While students were buying dresses and planning after parties, the JSB dance committee was hard at work. Planning, organizing, and decorating, committed to making sure the night went smoothly.
JSB took place on Jan. 31 at Gilley’s Dallas. Tickets for the Steering Committee, made up of students who donated to the dance, went on sale in Oct. and general admissions tickets went on sale Jan. 7.
“There’s a sponsorship level, there’s the steering committee level and the general admission level [of tickets]. There’s an add-on for any ticket to upgrade to VIP,” mother of student board member Clara Erwin and co-chair of JSB, Dansby Erwin said.
Erwin has been on the steering committee since her freshman year, which primes her to be on the board senior year. The board members and their parents have complete responsibility over planning the dance.
“All of the decisions are a collective agreement and just a kind of communication between each other and our parents,” Erwin said.
JSB is far more than just a party. All money earned from the tickets go to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
“The dance is all about raising funds for the education programs that are held through the symphony,” Public relations manager and JSB board member Deborah Brown said.
The JSB committee doesn’t only plan the dance but also participates in other service projects through the Dallas Symphony Orchestra league.
“We did a service projects where we made gift bags for the Young Strings and Young Musician program,” Erwin said. “These gifts they receive after each performance are just one way we try to support them.”
When the JSB committee first started the community was unaware of the impact it had on the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and were unaware of the other projects the JSB committees participated in.
“It’s so important to get word out on the accomplishments that they do during the year. I started doing publicity about a year in advance to ensure students and parents are well informed of all of the impact beyond JSB,” Brown said.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra League has been around for almost 80 years. Soon following the start of DSOL, JSB was created. JSB is now celebrating its 68th year.
“This fundraiser is one of the longest running in the Symphony’s history,” Dansby Erwin said.
A lot of the planning is focused on budgeting, as some of the money that is fundraised through tickets and donations go to paying for the dance.
“All the decorations are very minimal so the most expensive part is the entertainment,” Brown said.
The JSB dance committee opted to include a live DJ, raffle tickets, and more fun events.
“We just want it to be a fun, safe environment. The casinos continue to be a great success, and we find that lighting and music is what is most important,” Dansby Erwin said.
The JSB committee is also advertising a showing that Dallas Symphony Orchestra has coming up in spring where they will play the Top Gun Maverik music. People of all ages can go watch the shows, supported by funds raised during the dance.
“The orchestra is going to show the movie and then they will also play the movie soundtrack,” Brown said.
JSB may be a dance but it is also a fundraiser that has benefited many young musicians. Through JSB, these students get high class education and have the opportunity to create a future in Orchestra.
“Last year JSB moved to be the top fundraiser, raising over $625,000 and including all the other fundraisers the committee has done, it’s benefited over 6800 students,” Brown said.
