Taking on a prom is no easy task.  Prom is one of the most monumental events in a young person’s life so we try to make it as memorable as possible. We have to make sure we bring as much sound and get the playlist ready for the big night. Every prom is different since some have dinner included while some just have the dance component. With dinner proms, there is less stress since we don’t have to play hit after hit but rather calmer music. When it’s the dance part of the night we like to quick mix to help build energy.

We were picked to play at Corinthian on 3rd street in San Jose. We did a prom there in February so we were familiar with the location. The activities director was great. She supplied us with the map and was really easy to get a hold of. The school provided us with a playlist. These are the songs that stood out. We try to play as many songs as we can from their playlist since every event is a custom event. Since we have been playing at many proms we keep the songs close by that were hits in the other dances. They requested a lot of hip hop and pop. They gave a good amount of songs around 80 to work from. Students were able to request some songs they were not on the list and we tried to play as much of their songs as possible.

The perfect prom night includes the right music to get everyone dancing and having a good time. Hiring a DJ is the best way to ensure your music selection is up to date, diverse, and fun. Finding the right DJ for your high school prom can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some tips on how to select a great DJ for your event.

Do Your Research

The first step when looking for a DJ for your high school prom is researching potential options. Start by asking friends or family who they may have used in the past and if they were happy with their services. Alternatively, check out local venues or websites that provide DJs services like GigMasters or party DJs near you. Once you've identified some potential options, look them up online and read reviews from previous customers. This will help you decide which DJ might be the best fit for your event.

Interview Potential DJs

Once you have narrowed down your list of potential DJs, it's time to start interviewing them! Before scheduling an interview, make sure to ask what kind of equipment they use and how much experience they have in this type of event – this will save you time during the interview process by helping you weed out those who don't meet your criteria. During the interview, ask questions about their music selection (i.e., do they play any specific genres?), what types of special requests they can accommodate (i.e., do they take requests from guests?), and whether or not they offer any special packages (i.e., sound system rental). It's important to get as much information as possible in order to make an informed decision when selecting a DJ for your high school prom night!

Check References & Make a Decision

Finally, once you've interviewed all of your potential DJs, it's time to check references! Ask each candidate for recent customer references so that you can hear firsthand about their services from those who have actually experienced them first-hand – this will help ensure that you're making the right choice when selecting a DJ for your prom night! After checking references and comparing quotes from each candidate, make an informed decision on who would be the best fit for your needs and budget before signing any contracts with them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  An unforgettable prom night requires finding just the right soundtrack – one that gets everyone up on their feet dancing and having a good time! Hiring a great DJ is key in making sure this happens – however, finding one can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start looking or what questions to ask during interviews. By following these tips on how to select a great DJ for your high school prom night, though; you’ll be sure find one who meets all of your needs and ensures that everyone has an amazing time at prom! Good luck! Just to make it easy just check out www.bwadj.com.

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

99 percent of the schools I do events for the student body provides of their songs they like to hear. I also recommend that it’s a combined effort from different students to make sure you get different types of music.  I try to find them and I make sure they are school appropriate then I put it in the playlist. If the song does have profanity, then I can edit it so the bad words cannot be heard but for the most part the songs I find are clean. The list that they give me is a good starting point. They may give me 50 to 60 songs. If you think about it, you can play around 25 songs per hour and you have 2 hours of music to choose from that list. Most school events are 3 to 4 hours and proms are like 5 hours. From the list you can get similar songs that fit the vibe that school is trying to have.

The small percentage of schools who provide a list of must plays and cannot play other songs can also work. The only difference is the school has to do most of the prep work to send the list and it has to be enough for 4 to 5 hours if it’s like for a 3-hour event. Some songs are really good to dance to while others may not be much of a hit. So the dj too has to prep to locate pretty much all the songs on the list so to keep the party going. The dj cannot rely on his/her crutch of other school’s playlists to help in a jam. The event I did this past fall it went pretty well. I just went by their list and made it work. Students were very respectful and it was a good time. 

