What to Look for in a High School Dance or Prom DJ (Bay Area dj now serving the Los Angeles area such as Burbank, Glendale, Sherman Oaks, and Santa Clarita
What to Look for in a High School Dance or Prom DJ
School dances offer high school kids a much-needed break from the humdrum and responsibility of school life. It's the perfect time to socialize and de-stress. It's also one of the few events the school organizes that most teens can get excited about. To live up to these expectations, a school dance needs the right DJ. The right DJ is someone who can keep a group of high-energy teens engaged, excited, and enjoying themselves during the event.
Before you hire a DJ for prom, homecoming, or any school dance, conduct a brief assessment of their skill and professionalism. This is what you need to scrutinize.
1. Music Selection
A DJs music selection is the most relevant assessment criteria, especially for teen events. Teenagers can be some of the trickiest group to cater to, especially as music tastes and trends differ almost weekly. This requires a high school dance or prom DJ to have their finger on the pulse of the latest trends in dance music.
This doesn't mean the DJ must be young because most high school dance DJs often explore the teen culture and music trends to create playlists indicative of the audience.
Ask to listen to a sample track list of other teen events they've DJed. If you think the mix is original and appropriate, you can always request changes to finetune your dance's playlist.
2. Organizational Skills
Organizing a school dance is difficult enough without the added stress of managing unorganized vendors. Trying to assess how organized a DJ is can be challenging. But warning signs exist that show a DJ isn't organized:
They don't respond to messages in a reasonable timeframe (1 to 2 business days)
They are unable to meet obligations on time (sending a sample playlist late or failing to provide references)
They are disengaged in the planning (short text or email responses that don't show an understanding of the task)
3. Extras on Offer
It helps if your DJ offers a few extras — lighting or special effects — as you won't need to hire another vendor to provide these extras.
4. Reviews or Testimonials
By now, you already know how important reading reviews are to gauge the type of service you're going to receive from your school dance or prom DJ. But more important than Google or Yelp reviews is getting testimonials. If the DJ you're considering is reputable, they should have — at the very least — one or two clients willing to provide a reference. You can use this reference's testimonial to ascertain their level of professionalism. Ideally, the client details they provide will have organized a teen event or high school dance.
5. Experience Being a School Dance or Prom DJ
Trying to please a group of teenagers — getting them off their phones and engaged in the event — makes being a school dance or prom DJ more challenging than a wedding or corporate DJ. A DJ that doesn't have experience with high school events won't know how to invigorate or manage the crowd. But a DJ with experience hosting teen events will.
If you're organizing a high school dance or prom DJ in Burbank, Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena, or Santa Clarita, consider getting in touch.
As a DJ with experience MCing teen events and high school dances, I've perfected the strategy to make your school dance memorable — for all the right reasons
