To Cancel School Dances or Not?

This blog post is written with teachers, administration and staff of schools in mind. 

As we think back about dances and schools, we can all remember a time where teachers were not happy about attending a dance as a chaperone. Personally, I don't blame you! This is boring job. But, when we think of the alternative options, the options become increasing scary! Imagine kids in a basement or worse a night club that allows students in after hours. I've seen and even worked in clubs that did this. I can contest, it's a truly dangerous situation for any minor. Drunk people dancing with minors is never a good solution for entertainment. To get back to the reminiscing, we had options that allowed kids to dance and have fun in a safe environment. What do the kids have now? Those places are now littered with drug dealers and perverts looking to prey upon a young teen.

So, going back to not wanting to hold dances, the reality is we need too. Hosting a dance provides a safe place for kids to let loose and have fun. We (as adults) do this all the time; ever been to a wedding? What is the best part? Dancing? Yes, dancing is a natural part of our expression and it gets kids moving! This brings us to the dreaded grind.

Why do kids grind up on each other? Well, the dance technique (yes it is a dance technique) was adopted from Latin Dance into Hip Hop; like many dance moves are. Since Hip Hop durived in the underground movement of the inner-city club districts. These clubs were often crowded, dark and loud with bass. So, dancing with a partner, you had to be close. Giving that and the beverages, you can see how this would become successful. 

Now, Hip Hop has become Mainstream Music. That previously night club music has exploded and your students are addicted to it. I'm not suggesting changing their musical taste, only being aware of it. When the kids come to a dance, you can bet they want to hear Hip Hop and Dance Music. Being aware of you environment and music selection can help with calming the grinding. 

Kids are dancing this way for a few reasons, 1) It's normalized. Kids see it as appropriate dance for their age group. This turns into peer pressure that forces kids to dance this way. 2) They see it on T.V. Watch 10 minutes of MTV or BET and you'll see grinding. College kids, stage dancers and the like all do it. 3) It's easy to do! Duhh! It's true. Grinding takes no skill at all. In fact, I think some kids do it to hide fact they can't dance. 4) How many school dances are lighted properly? That's right, most schools choose not to have adequate lighting and the result is a nice dark dance floor. 5) Kids love bass. Any DJ will tell you at school dance every other student will ask you to turn it up, in other words, "Pump up the Bass!" Do you see the pattern yet?

When you talk to kids they'll tell you that it doesn't hurt anyone. This isn't true. If you ask the same kid, "Would you dance this way at a wedding or with your parents here?" They'll say "no!" So, that opens the door for all of us. Kids identify that the behavior is not appropriate and they can see the difference. Now we have something to work with. 

There are many ways to get kids to dance appropriately. The Venue, music, lighting, theme, music, and BPM's (Beats Per Minute) are just a few. Book Now with DJ Michael and allow him to help you create a fun safe dance for all your students. 

Don't send out kids to the basements or after hour clubs to dance and have a good time, when you can create a better atmosphere at your school while making money for a club or good cause. Don't get discouraged. Seek out support from DJ Michael. DJ Michael is a State of Maine Certified Teacher who works in the puplic education sector. He understands these complexities and can help you create a safe and fun atmosphere. 

School Dance Planning Primer

So you've decided to plan a school dance. That's Great! First comes the planning, then you get to party and let loose. Planning a dance can be overwhelming for all that are involved. Students want to get wild, Teachers are scared about the behavior that students exhibit and Administrators worry about the publicity of the event. It doesn't have to be this way. It can be a great event for all!

The planning process begins with coordinating with your co-curricular office and/or school principal (assistants too). It's best to talk to everyone that has a stake in planning a dance. Often times, this includes the following people:

1. Administration
2. Co-Curricular Directors/Admin
3. Class or Club Advisor
4. Supportin Teachers
5. Supporting Parents
6. Custodians and Maintainance Personel
7. Class Officers.

Below is a basic outline of how to plan a school dance. See my School Dance Planning Guide (coming soon) Here!

Talk it Out:
You'll want to let your club advisor or coordinator know that you're planning a dance. Most schools have a process for these to occur, some schools have a limit to how many dances the school will have in a given year. Ask your advisor/cooperating teacher for the specific process of your school. You might find that this process is simpliar to my outlined suggestions in this post.

Type of Dance:
 You'll want to plan what type of dance you want. CLICK HERE (Coming Soon) for a list of types of dances that are appropriate for schools.  You'll want to estimate how much this will cost. CLICK HERE (Coming Soon) to learn about estimating event cost. For example: You've decided you want a winter dance, but another group is already putting on a Valentine's Day Dance. Well, having a White Dance can get everyone excited. The idea is you'll all wear white (which is cool with the lights and black lights). The music will be House/Techno Remixes. This will clearly set you event apart from other clubs and possiblely give you an annual event that your peers will look forward too.

