Last Saturday (Jan. 16)  about 200 people, students and adults alike, poured into the high school cafeteria to engage in an evening filled with swing dancing and jazz music. The night was modeled from the legendary New York Cotton Club, a roaring nightspot in the Harlem district that opened in 1923. Throughout the decade the club had many musical guests, including Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters and Cab Calloway. Neenah’s Cotton Club featured its very own jazz band, with special solos from senior Becca Miserlian, who sang three songs including “All Of Me” by Billie Holiday, and junior Leo Te Tai on the tenor saxophone.

The event also included a buffet-style dinner that included creamy macaroni and cheese, tender roast beef, boiled red potatoes and an extensive dessert table spread with cookies and cakes of a variety of flavors. After all of the guests had had their fill of food, the dancing portion of the night began with a swing dance lesson from 2012 Neenah Alumnus Ian Oestreich and a partner. A wide range of skill and talent was put on display, but despite any amount of grace or clumsiness, everyone was smiling and laughing. When asked what was best about Cotton Club, junior and tenor saxophonist Leo Te Tai was blunt: “I like that I have the excuse to dress up and show off.” Lucy Pabst, senior, said that what makes Cotton Club special is “the atmosphere. There’s no drama or crying and everyone comes happy and leaves even happier.” The night concluded with the ever classic “In The Mood” by Glenn Miller, and as couples and groups gathered their coats and endured the frigid weather everyone seemed to be in a golden mood.