It was my first time at Westminster’s Mac Center celebrating a sweet 16 party! Steve and the rest of the staff were very nice in general and as it turned out, there was no event the night before ours so we were able to set up the day before. It’s rare that I am able to set up without having to worry about a quickly-ticking clock. My array of uplights and dance-floor lighting, PA system and DJ decks complimented the room’s decor featuring an up-lit backdrop behind the head table, stylish table dressings, 2 buffets and a candy bar complete with a chocolate waterfall and various fruits. Oh, and did I mention the gifts for the lucky girl? Kiki was fully decked out in a beautiful dress, studded shoes, bracelet, necklace and tiara, ready to party with top-level class. Suffice to say, everything was very beautiful, vibrant and elegant.
Kiki’s birthday celebration was hosted by her older brother who handled his duties nicely. The night started off with a grand entrance and a welcome speech from Kiki’s parents. They continued into the traditional dances and the 16 candle celebration. The father-daughter dance was really great because it was a DJ mashup of a country song (I’m blocking on the name of it), into the “Wobble” song, “Gangnam Style” and “My Girl” to cap it off. I used some echoes and textural scratching to make the tricky song transitions sound clean. Following this a few of her friends played songs dedicated to her for her birthday as well. First a guitar player sang happy birthday, then a singer-rapper duo played a couple songs, one of which that was written specifically for her bday. It was really sweet and I had fun adding some stylistic 3/4 and 1/8 note echoes and volume scratching to the rappers’ songs. The performers really enjoyed the added DJ element.
Soon after a buffet style dinner was served and the family was kind enough to encourage me to eat some of the pulled pork, corn on the cob and thai chili wings; a few of my favorites. While guests were finishing up their meals, a break dancing crew entertained the crowd with a medley of popular songs and a well-rehearsed dance routine. And not to be outdone, Kiki and some friends did a sweet swing dance routine to Bill Haley and The Comets’, “Rock Around The Clock.” It was really clever and very reminiscent of the era. Good stuff.
These fun dances were the perfect transition into the dance party for the last hour and a half of the night. While fielding requests ranging from hyphy crunk to reggaeton, top 40 to dubstep, I played from the list of songs the family had given me in advance. Lots of hip-hop, rap, dance-pop and a few random songs served for a nice variety for the young crowd celebrating a great friends birthday.
For uplighting, I used a bunch of Slimpar 64s and a few 56s around the room, 2 blizzard pucks in color fade mode uplighting the speaker skrims and another Slimpar 64 uplighting the light-stand skrim. The light stand featured 2 DMX chained COLORstrip Minis across the top, an ADJ Hyper Gem projected onto the ceiling, a Vertigo Tri LED on the dance floor, a Starball for some room ambience and a Micro Galaxian laser to highlight the candy buffet wall. The room looked really nice.
In all, it was clear that Kiki is very loved by her family and friends. Her sweet 16 party was really fun and was certainly a blast for the guests. As her DJ, I think we struck a nice balance of class, elegance, casual fun and energetic dance party elements. The special performances were especially memorable. As the last song played out, the overhead lights were turned on and I packed it up for the night to see another party, another day.
- Mike Warkentin (greensleeves)
Dancin’ Shoes DJ is Colorado’s BEST VALUE in DJ, Emcee, Audio and Lighting Services!
The post A Sweet 16 Celebration! appeared first on Dancin' Shoes DJ & Lighting.