It was a homecoming dance like no other.
The boys, in bow ties, danced alone — or in the arms of their mothers. The girls, in glittering gold shoes and silver tiaras, danced alone, or together, or were dragged across the dance floor, laughing, by a boy.
There was no slow dancing. There was only fast dancing — and very fast dancing.
The boys danced with boys. The girls danced in threes. The boys and girls danced in fives. They were, in all cases, brief episodes of dancing, interrupted by sprinting, or jumping in the air, or falling face-first onto the dance floor, which was usually a basketball court.
It was the first-ever Junior Homecoming Dance in the gymnasium of the Michelle Obama Early Childhood Academic Center in the Riverview Gardens School District, held Friday, September 21, at the end of Spirit Week.
“It’s a nice idea,” said Tracy Conley, who brought her son, Aiyden Conley, one of the center’s 241 students; about 120 families signed in and entered names in the drawing for king and queen. “Something different.”
One mom wearing hospital scrubs dozed off at the edge of the dance floor after a long day.
Another mom, Kiara Stiles, knelt to tie the shoestring of her son, Carter Knight, who kissed his mama before returning to the dance.
“A lot of dads,” the new director of the center, Lanor Payne, said approvingly.
There were a lot of fathers, most dressed casually but toting boys in pint-sized suits and girls in frilly dresses. One father was suited and booted in a family unit that matched in a complicated color and striping pattern. The mood between parents was festive and familiar.
The dance, which was part of Spirit Week at the center — another new feature at Michelle Obama — was the new director’s idea. “I am all about building relationships,” Payne said. “This is starting a new tradition. We have been promoting this dance for a month. The staff is excited.” He noted that staff attendance for the school year to date was at 95 percent.
Payne was most recently an assistant elementary school principal in Saint Louis Public Schools. He said he took this position because he prefers to work with the youngest children. He said that not enough men work in early childhood education, and these are the most formative years. “You have a chance to build a solid foundation,” he said.
Halfway through the two-hour dance, Payne drew the names of the Junior Homecoming Queen, MeKayla Evans, and King, Darius Holmes Jr. Tiny royal costumes had been prepared for them.
A straw hat had to be taken off the head of the King to fit him with his crown. The Queen quietly basked in the attention and camera flashes. The King — at age three and a half, he was a half-year younger than his Queen — appeared stunned, glum, and ready for his moment in the limelight to be over.
But it was only beginning. The next day the King and Queen would ride in the Riverview Gardens Homecoming Parade.
“All of you are true kings and queens,” Payne announced. “Everyone is a king and queen in our house.”
Antranae Tannan watched her son, Anariyon Tannan, take off running after a girl wearing hoop earrings almost as big as she was, which was not very big.
“He loves it,” the proud mother said. “I love it. He just kept saying he was going to a party — a party with all of his friends.”
