Black tables lined the dimly lit cafeteria all the way up to a high rise stage, set up for the twenty-two jazz band players. Bookending the stage stood red and white posters of shaded men who looked curiously similar to Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. As attendees started packing into the room, tables became filled with plates of lasagna, students and parents dressed suits and dresses, thousands of conversations, and plenty of boys who didn’t really want to dance.

“I’m just glad my date didn’t want to dance either,” Andrew May said.

During mealtime, most men stayed glued to their seats while the women walked around finding friends to hug and dresses to compliment.

“Things fell out of my lasagna and I didn’t feel obligated to go back and eat them” said one student before leaving her meal to go dance.

Meanwhile, the band played their first of four sets of bluesy jazz tunes with a musical foundation created by keyboardist Scott Kersey and many songs sang by Legacy Legends finalist Mia Peyton. The first half of music gave the students something to swing dance to, with much laughter and spinning ensuing. One of the few boys dancing at the start, Dillon Ford, still had make-up on from the previous night’s Mr. Miss LHS Competition.

“Now spin,” Ford said. “Now you spin me.”

Half-way through the night of music and dancing, two “unexpected guests” appeared onstage, the Blues Brothers. After hopping around and lip-synching for five minutes to the enjoyment of the audience, the two men exited the stage and took off their sunglasses and top hats to reveal the exuberant faces of Jordan Sojourner and Jake Davis.

When Sojourner received criticism for wearing white socks with his black suit, he exclaimed, “No, I researched it. The Blues Brothers wore white socks. Promise.”

As the night continued, the students became more courageous toward approaching the dance floor, dates walking hand-in-hand to join into the mix of swing dancing, line dancing and jitterbugging. But when the band’s fourth set began, the music’s tempo decreased dramatically, prompting the students to “slow dance.” The songs were characterized prominently by a long and dignified trumpet solo from three-time All-State trumpet player, Luke Ethetton.

Many students became exited as the clock struck 9 p.m., but others were left dancing together and hoping the night wouldn’t end.