What do I prefer? I can do both. When I have a playlist where I can stray from I can use prior school dance lists where students really enjoyed the music. It would take less time to prep. With only songs to be played on this list dances, it helps me focus on new songs I never considered and I can incorporate in my rotation. 

Please consider Black and White Affair DJ services for your High School Dance event. From August to November 2021 we did 5 high school dances and loved every minute of it. We have the experience and the sound to keep the dance floor packed and school officials content!

It maybe time to set up your Dj for your prom in the Bay Area. Proms are usually hitting at the end of the school year. I am seeing them set up Mid April till Mid May. Schools are picking those dates since they don’t want it to interfere with the ending of school. At that time the weather is getting warmer so people are setting up their parties. 

So what do you look for in a prom DJ? Make sure they have experience playing at schools. Playing at schools is a totally different animal compared to playing at private events outside of schools. The dj has to make sure the music is clean meaning that there are no profanity. Also a lot of students like having a dj that can quick mix. That means they can play a song for a short period of time and throw in another song so it blends perfectly. Long gone are the days where a dj plays the whole song from start to finish. It seems the only songs that can be played out like that would be songs to play during dinner or Spanish songs on the dance floor. 

Speaking of dinner, songs should not be slow songs to put students to sleep. They rather be songs that everybody knows and keep everyone excited and you start building it at the end of dinner so they go straight to the dance floor when its ready to party. 

I am all about playing good dance music but during proms a few slow songs need to be put in the mix spread out through the night. 

If you are looking to book your prom dj now please look no further than Black and White Affair Dj services. We have enough sound for any events and please check out our reviews. 

After being shut down from any dances for a year and a half, high schoolers have been itching to dance. One of the main questions I had would songs from 2020 and 2021 be popular or would students be leaning toward the old school. Platforms like Tic Tok have brought back old school for the youngsters. Songs that you wouldn’t think students would know are songs students know the lyrics to. Have I seen any a change from pre covid events to current at the High School dance floors?

What hasn’t changed is the students take a while to warm up. Knowing this I have saved the beginning of the dance for the new and old pop songs that everyone knows. It’s not to get anybody dancing yet since I believe in saving the dessert for the packed dancefloor. At this time people are coming to the dance and seeing what is happening. At the events I did most students were either going to the food trucks or taking photos at the photo booth.

Some folks think the line dance is way cliché but it always works. The ones that the students really liked were the Cupid Shuffle and going old school with the YMCA. Those songs worked for all the 4 dances. Everyone was loving Miley Cyrus with Party in the USA and Justin Bieber’s Baby. Speaking of songs that students like to sing along to Taylor Swift was like magic with the students. Pitbull had a few hits on the student dancefloor with Tonight with Ne-yo and Fireball. I did notice Calvin Harris hits such as We Found Love and Feels so Close got everyone bouncing up and down. 

 Dances are back in 2021 after a year of not having any. Students are ready to party. Be prepared to have bigger turnouts than pre 2019 since people are really wanting to let loose.

Due to the weather the dance was up in the air. They had to wait for the weather then admin to approve it. But we ended up having it. Since everything was up in the air asb did not send me a song list. Usually asb gives me 60 to 100 songs of their liking then I add another 40 to 50 more based on what they gave me. I didn’t get any of their likes so I had to come up with my own list.

At the dance there was a long line with the photo booth. The dance started at 7 and went till 1000. It seemed like folks were shy then they broke out of their shell. 

Songs that were big hits that night:

We Found Love

Give Me Everything Tonight

Love Sosa

Gas Pedal

Act Up

Shake the Monkey

Party in the USA

MY Type

Big Bank

Danza Kuduro

Best friend

Turn Down for What

 Blinding Lights

Cha Cha Slide

Cupid Shuffle

Yes, I do play line dances. Some djs think they are dumb to do but I don’t mind doing them since people like to do dances that have moves that go with them. I went hard at 815 till the last song of the night at 1000 since I didn’t want dance floor to give way. There were a lot of students there and they enjoyed the Spanish songs that we played and it definitely fed the energy in the crowd.