Dancing Too Hard? Minnesota High School Prom Unexpectedly Ends Early After Dancefloor Problem
While it might be a bummer for your prom night to end early, these students at a Central Minnesota high school will certainly have some lifelong memories after the attendees may have been dancing a little too hard.
Pequot Lakes High School, located about 20 miles north of Brainerd in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, was holding its prom at the nearby Breezy Point Resort on the shores of Pelican Lake this spring when some of the students noticed something weird.
The school's prom dance was being held in one of the event rooms on the second floor of the Breezy Point Resort Convention Center on Saturday, April 27. As the evening went on, students in attendance began noticing the dance floor start to dip.
As the Brainerd Dispatch reports, students reported to prom advisers that the floor where the dance was being held was starting to get soft, seeming to be starting to cave in. After going downstairs to investigate, they saw evidence of structural damage. This prompted a clearing of the dance floor and an early end to prom night.
One of the prom's advisers told the Dispatch that while students were disappointed about the night ending early, many still remarked about how memorable of a night it was, having "the prom that broke the floor".
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The newspaper also talked with the school's principal, who pointed to "how kids dance now" being much of the issue. He explained how students tend to dance in a closer group, different than how it used to be. The principal remarked how the school had hosted proms in the same location before without issue.
On a personal note, I attended this very school and was part of events that were held in this very same complex, graduating 20 years ago. While I have not been to a high school dance since I was in high school, I can't imagine they dance a whole lot differently than we did when I was in school. We were all in a fairly close group, bouncing around and having a good time.
The principal called it "a learning experience about how dancing has changed", saying there have been no problems before. That's usually how it works, though. There isn't a problem until there is. Thankfully nobody was hurt and some eagle-eyed students pointed the issue out when they did.
In any case, the principal reports that the prom ended less than an hour before it would have otherwise concluded, commenting “The students ended up missing out on probably 45 minutes of dancing, or jumping I should say."
The Dispatch reports that the venue has been working with engineers and inspectors to implement permanent fixes after applying a temporary fix following the dance. The convention center also reportedly credited the school for their bill to use the venue for the prom.
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