m not the only one reading this article who had their prom in a gym and thought it was still fun?
posted by Kevin on 6-8-2009 at 1:38 pm
What does John Kerry have to do with prom? Did I miss something?
posted by AG on 6-8-2009 at 2:18 pm
What does any of this have to do with the origin of Programmable Read Only Memory???
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 6-8-2009 at 2:20 pm
AG,
The John Kerry pic is a glitch in the programming. It’s a pic from the linked article to “Star Wars action figures with unintended likeness to …” . Though John Kerry at my prom with a death ray gun certainly would have livened it up. :-)
posted by Scott on 6-8-2009 at 3:19 pm
Ah prom. So much fuss over nothing!
We had our prom at the Museum of Civ. in Hull (that way everyone could drink, even if they weren’t yet 19). My boyfriend and I had broken up a month prior so I had no date for the prom. I wasn’t too upset about it until, half-way through the evening, a group of us were sitting at a table and a slow song came on. 12 people got up and went to dance with their partners and I was the only one left sitting at the table.
Talk about a scene out of a teen movie!
posted by Jenny on 6-8-2009 at 4:26 pm
I went to two proms – my junior year, when I was asked by a girl in my church youth group; and my senior year, when I took her to mine.
No drama in either one – except for my best friend. The guy she took to her senior prom showed up not even dressed, and he was caught later on making out with another gal. Talk about a keeper…
posted by Steve in San Diego on 6-8-2009 at 5:11 pm
Ah Prom.
I am not much for dancing, and attended only a couple of dances at my school. I was not planning on going to prom either (the one I wanted to go with was attending w/ someone else).
But luckily for me, I was approached, almost ambushed really, but a girl I was friends w/ and she asked me to prom. I was a bit confused, I thought she might be going w/ someone else as well, but once the confusion passed, I gratefully accepted.
That surprise prom appearance remains a special, if bittersweet memory for me. If only I hadn’t been hung up on the first girl, my prom date was a much better catch, stupid teenage boy.
posted by Jonny on 6-8-2009 at 6:05 pm
Kevin–you’re not alone. We didn’t have our prom at the school (the class was too big), but after prom was in the cafeteria, gym, and commons. Sure, prom was fun, but after prom was where it was at! We had more fun at the school than the concert hall we used.
posted by Jenn on 6-8-2009 at 10:33 pm
My prom was held at the school and still is. But my school was tiny in a rural region.
The dinner was in one half of the gym and the dance floor was the other half. On the plus side it was cheap and 90% of the senior/juniors went.
posted by Jerry on 6-9-2009 at 11:53 am
My junior prom was in the school cafeteria and was just the dance and maybe some desserts, I am not sure why we didn’t use the gym. Senior prom was held at a local hotel with a full dinner which was nice.
I think there is too much emphasis on the importance of prom when it should be just kept low key and fun. Teens should rethink spending hundreds of dollars on a prom dress. I think some of the best dresses are the ones that handmade and unique including the unusual materials (e.g. coffee filters, duct tape, etc.).
posted by Gina on 6-13-2009 at 10:38 pm
My junior prom was held at the Shriner’s Temple in town (right off the interstate and the night before the gun and knife show. Awesome.)and was okay. Senior prom was held at an area right across from the State FairGrounds. It was fun, but the dance floor was too small for our Junior-Senior class, so mostly awkward dancing with everyone trying to squeeze onto the dance floor.
posted by Melissa on 6-15-2009 at 4:50 pm