thatanonymousguy

I am a grad student in my early 20s, and I will soon be going to a formal dance for the VERY FIRST time in my life. I never went to homecoming, prom, or anything like that when I was young. This girl happened to ask me to this formal that our university is having, and that’s what motivated me to go. I thought it would be a good experience for me, and of course I am happy to go with the girl as I find her attractive; I don’t know her extremely well but we have a class together and she seems nice, so getting to know her better would be an added bonus. All I would like to ask for is a list of things I MUST know before I go since I don’t have any experience with these kinds of events, but of course I don’t want to reveal this to people I know. It would be really helpful if someone can give a very simple overview of what to expect throughout the evening, all the way from the time we get there until we leave, particularly regarding important traditions and anything else a first-time person may not find obvious. The things I really need to learn are etiquette, both at the table and on the dance floor, as far as what I “should” do (because it’s expected), and also anything that I absolutely shouldn’t do. So any etiquette tips would be very useful as well- I guess this sort of overlaps with traditions. I’m not a great dancer by any means and I don’t have much experience, but I’m guessing I should be able to get by on the dance floor assuming everything else goes well. I just need to know what TYPES of dancing will take place at a formal event such as this, and which dances people my age should be “expected” to know. I’m actually more worried about dance etiquette than the actual dancing itself to be honest. If you want to know some background about me such as why I never went to a dance before, this was partly because I grew up with “Asian parents” who tended to discourage those kinds of activities (but didn’t explicitly forbid them), and partly because I simply lacked the courage to ask a girl to any of those events. As you might guess, I have never really had a girlfriend either. But I’m not as weird as I may sound…I am very laid-back, friendly, and enjoy meeting new people- I’m not shy, I’m probably pretty average. I’m typically not the life of the party though, because I tend to say funny things only if I think they’re ACTUALLY funny, not just for the sake of acting cool, and I’m not much for meaningless gossip or making fun of individual people even behind their back. I still can be fun to hang around…I always like talking to people and I sometimes tell good jokes or occasionally even act really silly (when sober OR drunk) and people find it entertaining. I just described myself a little in case that might help anyone give me more specialized advice about this formal…ANYTHING would be greatly appreciated. So to sum it all up: 1) Overview of what happens at a formal dance and what it’s like overall? 2) What types of dances to expect at a formal (slow dance, waltz, hip-hop, cha cha, salsa, etc.)? 3) Any things I SHOULD or SHOULDN’T do/say to the girl at any point throughout the evening? 4) Basic etiquette tips/rules? 5) Any important traditions for events like this?