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What to do when a crowd doesn't dance?

I've been asking myself the same stupid question over and over again: what if I get my first live-gig and the crowd doesn't respond to anything I do?

For example, last Tuesday, I had a graduation-party. The DJ just totally sucked, and he f*cked up my (and other people's) party. He wasn't playing trance, but that doesn't really matter to me.
But he just kept on playing stupid old songs like Madonna - American Pie and all that un-danceable (is that a word?) stuff.

So my question is: What do you do when a crowd doesn't respond or reacts the way you want it?

Do you play a big anthem, or start interacting with them more?
I would love to hear some different methods everybody uses.

Thanks in advance, DJ X-Tension

it depends who ur djing for and what music ur playing.

If the crowd is a hip hop crowd, and u want them to dance... you should be playing hip hop. Same thing with trance. I'm guessing the reason the people were dancing to Pop music was cuz they're the high school generation where they enjoy listening to the popular music.

A lot of my friends here are into hip hop. When they go to trance parties, they always tell me the same thing - "you cant really dance to trance music." But they LOVE hip hop with a passion. However, when they go to a hip hop party, it's a whole different story. I on the other hand hate dancing to hip hop alone w/ no girl. Just doesnt feel right

So my only suggestion is to pray that they're the peeps who can dance to trance. Otherwise ur out of luck and it'll be one long night.

To get people dancing you have to create energy. "Energy" is my key word when it comes to playing a set, at the end of it I know I have done well if I could feel energy from the set. You have to play the correct tunes in the correct order to create energy, sometimes it can be created by dropping one anthem, depends on the crowd though.

Always strive to interact with the crowd, if you have ever witnessed a DJ just standing around and chatting to a pal between mixes then you will know how lack of interaction affects the crowd. Pick out someone from the crowd who looks like they are enjoying themselves, point at them and they will go mental, pump them up in anyway possible and the crowd around them will react, urge the crowd on, clap your hands in breakdowns. If the crowd see the DJ enjoy themselves then they have a better chance of enjoying themselves.

quote:

Originally posted by Acid Circus To get people dancing you have to create energy. "Energy" is my key word when it comes to playing a set, at the end of it I know I have done well if I could feel energy from the set. You have to play the correct tunes in the correct order to create energy, sometimes it can be created by dropping one anthem, depends on the crowd though. Always strive to interact with the crowd, if you have ever witnessed a DJ just standing around and chatting to a pal between mixes then you will know how lack of interaction affects the crowd. Pick out someone from the crowd who looks like they are enjoying themselves, point at them and they will go mental, pump them up in anyway possible and the crowd around them will react, urge the crowd on, clap your hands in breakdowns. If the crowd see the DJ enjoy themselves then they have a better chance of enjoying themselves.

Werd!

Love for trance aside, I think the best way to get people dancing is to put in effort to get to "know" them, and deliver what they want. If they want American Pie, then give them American Pie. If they love trance, then feed their hunger. That's what clubs mean when they say they want versatile DJs in the scene, not just spinning what they think people will like, but spinning what they know what the crowd will like.

Hey Great Outdoors,

You're right about playing music that the crowd wants, but if the crowd does'nt want American Pie, and you still play it... than you're not a good dj IMO.
And what Acid Circus said about 'the dj just standing around talking to his pal...'; I've witnessed more than one...

So the main thing is interacting with the crowd? Because I have never seen a DJ around here who has done that.
Not that we have that much 'real' dj's out here, but most of them just do it for the money. Losers...

quote:

So the main thing is interacting with the crowd? Because I have never seen a DJ around here who has done that.

DJs are entertainers. They entertain the crowd. Who exactly are you DJing for? Like I said, if it's for the younger crowd, they might not need a pure entertainer yet which is why those DJs there never do that (because they dont need to). You should try to interact with them though... maybe so they get your DJ name stuck in their head over the crap DJs.

quote:

Originally posted by Acid Circus Pick out someone from the crowd who looks like they are enjoying themselves, point at them and they will go mental

I've always imagined myself doing that

quote:

Originally posted by Acid Circus To get people dancing you have to create energy. "Energy" is my key word when it comes to playing a set, at the end of it I know I have done well if I could feel energy from the set. You have to play the correct tunes in the correct order to create energy, sometimes it can be created by dropping one anthem, depends on the crowd though. Always strive to interact with the crowd, if you have ever witnessed a DJ just standing around and chatting to a pal between mixes then you will know how lack of interaction affects the crowd. Pick out someone from the crowd who looks like they are enjoying themselves, point at them and they will go mental, pump them up in anyway possible and the crowd around them will react, urge the crowd on, clap your hands in breakdowns. If the crowd see the DJ enjoy themselves then they have a better chance of enjoying themselves.

I Guess You Are Right. The Other Day When DJ Sergei Pimenov Was Performing Live Here In Nicosia We Really Had A Great Time And It Just Hit Me That He Was Doing All The Stuff You Have Mensioned. Thay Certainly Worked.

It's by no means a neccessary ritual, though. I guess the best way is to just let loose and let the music take you over.. the crowd will follow suit.

Take your shirt off.

throw records at them and call them names.

quote:

Originally posted by boomp throw records at them and call them names.

That might work

if they dont dance........turn off the tables and leave

heck...y waste your time on people who just dont know

quote:

throw records at them and call them names.

ahahahhaha

quote:

Originally posted by boomp throw records at them and call them names.

Yeah, that might work, but I think it's a waste to spend all my expensive records to a bunch of frozen people...

What if one of my records survives the flight + fall? That would mean that I would have to walk all the way to it, grab it, and put it back in my bag. No way. That's not what came to do, so that's not what i'm gonna do...

Guess i'm just to lazy to throw them away...

Just put on a bassy track, turn off the highs and mids, then grab the MIC and hit them with the Eminem Stylie!

I Think best thing is slam something very commercial and well-known
it may not be fun but I think its the only way...

quote:

Originally posted by Scorchio I Think best thing is slam something very commercial and well-known it may not be fun but I think its the only way...

Yep. That's good advice.
I was once at a club where there were only 4-5 people dancing on the dancefloor (everybody else was just sitting around), so the DJ dropped Darude - Sandstorm and suddenly the dancefloor came alive.

Don't play anything boring

quote:

Originally posted by Eugene Yep. That's good advice. I was once at a club where there were only 4-5 people dancing on the dancefloor (everybody else was just sitting around), so the DJ dropped Darude - Sandstorm and suddenly the dancefloor came alive.

i did that once at party last year!.. hehe, it was some chicks birthday party and she had about 200 people at her house.. and anyways off an on there were people "kinda" dancing but more or less just bobbing their head.. and i guess i was playing too much epic/uplifting stuff that just wasn't banging enough to get people into the groove so i dropped sandstorm and the dancefloor filled up.. sometimes it takes tracks like that to get the crowd going..

i agree with that...but what if the DJ is _only_ playing the pop stuff....like at this local club (read: bar), the DJ only plays like 2 year old pop dance & house...sandstorm, one more time, etc, etc.....people get sick of that....how would you fight that off?

quote:

Originally posted by t0ast! i agree with that...but what if the DJ is _only_ playing the pop stuff....like at this local club (read: bar), the DJ only plays like 2 year old pop dance & house...sandstorm, one more time, etc, etc.....people get sick of that....how would you fight that off?

Change The DJ

Burn the bar

Next time, bring your own records, and hit the dj with a bottle...

what to do when a crowd doesnt dance::

get off the stage!

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