Pleasing the Dancers

Tips and techniques of the trade

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swinginstyle
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#16 Post by swinginstyle » Wed Mar 31, 2004 1:01 am

Well, this time (3rd time for these dances), I took a lot of time going around the room and asking many dancers their opinions of the music and of the event. For the most part, they were positive, whether they were dancing or not. I tried playing a good variety from 120bpm-200bpm, mixing things around a little bit based on who was or was not dancing. Overall, music seemed to go over better.

Regarding playlists, I run my music through MusicMatch, so I end up saving my playlists. Would I post it? I don't know.
Don't take swing underground!!

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djstarr
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#17 Post by djstarr » Wed Mar 31, 2004 2:55 am

kbuxton wrote:
mousethief wrote:Post your sets on SwingDJs and let the Hivemind divine an ideal solution.
Does anyone else write down their setlists every time they dj? I write them down almost every time, but would be chicken to post them for fear of mockery ;)
I do; it helps me learn my book when I transfer them over to Word. I post them to the appropriate forum (i.e. where the dancers would be most likely reading if they attended the dance). I do this in case someone heard something they liked or were interested in and can go pick it up if they want.

and I enjoyed reading your list from your set on Yehoodi radio - there were some cool artists in there.

julius
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#18 Post by julius » Wed Mar 31, 2004 3:01 am

I write down all my setlists and keep them around. All four of them.

mousethief
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#19 Post by mousethief » Wed Mar 31, 2004 8:08 am

Nate Dogg wrote:
I write them down, I don't really keep them long term.

I also agree, I am real leery of posting stuff like that online. The swing police is pretty hostile with the Yehoodi lists (will we have a new victim this week?).
Hell, I keep most of my set lists. I'm not afraid of the whoever the swing police are. I like to think I do a good enough job policing myself.

Kalman
"The cause of reform is hurt, not helped, when an activist makes an idiotic suggestion."

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gatorgal
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#20 Post by gatorgal » Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:54 am

kbuxton wrote:
mousethief wrote:Post your sets on SwingDJs and let the Hivemind divine an ideal solution.
Does anyone else write down their setlists every time they dj? I write them down almost every time, but would be chicken to post them for fear of mockery ;)
Ditto. I write down everything I play and every few weeks I like to go back over them and determine trends of what I play and what I don't. It's some sort of geeky exercise I engage in.

I post my lists on the Yahoo Newsletter Group I write for Swing Affair. I seriously doubt anyone reads it, but I believe in freedom of information.

As for posting here... no one's asked me to.

Tina 8)

p.s. Edited for added comment.
"I'm here to kick a little DJ a$$!"
~ Foreman on That 70s Show

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Ron
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Re: Pleasing the Dancers

#21 Post by Ron » Fri Apr 02, 2004 3:21 pm

swinginstyle wrote:How does a DJ please the dancers? I've heard you're supposed to read the crowd, but are there hints/tricks for successful crowd reading? I DJ a dance where there are a wide variety of dancers (skill level and swing dance preference, whether it's ecs, lindy, bal, blues, etc). Do you read by looking at who's dancing, who's not dancing, etc? I'd appreciate any feedback.
Obviously the number of people dancing vs. sitting out is the most important thing to look for. But I also like to watch how fast people get on the floor after I start a new song. Because dancers are there to dance, they may dance to things they don't like as much, but they won't rush out there as fast as they would to a song they preferred.

Roy
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Re: Pleasing the Dancers

#22 Post by Roy » Fri Apr 02, 2004 4:23 pm

Ron wrote: Obviously the number of people dancing vs. sitting out is the most important thing to look for. But I also like to watch how fast people get on the floor after I start a new song. Because dancers are there to dance, they may dance to things they don't like as much, but they won't rush out there as fast as they would to a song they preferred.
People also do that if they don't know the song, they listen for 1/2 minute or so before deciding to dance. In this case it has nothing to do with the enjoyment of the song.

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Lawrence
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#23 Post by Lawrence » Fri Apr 02, 2004 4:57 pm

KevinSchaper wrote:Everything they said - plus, look for smiles.. a lot of peopple just dont ever smile, granted, but if you scan dancers and don't see anyone smiling, maybe try something different for the next song..

Looking for expressions and how excited/happy/enthusiastic people are to dance to the music you are playing is the best gauge. It need not come in cheerleader-screams; a subtle but wholly-satisfied smile to a slower song is a good sign, too.

Talking to people has too many statistical sampling problems. You tend to satisfy your friends or a handful of people with whom you talk instead of the crowd at large.

Also, keep in mind that it is really easy to not suck. People are there to have a good time and will dance even to crap music. Plus, the musicians have done all the hard work for you; all you need to do is select appropriately and press a button.
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Greg Avakian
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#24 Post by Greg Avakian » Sat Apr 03, 2004 9:44 pm

Full seats vs. cheers.

Questions are great too.

I would suggest that you ask specific questions like "what else would you like to hear?", "Is there enough ____ music for you tonight?"

If you just ask "How's the music?" You'll probably get generic answers like "Fine"

Ask people to come up and tell you if they like a song you play.

Toon Town Dave
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#25 Post by Toon Town Dave » Sun Apr 04, 2004 11:09 pm

djstarr wrote:Tempo seems to be more of a factor than genre if you are new.
Hmm, this is good to hear because tempo is easy to fix. Do you get much feedback about the the music beginners like in terms of the rhythm/beat (in your face or more subtle)? How about breaks (subtle versus big)? This is the stuff I always worry about with beginners.

In terms of the tempo thing, I've been pushing the newbies a little trying to expand their tempo range. Sometimes I push a little too far but generally I think I've been successful. I've found the beginners here are a little more willing to attempt something faster than their comfort range as opposed to slowing things down a little.

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Re: Pleasing the Dancers

#26 Post by Doug » Mon Apr 05, 2004 7:43 pm

swinginstyle wrote:How does a DJ please the dancers? ...
I think that Ruben is right on. :?


I play DJ for myself at home and dance to it, and find what I like to dance to. Then I play it at dances. If no one dances, oh well, & I won't DJ that venue again. If people dance, I did good.

Kinda narrow minded, but it seems to work.

I do, however, really strongly attend to the dancers to see what tempos they are dancing to and how they look. If their dancing looks great, the tune was in their tempo range. If their dancing looks like shit, I figure that I'm out of their range (generally too fast) and will try to accomodate. But I don't even think about modifying my musical stylistic tastes to try to pander to the dancers.

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yedancer
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#27 Post by yedancer » Mon Apr 05, 2004 10:09 pm

The "play what you like" thing works, except when you ignore the dancers in the room. Too often I have seen a DJ plow along with his set even though no one is dancing.

Case in point, this weekend at the Balboa Rendesvou, Kyle Smith DJd late night on Friday and consistently played what I would consider fast to very fast music. It was good music, but not good for the crowd. I guess Kyle didn't notice the lackluster atmosphere he created, and that half or more of the people in the room weren't dancing. I guess he also didn't notice that dozens of people left after only dancing a few songs. On the other hand, Reuben played a pretty diverse set on Saturday. I talked to people who literally HATE Reuben's DJing, yet liked the set on Saturday and had fun. Everyone seemed to be having a great time.
-Jeremy

It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And I guess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, wanting that money.

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