The annual Senior RAMJAM Fashion Show is something that I’ve looked forward to since I first saw it on the NCTV morning announcements freshman year. After getting the opportunity to take part in it myself last week, I am now certain that it is a unique experience that Seniors get to have, not only because it signals the closing of our high school experience, but also because of how fun it was from start to finish.
RAMJAM Fitting
I drove to Lord & Taylor with a group of my friends after school with no idea what to expect. I envisioned a setup including a line of girls standing waiting to get fitted, with a lady at the front taking measurements and assigning dresses. Having had a long day filled with less than ideal test taking and lectures about senioritis, honestly, no part of me wanted to go stand around waiting to get fitted. However, when we walked into Lord & Taylor, I was pleasantly surprised at the scene before me: my peers excitedly perusing the formal dress section and walking to the dressing room with armfuls of various gowns that they would never choose to wear at any other point in their life. I was met with by one of my classmates’ mom who told me to grab any dress that I wanted, try them on and let them know which one I choose. After grabbing a selection of the most gaudy dresses that I could find, and nearly an hour of competing with my friends over who could pick the most garish dress, I settled on a flashy ball gown with bedazzled pockets. The process was surprisingly simple, and I had never imagined such an independent fitting consisting of having free-reign over hundreds of dresses. We left the fitting content with our choices, and I went home with my previous notions surrounding this process completely wiped away. Despite my initial dread surrounding the experience, an afternoon messing around with my peers and picking out a gown made me even more excited about the fashion show.
Rehearsal
The week before the fashion show could- for the vast majority of the Senior class- be described as one word. Hectic. College decisions were being released rapid fire and everyone was either receiving the most disappointing news of their life, or were happily on cloud nine. With numerous people waiting to open their college decisions immediately after the rehearsal, many people simply wanted to skip. But as the auditorium slowly filled with the majority of the Senior grade, everyone seemed ready to forget about their weeks and get down to rehearsing. There were four different “fashion groups”, each act with a different musical number playing in the background of their catwalk. As rehearsal began, the scene could only be described as hectic. People were practicing their runway poses with their partners, the band was rehearsing in the background, and the groups frantically scrambled to get in line in time for their act. As we ran through the show for the next night I was filled with a mix of excitement and confusion. On the one hand, the band was playing amazingly and the dances were both entertaining and somewhat disturbing, but it also seemed as though there was no way that we would be able to pull this together into a relatively cohesive show by the following night. I didn’t know how it was possibly going to end up, but I knew that everyone was excited nonetheless.
The Show
On Friday night, all of the fashion show participants were instructed to meet in the Wagner room at 5:30 PM in order to prepare for the show at 7 PM. After doing our hair and makeup, my friends and I drove to New Canaan High School, still with very little idea of what was going to happen. However, after walking by several parents working tirelessly to set up concession stands and set up the stage, and being faced with an array of food and drinks immediately after walking into the Wagner room, I knew I had been mistaken to ever question New Canaan moms and organized events. Everything about the situation seemed calm, despite the fact that there must have been an insane amount of work put into the project. Everyone slowly arrived and socialized until the parents started to be seated, and we were brought to our dresses group by group to get ready. From that moment on, the experience was nonstop. Everyone shuffled into their getup, took pictures with their friends, and (unless needed on stage), was able to view the show from a livestream in the Wagner room. After watching a wildly impressive performance of Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” by Seniors Jeffrey Moore, Jack Defrancesco and Tommy Saitta, a chill-inducing rendition of “Shallow” by Seniors Charlotte Hamilton and Liam Ore, and a surprisingly well coordinated dance by the Boys Basketball team, my group was up. It might seem ridiculous, but I can honestly say that walking on stage in a ridiculously large ball gown while “This Love” by Maroon 5 was being sung by Christian and Nate Sibbett was probably one of the most fun experiences of high school. Once our act was over, we changed out of our dresses and watched the remainder of the show, only to return onstage all together at the end for a closing dance. The night went by in the blink of an eye, but I think that every participant can agree that it was one of the best times at NCHS. The parents that helped organize this show were amazing, and not only made an impressively cohesive show, but also agave the Seniors of NCHS a night to remember.