Getting the Date:
You'll want to consult with the Athletic Coordinator or Custodians to ensure the facility is availible. Many dances happen in Gyms, Cafeterias, Fields, or even a classroom for a smaller dance. You need to be sure the space is availible and you'll want to write down the times that it is availible. Your school may have other events that could interfere with your date selection. So, pick about three dates and plan on eliminating one or two as you meet with "The Powers That Be." Often, there are events like, S.A.T.'s, Field Trips, Testing and specific games or functions. Some schools rent out their venue space and your date might be already booked.

The Powers: 
Once you have some dates, approach your school administration. Often, this is the Principal or Assistant Prinicpals. Ask your school secretary and they'll tell you which administrator to ask. You'll want to have your facts in order before you ask for the permission. Doing the "Leg Work" helps to put administrators at ease. Most likely, they'll request that you get a list of chaperones or at least they'll tell you how many you want.

Collecting Names:
At this point you'll want to start collecting names. For the most part, every school will have approximately 25-30% of all students attending any dance. Given this, if you have 500 students in your school, you'll have approximately 125-150 students attending. This projection often varies depending on the type of dance; Homecoming 40-50% and Proms 70-100%. You've all had math, do the numbers. So, about the names. In a classroom, teachers could have 25-30 students, which is a large number, but manageable. For a dance, you'll want similar numbers So, devided your projected number of students by 25 and this is the number of chaperones you'll want to commit to your event. Let's take the school population of 500 students. If we'll see at least 25-30%, then we'll want to have 4-5 chaperones. Do NOT include the administration or class advisors with this number! The reason is, if anything goes wrong, they will be the adults who will deal with the given issue.

Budget:
Many would think the budget should be mention earlier. Not true, you really need to know that you have the permissions prior to planning what you'll spend on this event. Now that you have the permission and location you have the work the budget. Get a copy of my School Dance Budget Planner Here (Coming Soon). There are a lot of things to think about here I'm going to list a few, but use the planners to get the specifics.

• Venue Cost: Some schools require you to pay the overtime fees for the custodians.
• Police Officers: You'll be required to have 1-2 police officers at your dance. This varies betwen schools, but usually you'll need one for each locations. (i.e... Dance Floor, Halls/Bathrooms, Outdoor Patios, etc. Consult your advisor for specifics). 
• DJ: Obviously! Read this article about "Booking Your School DJ!" for more spcecifics. The DJ will require a deposit to reserve your date. This is critical to be sure your DJ will be availible for your specific date and type of dance. 
• Food & Beverages: Some clubs elect other clubs to sell food at the dance. Food should be ordered at least a month in advance or get parents to committ to helping out in making refreshments.
• Decorations: Decorations can get expensive to purchase. Use the Budge Planning Tools to consider how much you should spend. These decorations include: Streamers, Flags, Table Cloths, String Lights, Posters, Paper, etc...
• Trinkets/Keepsakes: This is common with Proms. These can be a photo frame, key chain or event a glow stick (Looks really cool when you have hundres of glow sticks in a room.) Some schools elect to rent a photobooth. 
• Printing of Tickets: Some schools require professional printing of tickets to ensure there will be no duplications. See your advisor for more informaiton. 
• Advertising & Marketing: This can be announcements to posters. Remember, poster paper cost money and so do the markers. Hopefully you can get them donated. Don't Steal from the Art Department, you might need them to chaperone!
• Cash Draw/Bank: You'll need some money to make change as you sell tickets. I suggest keeping your ticket prices to the 5 numbers like: $5, $10, $15, $20. This makes making change much faster and easier. Many schools offer discounts for couples like, $10 per person and $15 per couple. 
• Clean Up Fees & Crew: Some schools require groups to pay the custodians for overtime work to clearn up the facility. You want custodians on your side! Assign a few studens to help out at the end of the dance to pick up the big trash and make sure everything is in its' appropriate place. Trust me, your custodians will want to work for you again! Think about another dance!
• Equipment Rental: If you're renting equipment, you'll need to consider the cost. For Example: Extra Lighting, Dishes (glasses or plates), Extra Speakers, Tents, Dance Floors for fields, chairs and etc...)
• Gifts: This one is often overlooked by most students. Your chaperones are donating their time to help you have a good time. It's a nice gesture to purchase a small gift and/or food for them. At my school, we usually setup a mall food bar in an office for all the chaperones. Some dances, we'll give them each a gift card or small gift (like a nice pen or post-its) with a thank you note. Remember, often the chaperones that volunteer will be the ones that will volunteer again. Thank them so they want to help again. 

