By Emma Papangelopolou
What’s the most iconic part of the stereotypical “teenage dream”? Prom, of course. The big night where everyone has their date, dresses in their finest attire, and two lucky students are crowned prom king and queen. But prom is an American tradition, so we don’t have it here in Switzerland… which would be a shame if we didn’t have something even better!
The Bal des Neiges, or BDN for short, is an annual event for high school Ecolint students across all three campuses, typically held in late January or early February. The idea of a winter ball (at the President Wilson Hotel, no less) may sound intimidatingly fancy at first, especially when the dress code is black tie obligatory (cough, cough, Mr. Hetherington, that includes staff as well) and the entry fee is a pretty overpriced 67 francs. But in reality, BDN is just one big party where everyone lets go of their teenage awkwardness and dances like nobody’s watching.
Iconic songs like Lush Life by Zara Larsson or Gimme Gimme Gimme by ABBA are played so loud you can feel the bass pulsing through your veins, as well as more recent hits such as Jump by Blackpink or Die with a Smile by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. What makes BDN unique is the strong sense of community felt as students from all three campuses come together, dancing and jumping and snapping photos like they don’t have five tests they need to study for the next day. Guys throw their friends into the air, girls regret wearing heels after dancing for three hours straight, and, despite Willem’s many attempts to stop them, people climb onto each other’s shoulders with disturbingly little care for their safety.
But maybe joining the screaming, bouncing mass of people on the dance floor isn’t for you. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, and sometimes you just need to take a break. Luckily, there’s a small door to the side leading to a “quiet room”, furnished with small couches and seats for students to rest their tired legs, and equipped with soundproof walls (or at least, as soundproof as you can get when the DJ is blasting music at full volume right next door) for students to rest their ears.
The Bal des Neiges may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s worth going at least once, especially with your friends, for a truly unforgettable experience.