The Inferno themed turnabout dance is Saturday, Feb. 21 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. This year, Varsity Club and Student Council are working together making efforts to revamp the dance and the week leading up to it.

Two years ago, Turnabout was cancelled due to a low amount of ticket purchases. Last year, it occurred, but attendance still paled in comparison to Homecoming, with just a few hundred students, according to Varsity Club co-sponsor Ms. Hiffman.

“Everyone wants to go to Homecoming,” Ms. Hiffman said. Homecoming also gains more popularity from the school events the week of. This year, Varsity Club chose to have Turnabout the day after a pack-the-place basketball game in hopes to make it a comparable spirit week.

“Last year, when we went, it was so much fun,” said Margaret Kaufman, senior. “It was really chill and informal compared to Homecoming.”

“A few student leaders from Central and I went to a leadership camp in California over the summer and got great and creative ideas for how to boost anticipation for the dances,” said junior and Varsity Club President Beth Schaller. This includes the Spirit Week leading up to the dance, similar to Homecoming’s, and, true to tradition, a pep rally on Friday.

Varsity Club considered electing a “Turnabout Court” comprised of underclassmen to offset the senior-exclusive Homecoming Court, but decided to have “Spirit Teams” instead, with competitions to get students involved and excited for the dance. Anybody can sign up with a group of friends or a club (with 4-6 people), as long as they participate in all the events during Spirit Week.

This is the first year Varsity Club is trying the Spirit Teams. The winning team will be crowned and receive a free prom ticket for their senior year, various gift cards, a plaque with their team picture displayed in the hallway, and a “Hinsdale Central Spirit Package”. But all participating team members get a t-shirt, a Turnabout ticket, special seating at the basketball game with unlimited food, and a VIP room at the dance with food.

“[The spirit teams] will participate in lip sync battles, like the Jimmy Fallon show,” Ms. Hiffman said. Each team gets a list of songs ahead of time, but don’t know which one they will have to perform. They will then participate in a lip synch battle at the pep rally to their selected music.

“[The actual dance] should be similar to the past dances,” Schaller said. It will be held in the field house.

Some students have considered Turnabout “a joke” in the past, but this year things are looking up.

“We measure success by how many people at the dance have a good time and give positive feedback,” Schaller said.

Mrs. Hiffman explained that the point of the dance is to give students something fun, silly, and uniting to do rather than to make a profit off of the dance sales.

“I’m so excited for Turnabout,” Kaufman said. “It is way more fun than people think and could be said to be a highlight of my second semester. Everyone should go.”

“We strive to meet everyone’s wishes but, of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Schaller said. “We hope everyone appreciates all the hard work put into this dance, they stay safe, and have a blast.”

Although not stated on the posters advertising the dance, the encouraged attire is red or black to go along with the theme. Tickets are $10.