Middle School Dance..... ever hear of this?

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Papa Deuce

DJ Extraordinaire
Aug 8, 2006
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I am going to be doing a middles school dance in November.

I was told that there is absolutely NO INTERACTION between the DJ and the students. No talking on the mike for any reason except to make announcements with a teacher beside me. And only announcements that they want made. The kids can't ask for requests; they must write it down in a book that the school supplies, and they must write their names next to songs they request.

I'm guessing this is all about 2 things:

1. Kid safety, as us DJs are known to be pedophiles, I guess... :vbrolleyes: ;):

2. Tracking the students for who knows what? Figuring out if what they want to hear makes them a good or bad kid? I have no idea.

I was just told this in an email that I got today... None of this was mentioned when I signed the contract. I'll still HAPPILY do it because kids can drive me nuts with all the requests. Back when Gangam Style was hot, I would get asked like 15x a night to play it at grade schools, and usually played it twice. It will be nice to only have to read what they want.

Ever hear of this?
 
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I definitely haven't heard of the no interaction part, in fact the interaction at Middle school dances is a large part of why we are booked to do so many. We do so much more than just DJ. We play games with the students, lead them in dances, etc.... Sounds like they've had a bad experience or 2 in the past that is carrying over to restricting you thanks to someone elses behavior/language
 
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Loneavenger said:
I definitely haven't heard of the no interaction part, in fact the interaction at Middle school dances is a large part of why we are booked to do so many. We do so much more than just DJ. We play games with the students, lead them in dances, etc.... Sounds like they've had a bad experience or 2 in the past that is carrying over to restricting you thanks to someone elses behavior/language
Click to expand...

I guess that is the reason.... I have DJ'd lots of grade school dances, and 1 high school dance. Can't recall doing middle school before. I was under the impression that there is usually a ton of DJ / Student interaction at these dances. Heck, isn't that where most people make 1/2 their pay, by selling glow sticks and such?
 
My experience is this. It's all about control. Some DJ's don't know how to handle such events and either will get on a mic and start cursing or play explicit lyrics to a song instead of the clean version. I know you are a much better DJ then that but at times that's what they get and they learn from making mistakes. It would have been nice if such things were brought up before you signed the contract. My guess is they had a meeting after the contract was signed and this is what they decided on.

Normally such DJ's that will do such things are very young and just getting started. So some of them don't know what it means to have clean music because all they listen to is the dirty stuff themselves. I know this for a fact because I tried helping one out that didn't have a clue.
 
I haven't done a middle school dance in years...but I had both of these policies in my area.

Papa Deuce said:
I was told that there is absolutely NO INTERACTION between the DJ and the students. No talking on the mike for any reason except to make announcements with a teacher beside me. And only announcements that they want made.
Click to expand...

They had hired some "less than fully professional" DJs in the past. In one case, I was following a pair of high school students who DJd the last dance of the last year. There were issues with profanity and inappropriate comments from the DJ. This resulted in several opportunities for "teachable moments" as the kids repeated what they had heard.

Papa Deuce said:
The kids can't ask for requests; they must write it down in a book that the school supplies, and they must write their names next to songs they request.
Click to expand...

There are ALWAYS inappropriate requests made by pre-teens and teens. The DJ is NOT in a position to identify the kids who are the habitual offenders. Also, kids tend to mob the DJ booth...and this is a way to help prevent that. Having a written list, with their names is a way to filter out 99% of the really offensive requests, and to hold the kids accountable.
 
I Usually interact with the kids a lot, it makes the dance not just a dance but a place to have fun and win a prize
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
My experience is this. It's all about control. Some DJ's don't know how to handle such events and either will get on a mic and start cursing or play explicit lyrics to a song instead of the clean version. I know you are a much better DJ then that but at times that's what they get and they learn from making mistakes. It would have been nice if such things were brought up before you signed the contract. My guess is they had a meeting after the contract was signed and this is what they decided on.

Normally such DJ's that will do such things are very young and just getting started. So some of them don't know what it means to have clean music because all they listen to is the dirty stuff themselves. I know this for a fact because I tried helping one out that didn't have a clue.
Click to expand...
When was the last time you did a school dance????
 
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I've done school dances where the kids don't WANT you to say anything...
and wouldn't pay attention or care if you DID!
As for the requests, I also think it's more a matter of kids not writing BAD things in the request book.
I don't they are tracking the kids, just making them accountable to prevent problems.
 
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