On a cold Friday night in early January, 488 screaming, writhing, running school kids already fill the Waynesville Recreation Center. A small line has formed at the door where even more kids file in, handing over $5 which will earn them access to the ongoing dance and pizza party.

“We’re going to cut it off at 500,” says Tim Plowman, Recreation Center Program Supervisor, raising his voice above the din while his eyes travel across the crowd.

The dance — a monthly event open to all Haywood County students ages 7 to 15 — comes complete with a DJ, spinning light ball, and activities for those who don’t feel like dancing, including foosball and a movie. It’s popularity among the school kids is evident, as it provides an opportunity to hang out with friends and meet new ones in a setting far removed from the school yard and more exciting than another Friday night spent in front of the TV.

“This is about the latest that I usually stay up on a Friday or Saturday,” said Hannah McVeigh, 9, a student at Hazelwood Elementary.

Sitting with her back against the gymnasium wall, knees scrunched against her chest, McVeigh keeps a watchful eye on the throngs of dancers filling the middle of the floor, looking for her friends.

“There’s seven people here that I know,” she says.

Those people don’t include the one boy she was hoping to dance with.

“He didn’t show up,” she says.

Of course, there’s plenty more to choose from. A gaggle of girls in tight jeans and glitter emblazoned T-shirts practice undulating, dance team style moves while a smattering of boys, sitting by themselves — yet together in their loneliness — watch from the bleachers.

A group of older kids stand in the middle of the gym, arms crossed, eyes casting sideways glances at the mayhem that surrounds them, while a few feet away chaperone and rec center employee Leander Dumas, 29, towers above the crowd.

“For the most part we try to have enough chaperones here to keep the confrontations down,” Dumas yells over the strains of Gwen Stefani’s thumping ode to biological clocks, “What You Waiting For.”

In general everyone seems to get along — to either leave alone or be left alone. The age split works two ways: the 15-year-olds do a little bit of babysitting, the 7-year-olds keep the 15 year olds from acting a little too much their age. Sometimes, though, adolescence rears its head.

Refusing to make eye contact, her head propped on one hand, wrist bedecked with black jelly braclets, Canton Middle School eighth-grader Carey Jones sighs when asked what brought her out to the dance.

“Because I want to be here,” she says flatly.

She huffs out something about coming here with friends before jumping up from her seat on the bleachers and joining a cluster of girls standing on the dance floor.

On the far side of the gym a circle four kids deep has formed, in the center of which boys and girls are taking turns showcasing their moves. A girl is pushing kids back trying to make room for a baggily dressed fellow with a gold chain and slick black hair. He’s got his own brand of hip-hop moves, and sticks his right hand under his shirt to simulate a heartbeat. The circle loves it, squeals with delight.

As the older girls argue about who will dance next, half-pint sized little boys pop into the circle momentarily stealing the spotlight with their old-school break dancing. Their energy and unabashed style elicits a few sideways grins from adult onlookers.

Across the room, Terrence Coleman, 11, a fifth-grader at North Canton Elementary, hobbles over to the bleachers to catch a breather. Rubbing his ankle and fidgeting with his shoe, he looks up with a smile.

“I’m OK,” he says.

A little too much action on the dance floor has caught up with him, bringing an early end to his dance dates with the girls.

“I danced with a few, but I got tired and I stopped,” Coleman says.

Here with his brothers — ages 10 and 15 — Coleman is facing changes to his dancing days.

Beginning Feb. 4, recreation center dances will be broken up into two separate age groups with dances held on alternating months — third-, fourth- and fifth-graders one month; sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders the next.

“That’s how we’re adapting to continue to meet the need,” Plowman said. “We’ve outgrown our capacity to handle the numbers.”

Dances will be advertised in the local schools in an effort to bolster age appropriate crowds.

“As long as it’s properly supervised, which I have understood it has been so far, it’s an excellent way for them to entertain themselves,” said Chuck Francis, chairman of the Haywood County School Board.

With the age separation Plowman hopes to be able to host more kids overall, just smaller, more alike groups at each dance, as some parents aren’t comfortable dropping off their youngsters to hang out with kids sometimes twice their age.

“What we’re trying to do is maintain the quality and maintain our ability to work with the numbers that are here, and in addition to that work with the needs of the parents,” Plowman said.

Parents are welcome to attend the dances and serve as volunteer chaperones, something Plowman said was much needed. Chaperones participate in brief training sessions offered at 6 p.m. the night before a dance just to familiarize themselves with the recreation center and receive a quick lesson in conflict resolution. Volunteers are asked to contact the recreation center to register for training for the upcoming third-, fourth- and fifth-grade dance by Wednesday, Feb. 2.

Phoebe Pace brought her 10-year-old and two 15-year-old daughters to last month’s dance on the condition that she would stay — out of their way, but stay nonetheless.

“This was their first time, and I was real hesitant,” Pace said. “I will bring them back, but I will be with them. I’m a very protective mom.”

Dances require a tremendous amount of planning and a fairly significant financial investment. Currently the rec center brings in 10 to 15 extra staff members, paid an average of $8 per hour, to chaperone dances, hires a DJ at a cost of $350, and buys enough pizza, drinks, cups and napkins to feed the masses — dancers’ $5 admission also buys one slice and one drink. Another $20 an hour goes to keep a Waynesville Police Officer on guard by the door.

“It pretty well eats it up,” Plowman said of the funds raised by admission.

This time, Plowman is getting some help from a group of recreational therapy students from Western Carolina University. A group of about 10 students from Assistant Professor Brad Wardlaw’s leadership and group dynamics class in the Health and Human Performance Department has taken on planning the dance as a service project. Another group will plan March’s dance for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.

“I try to get my kids to have hands-on experience with what they’ll be doing later on in life,” Wardlaw said.

The service project will account for 20 percent of the students’ grade. They are required to keep journals about the project as they plan for everything from bathroom security to age appropriate music, games and food service.

“The point I’m trying to drive home with this lesson is do they really want to be a recreational professional,” Wardlaw said.

Students have met with Plowman, toured the recreation center and begun delegating activities. For now, two things are certain — the dance will have a Valentine’s Day theme and the movie shown will most likely be “Harry Potter.” The problem is finding a way to get the youngsters moving.

“I don’t think a lot of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders are going to be dancing a whole lot,” said Lisa Groce, a junior recreational therapy major in charge of organizing the dance itself. “We might do some funny dances like the Chicken Dance or stuff like that.”