In middle school - 7th and 8th grade, I went to all of the dances. Buys stood on one side, girls on the other, but we had fun all the same. In HS, I never had a girlfriend, and so I didnt really see the point. The only dance I went to in HS was the senior year homecoming dance, because I was on the football team, and we all went ad had a fun time.
Looking back, I do wish that I had gone at least to my junior formal and senior prom. Yes, the costs of entry were high, but many kids were simply proud to have cars, and so limmos were only for the vainest of girls - most kids drove... usually so they could go down to the shore after.
I had a great time in HS, had a LOT of fun, and still have a lot of great friends from back then. However, I kind of wish I had been involved in that stuff... Then again, my fiancee went with her best friend (2 years younger) and doesnt really care that she ever went - as if had she not gone, she wouldnt had missed anything.
probably unless you have a girl that youre really into who is going with you, and your friends have lots of fun plans for a get together afterward, it will be little more than a 'grass is greener' scenario... with little benefit to going or not.
JMH