snowball dance?

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Jas

Jas

DJ Extraordinaire
May 22, 2013
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A few years ago I discovered the snowball dance as a way to break the ice and guarantee a full dance floor. It's also something I can do to be more interactive with guests.

The problem is, ever since I put it on my planning form as an option, clients check no, they don't want it. Some weddings don't need extra tricks to get the dancing started but most of mine do.

Should I remove it from the planning form and do it anyway when needed? Anyone else do the snowball dance? Any other good methods of getting a full dance floor?
 
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Must be a regional thing.
I never heard of it.
Could you "splain" it?
 
I never heard of it either. What do you do throw snowballs at people dancing? LOL.
 
From my planning form: Start with the wedding party dance and after a couple of minutes have each of them go out and bring someone else to the dance floor. Each time the DJ says "snowball" the number of dancers will multiply!

also known as the Multiplication dance.
 
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Local high school has a dance once a year called snowball dance. Like another prom ?
 
I do a snowball dance here locally every year. It's a senior's only event where their parents serve them a really nice meal and then they dance afterwards.
As far as the actual snowball dance your referring to, I've never done that. I really think good music is what fills a dance floor, and a specific dance shouldn't be necessary.
 
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Jas said:
From my planning form: Start with the wedding party dance and after a couple of minutes have each of them go out and bring someone else to the dance floor. Each time the DJ says "snowball" the number of dancers will multiply!

also known as the Multiplication dance.
Click to expand...

I don't say snowball - but I usually have a phrase, word or action that I've told the group that I'll use. Could be 'Wedding', could be 'Next', could be 'Grab someone else', could be 'We need more people', could be anything.
 
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Wow...I remember this from my early days as a DJ...some DJs were talking about this as a way to get people on the dance floor. I didn't think it ever really took off in popularity.

I do have the dollar dance on my planning form since it's a "tradition" with about maybe 10% of my clientele (Years ago was closer to 30% of clients)...But I would have never thought to put the snowball dance on my form. I thought it was an idea some DJs were trying back in the early 2000s. ...Honestly, I don't need it to get a dance floor going these days. Outside of the rare wedding like the last minute one I just did this past weekend, I usually have a good crowd that is into dancing.

I think it can be a good way to get people to the dance floor with a reserved crowd, BUT it really depends.

I always suggest the "Married Couples Dance" as a nice ice breaker after the parent dances. ...Especially if they have any one that has been married over 40 years in attendance.
 
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Jas said:
The problem is, ever since I put it on my planning form as an option, clients check no, they don't want it.
Click to expand...

That's because it's a long-time children's and roller rink dance. For people in the know they associate it with middle-schoolers and bat mitzvahs.
 
Bobcat, I do explain what it is on the form and add that it's a good icebreaker etc. It looks like many young couples just think it's cheezy. I've had couples specify they don't want their guests coerced into dancing and I understand where they're coming from. My belief is that guests will have more fun if they dance at least once, and the reception will be more memorable.
 
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You said in the beginning that you have to usually find a way to get people to want to come on the dance floor. If this is happening to you regularly, I think you need to look elsewhere besides gimmicks to get people to dance. How are you at events connecting with the music that people want to dance to at an event? I ask this question because not all events and crowds are the same. What might work for one crowd may not be what another crowd wants. How are you at reading a crowd?

I ask that question because I was an event where some of the DJs gear wasn't top of the line but he did a great job because he could read the crowd. He was playing stuff in the beginning that nobody would dance to and once he switched the music up to what the crowd would dance to, he rocked the party the rest of the time!

Then there was a surprise 50th birthday celebration that this lady gave her husband. That DJ had some great gear but didn't know what to do in terms of the music he played. The event was from 8pm-1am. He didn't know that in the beginning you play stuff that will get the older people to dance first because I don't see a lot of people in their late 50's up into their 70's staying there till 1am. So get them out of the way first and then you play stuff that the younger people there will enjoy.

One other thing that comes into play is not being a gig whore. That's someone who will take on a job but is not the right DJ for the job. For me if it's something I feel my company can't handle or just don't feel good about doing the event I will pass.
 
OK, you call it an interactive icebreaker a gimmick. If so then reading the crowd is a gimmick too. "Everything's a gimmick" Jimi Hendrix
 
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It (The Snowball Dance) used to be a regular for me 15-20 years ago. As is with anything new and innovative, overuse or improper impostor technique killed it. I don't miss it and in retrospect, think it a bit hokey, pokey.
 
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