DJ Impressions, LLC Dance Weblog

I arrived right about 7 to set up and the building was dark.  This was unusual for Inman High School, it seems like the school never locks up with all the Sports and Activities going on.  A couple minutes later the doors open and I start loading in equipment.  On one of the trips in I held the door open for a couple people, they were taking in sugar cookies.  I met Lori from the Booster Club and she told me to be sure to get one before they were all gone.  She said they pay the lady to make them because they are so good.  As I entered the commons area I saw the decorations, snowflakes and Christmas lights creating the atmosphere of winter time.  I completed setup and started a few Christmas songs as the kids started arriving, they waited until straight up 8 o’clock to enter into the dance area.

Will try to get the rest of this up on Monday including Pictures.

Hope to have this post up with pictures by Sunday Evening.

I Hope to have pictures and post up by Sunday Evening, thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back.

I arrived excited for another Middle School Dance.  I had contacted Rick Caywood “dB Extreme DJ Service”, he is hosting/entertaining for the HMS7 (seventh) and I am hosting/entertaining for the HMS8 (eighth).  For at least the last 3 years Rick and I have entertained for all the Hutch Middle School dances and we end up back and forth between the 7th and 8th.  This works out great to give the kids a different experience each time although we constently change our routines for almost every dance that we do. 
The CTC (Communities That Care Foundation) sponsored the dance and activities for tonight.  This included numerous stations around the commons area to teach the eight graders about the effects of the use of Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco.  One of the neatest stations had goggles that you put on and then try to walk a straight line.  The goggles were designed to make your vision blurry causing you to not be able to walk straight.  It was a weird experience.  There were slides of a healthy lung compared to a normal lung along with a breathing appartus that showed the decreased air flow due to smoking.  Various other stations really helped to educated the eight graders on the effects of these drugs.  The coolest thing was the prizes.  The CTC provided some great prizes for the kids, participation was the key.  If they participated in a station they received one chance at a prize.  With 8 stations they had up to 8 chances to win.
As I got ready to start playing music for the dance, my computer crashed.  I let the sponsors know that it would be 15 minutes before I would be up and running.  Travis Kershner from “Mystic DJ Services” brought up his laptop for me to use for the night.  The 15 minutes of dead air actually proved useful at the beginning of the night.  I announced about the different stations and without the music playing they were able to communicate with the kids without having to shout.  Alot of drawing entries were earned during this time.  Travis arrived with his laptop and helped save the dance.  I had just taken out my cd player (backup device)  as I had just purchased a new lap top for backup but had not yet installed programs or music onto it yet.  It is great to have professional colleges that share equipment in times of needs. 
I started pumping out the hits and the kids lined up for various dances in the commons area.  The basketball challenge was a great hit.  Inbetween request we had a series of trivia questions relating to teens with tobacco, alcohol use.  $10 gift cards were given to the kids with the correct answers from such places as Hastings, Sonic, McDonalds, Burger King etc.  There were so many activities that the night went by pretty quick.
It was time for the 1st drawing, Kaley Bohlen & Maggie Robinson both won $50 iTune Gift Cards, next was the Audiovox DVD Player. ”You are not going to believe this” I said as I read off the name of the winner of the DVD Player, “Maggie Robinson”.  The kids went wild.  I threw in the comment that it does pay to participate and learn.  Next  up was the Samsung Digital Camera, it went to Savannah Engel.  The top prize was an 8 gig iPod Nano, this went to Daijah.  
Towards the end of the dance we closed down the different stations.  The CTC kids got about 15 minutes to enjoy the dance as well (in the blue shirts).  I thanked the kids for coming out and the CTC for sponsoring the evening.  With the numerous CTC kids cleaning up, it didn’t take long, except for the two that hoola hooped for about 10 minutes.  They had a great time while inspiring the 8th graders to respect their bodies.  The names of the kids from Communities That Care Youth Leadership  whom ran the different stations to teach about the effects of drugs, tobacco and alcohol included: Ryan O’Keif, Caleb Gimar, Lacy Dimitt, Megan Ellegood, Caley Regier, Casey Tiechman, Cheyenne Bloom, Carissa Meyer, Hannah Saylor, Brittany Lanham, Brooke Lanham, Ayrn Taylor, Ursela Hemman.