Spirit Club and the junior class of 2015 hosted the annual Winter Ball in Nichols Atrium on Jan. 18 from 8 to 11 p.m., incorporating this year’s theme, “The Great Gatsby.”

Dim lighting, elegant glass chandeliers, and vibrant formal dresses welcomed the attendees of this year’s dance as they stepped into the decorated hall of Nichols.

“This year we are trying to incorporate part of upstairs and the Atrium, so the decorations are going to be different because there are different designs and different themes every year,” said Julia Wang (11), the Co-President of Spirit Club.

The junior class aided Spirit Club in planning and arranging Winter Ball, which has usually been done solely by Spirit Club in past years.

“The junior class is sponsoring [the dance] as a fundraiser to make some money for their class as well. We’ve done that differently this year,” said Activities Coordinator Kerry Enzensperger.

Golden drapes created a canopy over the heads of students as they milled around on the dance floor. Attendees of the dance sipped at glasses of apple cider while standing near tables of chocolate-covered strawberries and other delicacies. Other students chose to enjoy themselves by dancing to popular tunes played by the DJ.

“Spirit Club does a really good job with the decorations, and they really transform the atmosphere of the room,” said Alana Shamlou (12), who has attended Winter Ball since freshman year.

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The junior class and Spirit Club said they struggled with ticket sales, despite the decorations and impressive atmosphere of the event.

“The problem this year is [the dance] is on a three-day weekend, there’s a debate tournament, and people are worried about SATs. And there’s a wrestling tournament and volleyball tournament in addition,” Enzensperger said.

Low attendance may also be attributed to the price of the tickets to Winter Ball. Ticket prices were lowered this year to an initial price of $25: in the past, sales began at 35 dollars. Prices for the dance are high due to the cost of setting up and decorating the hall for the event; this year’s budget totaled to about $6000.

“The tickets are $25, and the Winter Concert tickets or Dance Show tickets are about $8; I think it’s kind of expensive for just going and dancing,” Hazal Gurcan (9) said.

Freshmen were more reluctant to attend the dance as well due to rumors floating around days prior to the ball.

“I know a lot of freshmen think that Winter Ball is a couples’ dance, but it’s really not,” Haley Tran (9) said. “It’s really fun to just go out with your friends and hang out and dance.”

Despite struggles regarding ticket sales and pricing, the number of people attending the ball increased due to tickets sold on the night of the dance.

Winter Ball is the last formal dance of the year for many freshmen and sophomores. The club-funded Sadie Hawkins’ Dance has not been confirmed, and the annual Prom is exclusively for juniors and seniors unless otherwise invited.