Ah, Powder Puff, the age-old tradition of high school boys and girls in a gender-bender war of the ages. Powder Puff is a tradition that many of our parents can remember, though not as it used to be. Boys don’t just pull on skirts and randomly dance on the field anymore. Powder Puff here at Walt Whitman High School is very competitive. Weeks before the official date, Powder Puff boys and girls are practicing and perfecting their dances or plays. The boys’ choreographers have to jam-pack as much hilarious dancing as they can into the 5-minute time slot allotted to each group. Powder Puff is exhilarating for all who attend, whether they are participating or watching from the stands. This year’s Powder Puff was record-breaking with the highest scoring girls team, as well as one of the only times both junior boys and junior girls won.

Powder Puff at Whitman is a rite-of-passage. Nearly everyone attends and the stands are always filled. The group of junior boys this year was particularly close knit, and they all had a good time. The junior boys worked especially hard to perfect their dance, which was choreographed by fellow juniors Serena Halajian, Kelsey McDonald and Caroline Tomaselli. These three girls took on the challenge of controlling a team of junior boys and turning them into finely tuned, professional and (somewhat) synchronized dancers while making the funniest of gestures. This dance has to be well thought out; a jumbled mess will incite laughter at the boys while a well-done routine will inspire laughter with the juniors. The dance also has to be funny while conforming to the school’s policy of “appropriate” so that parents may comfortably bring their children of all ages. The junior boys met at Central Field after school to prepare their dance routine that centered on “Shakira v. Beyoncé.” Edgar Henriquez portrayed Shakira while Franklin Clase imitated Beyoncé. Despite rain and cancellations, the boys managed to put together an awesome 5-minute performance for halftime, which resulted in them winning the dance category of Powder Puff.

The junior boys at Whitman have worked so hard this year in hopes of attaining what seemed to be the impossible goal of winning against the seniors. Seniors have almost always won in the past, leading to rumors of the competition being rigged. This was proven to be untrue, however, based on the events that transpired that weekend. Both teams did really well and deserved every bit of applause and excitement from the crowd. So next year, as you watch these boys do their best to act like girls, appreciate all the work that goes into the event; it’s more than just glitter and makeup. It’s Powder Puff.