The Sunny View Retirement Center in Cupertino was decorated Saturday, March 23 with a blue and white balloon arch. Senior Senior Prom, an outreach event organized by Community Leadership, was planned as a way to reach out to the elderly community.

Senior Pooja Pandey, who helped plan the event, explained that the theme of the dance was created based on the styles of music and dancing that residents would have experienced while they were in high school. A student jazz band played at the front of the room throughout the evening, providing both ambience and dance music.

Though leadership usually promotes events through Facebook, Pandey said this event called for a different approach. Instead of mass advertising an event that would not cater to everyone, Pandey said, members of leadership first thought of people who they knew would be interested and then told those people to reach out to others.

Sunny View resident Ruth Hutton remembers her own prom, which was held in the gymnasium of her school in Danville, Ill. She graduated in 1941. “It was exciting to get a corsage and have a boy pick you up [and] take you to the dance,” Hutton said. “It was fun. Made us feel grown up.”

While Sunny View resident Richard Brandon never attended dances in high school due to his timid demeanor, he remembered going to dances after meeting his wife. They both attended San Francisco Junior College, and enjoyed dancing at different hotels in San Francisco.

Despite the fact that she is now unable to dance, resident Lee Marlowe attended to hear the jazz. “It’s our music,” Marlowe said. “[And] each generation loves their own music.”