Which do you find harder?

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djcrazychris

djcrazychris

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Jun 12, 2018
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We had some discussion yesterday about the idea of implementing the pre dance dancefloor....a half hour or so of dance before the festivities really even start...pre cake cutting...etc...

It brought up a question in my mind....

Do you find it harder to "build" a dancefloor.... or "re-build" a dancefloor

So lets say youve built an amazing floor... with people who were antsy and couldnt wait to party... they get it out of their system...and sit back down...have dinner...or cake...or whatever.... maybe a game happens....or a series of special dances that are all ballads... Do you find it harder to rebuild excitement at that point....or go the traditional way of culminating the traditions and festivities with this big energy burst of the dancefloor finally opening...

just a topic for discussion....no one is wrong or right...

cc
 
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I don't find it hard at all 90% of the time. 10% of the time, the crowd is either made up of a lot of older folks, or it's simply not a dancing crowd.

With long weddings over 6 hours, it can be hard to "Rebuild the dance floor" because what happens is the crowd has some point where they just take a break and end up mingling.
 
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I think it all depends on the crowd and what they're used to or are in need of at the time. Some crowds need the breaks because they're not used or have the desire to dance for long periods of times without some sort of stop in action. Whereas some crowds can go all night long without needing a break and at that point it's all about maintaining the momentum. Being that I've worked in many different states (I think I am at 14 or 15 now), I can say from experience that each one can be equally beneficial and equally challenging. In jersey many are used to a stop in the action... but as long as you start off the right way, you'll have a packed floor and going from 0-100 in energy in no time. Likewise, I can go to philly the next day and have a 3 hr dance set that never dies down. The skill involved is knowing how to read a crowd and the moment you sense a shift in momentum or dynamics, knowing how to bring it back to that level where it keeps people on the floor.
 
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I don't find it overly difficult to build or re-build a dance floor. However, if I have my choice, once the dancing starts, I don't want to stop for any purpose. When a bride wants to dance, then cut cake, dance then toss bouquet, dance then do toasts, dance then do fake exit, then dance and etc. is like making the dancing feel like a yo-yo. I dislike all the stop and start stuff.

And what happens during those "time outs" some guests will leave. But generally I can re-energize the dance floor fairly easy.
 
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Question. If you do a dance set at the beginning of the event, are you starting it before the couple has had a chance to have their First Dance? Around here, it seems disrespectful to begin dancing before the couple have had their time in the spotlight.
 
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rickryan.com said:
Question. If you do a dance set at the beginning of the event, are you starting it before the couple has had a chance to have their First Dance? Around here, it seems disrespectful to begin dancing before the couple have had their time in the spotlight.
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I can’t speak for everyone as I’ve seen open dancing before a couples introductions happen... but for me, the dancing would always happen after the 1st dance. Not always directly after... it could be intros, first dance, parent dances, blessing, toasts, dancing, food, dancing, food, etc... or first dance, dancing, blessing, first course, toasts, main course, parent dances, dancing. A number of different ways to accomplish the same overall goal of starting some sort of dancing earlier in the night.
 
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djcrazychris said:
Do you find it harder to "build" a dancefloor.... or "re-build" a dancefloor
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It depends why the dance floor died. But I generally think rebuilding is a bit trickier.

One of the most awkward moments of balance for me is after the cake has been cut, and is being served in the middle of a dance set. There is a natural break to have guests view the cake cutting, and then a 10-15 minute lull - depending on the caterer - in the energy. You can try to re-fire the dance floor right there, but many guests will choose cake over dancing in that moment. If you have something like a shoe game, you can fill the time, but very few of my couple want to do a game like that.

So I tend to use that time as a break in the energy, and perhaps bury bad requests that I otherwise "have to" play. Give them 2-4 songs to eat, and then start the rebuilding process.

I don't have trouble getting them back... but knowing how long to give people to eat their cake is an interesting balance to make sure the room doesn't feel boring.
 
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Albatross said:
It depends why the dance floor died. But I generally think rebuilding is a bit trickier.

