Prom Around the World - Celebrating the End of Secondary School Education

Most are familiar with the drill: the last dance, king and queen, ball gowns and tuxedos - it's that scene from the end of every American teenage movie since the 80s. Prom is widely considered a decidedly American affair but is that actually true?

Prom is the final party a Class experiences before graduation. If ever there was a fountain of youth, it's the Prom. The event could be viewed as the first step on the bridge into life after high school (Graduation, of course, is the final one). The night is filled with imagination and partying but it has a sense of elegance and maturity about it, too. In this sense, prom is a universal affair. Nearly every country's secondary schools have a last dance for graduating students. Names and traditions of these dances at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prom. I used to attend an all-girls' school in London, England. Even they had a prom - called "Leaver's Ball" - honoring upper-sixth form graduating students.

The magnitude of these events varies, however. In some countries, Prom isn't to big a deal. Even within the United States, 'promitude' changes from place to place. While researching, I discovered a documentary (http://www.snagfilms.com/films/watch/the_worlds_best_prom/?utm_source=www.worldsbestprom.com) about Racine, Wisconsin. Since 1953, Prom has been the business of this population 85 000 town. All five high schools feed into one $30 000 - budgeted post prom hosted by the Rotary Club. The whole event is televised and commentated. One group of seniors rode an elephant to the night's events in 1988. According to the Class of 2000 seniors interviewed for the documentary, you stick out 12 years of Racine education just to go to Prom. Others just have prom in the school gym and go home.

Perhaps the truest mark of prom's universality is that similar events are now held in former Soviet Union countries. During the Cold War, the Soviets observed Prom as an inherently American, capitalist endeavor - and heavily discouraged them in Eastern Bloc schools. Many of these countries, including Slovenia, Lithuania and Slovakia, now have their own Last Dance traditions.

Dear Graduating Class of 2010ers: Congratulations! And when you attend your Last Dance, think about how cool it is that our global peers are doing the same thing. :)

the prom chair

http://www.promguide.com/articles/high_school_prom.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prom

http://www.worldsbestprom.com/