Assigning Jobs

So now you have your budget, your date, chaperones, approval and DJ. This will be the time to assign students jobs to build decorations if you've decided to do a dance theme. 

Some jobs to assign are: 

Decoration Building

Promotion & Marketing

Ticket Sales

Dance Setup

Tear & Breakdown

If you're building set peices for your dance. find a location where they will be safe and have fun creating them. This can be as fun as the dance. Get creative and go all out. Remember, a gallon of paint is cheaper than those small tubes. Get your primary colors and mix your own to save money. I've seen many schools recycle paneling, cardboard and posters to decorate.

Get that Marketing Crew out there! Make sure you have strong awareness within your school of the dance approaching. Students need 3-5 weeks notice of a dance approaching. Just like most of you, your parents provide for you. If a family cannot afford $10-$20 for one kid, let alone a few! Give the family and students time to earn the money or save up. I also suggest giving tickets away to needy kids who put in many hours helping you put this dance on. I've seen many groups use Facebook and Twitter to get the word out. Don't hesitate to maximize your social networking opportunities. This is also a great place to put photos from the dance to be shared. 

Now it's time to get your tickets printed and/or cut out. It's cheaper to have the tickets printed on one sheet and cut them out yourselves. Get that bank roll (about $50-$100 in $5's & $10's) to make change for student purchasing tickets. At many schools, you'll be required to keep attendance of who has purchased a ticket. This is because schools need to check the roster to students in good standing. 

Confirm with contracted services at least one week prior to your dance. This means talk on the phone directly with your DJ, Catorer or hired people. You don't want students showing up without a DJ! This should take one student 30 minutes to complete.

THE DAY BEFORE/OF:

I strongly suggest decorating the venue the night before the event (if possilble). If you're having a dance on a Friday night, you'll have to decorate that afternoon. If you spent the right about of time planning, buying and building decorations, then this should go quick. If you're having a BIG Sound & Light Show, your DJ may want to arrive to school several hours 4-6 in advance to program the system.

GUYS READ THIS: "The ladies have as much fun getting ready as they do at the dance. DON'T ask them to work on decorating up to 2 hours before the dance. The ladies will want at least 2-3 hours to get ready. Don't be suprised if they want 4-6 hours! Don't Ask, just give it them."

THE DANCE IS ON!

Now is the fun part, PARTY TIME! Get you date, come to the dance and have a good time! Don't forget to thank your chaperones and staff for helping out; you want them to help again!

As you can see, planning a dance is no simple task. Don't hesitate any longer. Contact DJ Michael to get the best support, planning and ideas. You'll be thankful you did!

Grinding Affects School Dances

There are many issues at a high/middle school dance. Kids are easily influanced by mass media as they explore their perception of self. We all know that kids explore and experiment with drugs, alchohol and yes, sexual identity. This includes how a teen dresses, acts and behaves in a given situaiton. Remember how you tested your parents and teachers limits?

There are many articles that announce, "Schools are canceling their dances due to "Grinding."" 

Huffington Post Article

Portland Press Herald Article of Portland High School

Maine Sunday Telegram Article of Yarmouth High

As an educator, I can feel the frustation of why we don't want to chaperone a school dance. There are behaviors that are allow and obviously some that are not allowed. It can be intimidating to stop teens from dancing the way they have learned from Mass Media. When I chaperone, I never feel intimidated about stopping this kind of dancing. I had one young lady approach me after the dance and said, 

"Thank you for telling my date that grinding on me was not appropriate. It's difficult to go to a dance with your friends pressuring you to dance this way. Not all of us what to dance that way." (Anonymous)

So, there are good students who want to have a good time. As we know with most behaviors, there are a few that will refuse to follow expectations, while most will comply. The VAST majority will comply! This is key. If the dance is designed and planned accordingly, dancing can change with the music and the atmosphere, leaving only a few students to be corrected. If a few students are corrected, the others will follow. This can often be dealt with by school administration or staff who have good reporte with this select students.

The planning process includes a multitude of variables: venue, lighting, flow, decor, music style, dress code, and most inportantly BPM (Beats Per Minute). With a talented DJ, they can control the flow of the dance floor with music's BPM. Most grinding occurs with 80-110 bpms. Changing the bpms and lighting, can effectively eliminate the grinding. This all requires planning and timing on the DJ's part. During your consulations, you'll get the opportunity to discuss how you can eliminate grinding at your school dances. 

I've (DJ Michael) DJ'd 100's of school dances. Like most DJ's, at some point the grinding affect sneaked  into the building and grinding prevailed. Now, he's mastered the Art of Eliminating Grinding without telling kids, "No, I can't play that song." Look to see if your date is availible for booking now.

Contact DJ Michael for more information about how to host a school dance with little to no grinding!