It is prom, after all

Gary Moskowitz

SANTA MONICA -- Eighteen-year-old James Williams summed up Hoover High

School’s 2002 senior prom quite nicely.

“They like to get their boogie on, plain and simple,” James said.

Most of the 492 seniors and guests who attended the big event Saturday

at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles spent the night on the dance floor.

Two deejays played hip hop, Top 40, reggae, salsa, Armenian music and

country, featuring artists like Snoop Doggy Dog, The Beastie Boys, Rob

Base, Jennifer Lopez and Usher.

The event, which cost the school more than $32,000, featured dancing

and dinner, which included teriyaki chicken, wild rice, rigatoni pasta

marinara, salad and desserts. Tickets for couples cost $155.

Prom attendees showed up in limousines or in their own cars and in a

variety of tuxedos and dresses. Tuxedos were predominantly black and

white with long ties instead of the traditional bow tie. A few of the

guys wore black-and-white wingtips, while one sported a pair of Chuck

Taylor athletic shoes.

Women’s dresses ranged from long, bulky gowns to short, tight dresses.

Some women wore hats and many wore long, elegant gloves. Rashel

Manoukian, 18, started getting ready for the prom at about 4 p.m. by

first getting her hair done for about $50.

“It’s the last dance of the year and we are all about to graduate.

It’s prom, so I wouldn’t miss it,” Rashel said. “But it’s really about

the after-parties. We’ll stay up all night and probably watch the sun

come up.”

Post-prom plans for many included hotel-room parties in Pasadena or

near the beach. Many seniors planned to stay up all night and celebrate,

while others would turn the event into an entire weekend by going to San

Diego or Big Bear.

Rashel was one of many students at Saturday’s prom whose date is not a

Hoover student.

Senior Miro Grigorian came with his girlfriend, Vicki Ghazarian, who

is 19 and a graduate of Glendale High School. But Ghazarian didn’t mind

coming back for another senior prom at all.

“It feels like I’m a senior again, so this is really fun,” Ghazarian

said.

Guests to the prom were greeted by security, who scanned them with a

hand-held metal detector. Women were asked to remove lipsticks and

eyeliners from their purses. And once inside after 9 p.m., all guests

were to stay until the end of the event at midnight.