One of the most awkward moments of balance for me is after the cake has been cut, and is being served in the middle of a dance set. There is a natural break to have guests view the cake cutting, and then a 10-15 minute lull - depending on the caterer - in the energy. You can try to re-fire the dance floor right there, but many guests will choose cake over dancing in that moment. If you have something like a shoe game, you can fill the time, but very few of my couple want to do a game like that.

So I tend to use that time as a break in the energy, and perhaps bury bad requests that I otherwise "have to" play. Give them 2-4 songs to eat, and then start the rebuilding process.

I don't have trouble getting them back... but knowing how long to give people to eat their cake is an interesting balance to make sure the room doesn't feel boring.
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yeah i was mainly referring to a "forced" or "scheduled" hault to dancing....

now... rebuilding a dancefloor youve lost is a different beast... and really should never have happened...though it does i know....ironically... the skillset possessed by someone who CAN rebuild isnt usually possessed by the same dj who lost his floor due to bad song choice and crowd reading....so i guess that would make it even harder...lol

the toughest situation is when its a group of people taking their cues from the bride and groom(who will feel the need to rest or mingle)...and when they leave the floor out of neccesity ... it seems to deflate or "guilt" others to follow... which is bizarre and silly but a natural instinct i guess.... its always nice to have a group of people who are what i refer to as "selfish" dancers... who came ...brought a gift...sat thru the boring stuff..with the sole purpose of having a chance to dance... THOSE are the people who were the catalyst of the evolution of what Taso is talking about.... because they are up dancing to dinner music before the food is served...without a care in the world for the bride and grooms right to have first dance...lol...

cc
 
It matters whether you are a lone DJ, an Entertainer, Emcee, Dancer, or a team of people. There are some things that cannot be accomplished well by a DJworking alone even if he has the talent and experience to take on any one of those other roles as well.
 
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I think the original "building" can be the hardest.
It's early in the evening. The guests haven't had enough time getting lubricated yet.
You are not 100% sure of what kind of crowd it is.
The crowd is doesn't know what kind of DJ you are.
And then there is the big decision on what to play FIRST...and whether it will work.
If it doesn't work, it may take several songs from several genre's to find the right direction.

As for "re-building" a crowd....
You may have lost the dance floor to a scheduled or unscheduled event,
you may have played too many fast songs and they need a rest,
or you may pick one bad song that clears the floor.

But once you've HAD THEM on the floor, you know what works....
so getting them back is not as difficult.
 
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ittigger said:
As already stated, I don't think it's difficult either way and I think it depends on the crowd.
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I say it also depends on the DJ and how experienced they are. I normally can get a floor packed quickly. Even if there's a moment that the dance floor gets cleared from someone requesting a song that clears the dance floor.
 
Yes, every crowd is made of of individuals. How many of those individuals really want to dance and what songs will they dance to? When reestablishing dance activity, playing the right songs should do the trick. And by that time the DJ should have a good idea of what the dancers will dance to.

But like they say, every crowd is different. What I hate is when the wedding party disappears as they gather outside to smoke or whatever.
 
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Jas said:
What I hate is when the wedding party disappears as they gather outside to smoke or whatever.
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...or they hang out at the bar all night!

I hate when this happens.
I make sure I tell every couple...
if you want your guests on the dance floor.....be there yourself!
 
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I find it a big help for a private event that the client give the DJ an idea of what they want in terms of music at the event. Not leaving the DJ to guess what will work. Do remember thou that some crowds are just there to mingle and catch up on old times. Did a class reunion and the only song they danced to was the last song. Basically we were there providing background music.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
I find it a big help for a private event that the client give the DJ an idea of what they want in terms of music at the event. Not leaving the DJ to guess what will work.
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DJs aren't guessing at what will work. We are using years of experience crafting fun dancing experiences to assess the room and understand what direction it might go. And then we're using the crowd response to each song to inform whether our initial assessment was correct, and whether the course needs to be adjusted.

It's fine if client's want to offer input. But if you struggle to get people dancing without them telling you the songs they like... it's a really bad sign.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Did a class reunion and the only song they danced to was the last song.
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They left that event and said "That DJ sucked." They did not think to themselves... "Why didn't we tell him what we like?!"
 
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