BILLINGS – High school students enjoyed a celebration of another era Friday night at the Shrine Auditorium.
The West High Jazz Band played Big Band music from the ’30s and ’40s.
The jazz band hosted the event and included the West Winds Choir.
Close to 300 came to enjoy the music and even a little dancing.
“This is like the proms from 50, 60 years ago where people danced civilly,” said Dave Green, West High Choir teacher. “It’s a wonderful atmosphere. The swing era is possibly some of the greatest dance music that ever was.”
“it’s the highlight of the year for me for sure,” said Kendall Barrie, part of the choir. “It’s definitely a certain kind of high school student that still wants to do something like this. But it’s just the innocence of the whole age and just how much fun it is to relive the old days. A big part, at least for girls, is dressing up. We like to wear old 50’s dresses and put our hair real nice and stuff. It’s really fun.”
The Big Band dance has been a fundraiser for the West High jazz band for about 20 years.
