Homeschooler Prom 1

A friend of mine from way back published an eye-catching photo of her homeschooled daughter Faustina at an old-fashioned American prom, and I was intrigued. Part of the project of this website is to meet other organizers of traditional Catholic social dances, so Adele put me in touch with a woman involved with the Holy Angels Academy prom in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Holy Angels is the oldest continuously operating independent Catholic school in the United States,” wrote Sarah. “We generally open our prom to local Homeschool kids, as well as two other smaller Catholic school students, along with their guests.”

American proms traditionally have themes, and this year the name of Holy Angels’ prom–taking place tomorrow (May 10, 2025)–is “Voyage on the High Seas.” Sarah told me that Holy Family gets the word out through Facebook and contacts with Homeschool groups. The attendees have to have a permission slip signed by parents, of course, and they themselves have to sign onto a Code of Conduct.

“For dancing there is a mix of swing dancing, line dancing, and modern do whatever,” Sarah told me. There are no rules about Who asks Whom, and she admits that actual partnering-up is not the norm.

“To be honest there is a lot of boys dancing in a group and girls dancing in a group,” she wrote.

That said, swing is a thing, both because teachers in the know (including one who went to Christendom College, famously swing-y) have on occasion taught the Holy Angels kids some moves and because Homeschoolers dance it.

“Many of the homeschoolers know how to swing dance but I don’t know where they are learning it,” said Sarah.

My own hypothesis is YouTube, and I shall now indulge in a moment of self-congratulation in taking what seemed at the time like a massive risk and inviting professional Lindy Hoppers to teach my group. I had heard that swing rings throughout Trad Cath circles in the USA (and, equally important here, France), and I thought it only fair that local homeschooled teens got a chance to learn.

I haven’t seen a need to write out a Code of Conduct for my mostly adult group. Everyone knows Gentlemen Ask Ladies, and Ladies are Polite in their Yea or Nay. The dress code for MMWP is usually Church Clothes, which is easy to enforce as the vast majority of us come to sessions straight from church. Occasionally I remind the group that if Anyone Does Anything That Makes Them Uncomfortable, Please TELL Me and I will Sort it Out.

There is also a big embarrassing and therefore unspoken rule that Men Must Not Dress Like Hobos, and Ladies Must Not Dress Like Tramps. In contrast, Holy Angels Academy puts their dress code in black and white for their teenage dancers and is very specific:

Ladies’ Attire:

● Strapless, backless, or bare midriff dresses are not permitted. ● Skirts, blouses, and dresses must not be tight or clinging. ● Necklines should be no lower than four fingers below the collarbone, and the normal undergarment line on the back should be covered. ● Undergarments are not to be visible. ● All dresses and skirts must reach below the knee. ● Slits on dresses should be no higher than the knee. ● Dress shoes or sneakers may be worn.

Gentlemen’s Attire:

● A dress shirt must be worn. ● Dress pants are required (no jeans or khakis). ● A belt, tie, and socks must be worn. ● Coats [ed. jackets] are encouraged but optional. ● Dress shoes or sneakers may be worn. ● Writing or emblems on undershirts should not be visible.

Nota Bene: I wore a strapless dress to the Eastertide Dance, but nobody could tell because I was also swaddled in tartan.

Holy Angels Academy also has rules about guests, music, dancing and deportment that I think worth recording, too:

Holy Angels Academy is pleased to welcome high school students from Immaculata Classical Academy, Corpus Christi Classical Academy, and local homeschool programs. Students from these groups may invite a guest who is not affiliated with Holy Angels or the other invited groups. All guests must be under 20 and have electronically signed parental permission. Guests arriving later than 30 minutes after the start time will not be admitted, and guests may not depart earlier than 15 minutes before the conclusion of the event.

Music, Dancing, and Behavior

● Students are expected to remain in the event area for the duration of the dance. ● Illegal substances are not permitted in the event space. ● Final approval of music is up to the administration or designee. Only music on the pre-approved list will be played at the dance. ● Displays of romantic affection, such as romantic hugging, kissing, and handholding are prohibited at the event space, as is dancing not in keeping with what is becoming of a Catholic lady or a gentleman. ● Guests may sit in any chair at any table they choose during the event. ● Violations of these standards will be addressed and may result in expulsion from the event.

I gather from this that the music is recorded, and although in American films high school proms feature bands, my own Graduation Formal had just recorded music, too. As I search my high school memories, the only events with live acts were “Battle[s] of the Bands,” and if we danced at those, it was in the aisles.

Naturally I prefer live music to recorded at dances, for a host of reasons. However, I do like the local custom in the Edinburgh swing-dance community of playing recorded music between sets of the featured band. Thus, the dancing goes on for the length of their events.

In Scotland (and I think England), what Americans (and now Canadians) think of as Prom is called Leavers’ Ball, and it is known as Studniówka in Poland, where it takes place roughly 100 days before the guests’ final high school exams. It appears, however, that the Holy Angels Academy Prom is for all students, not just seniors/leavers/graduands. At my girls’ high school we had an annual event like that called the “Semi-Formal.” Alas, I never went to the Semi-Formal, for I never summoned up the courage to invite a boy to it. (Some dashing girls, dispensing with tradition just went together.) But I did go to my Graduation Formal and to this day I am still friends with my date. (If my mother scans and sends me a photo, I will be happy to show you my dress, which she made.)

At any rate, I think it is safe to say that Prom is such a traditional custom and so steeped in local histories that it is splendid that Homeschoolers within driving distance of Louisville, KY, can go to one and that it is run according to Catholic sensibilities. If you have seen the wrong kind of American film, you will assume all Proms are steeped in vice, but clearly they aren’t.

So congratulations to Holy Angels Academy and their guests on what promises to be an excellent event. It takes place tomorrow, and I hope everyone has fun.

(Homeschooler Prom 2 will be about THE American Catholic Homeschooler Prom, which is the Seton Graduation Dance, taking place in Front Royal on May 31 this year.)