Birthdays Rock!

Happy birthday to us! Many, many thanks to all of the awesome ladies that came out last night.

As for the mix, your den mothers lovingly picked songs from each DJ we had in the past year. The result was a mind-blowing mix of epic proportions. “How epic?” you may be asking. Well, suffice to say, our near-record number of women in attendance really turned up the heat–so much so that Michele had to turn on the air conditioning when we had steamed up not just the windows, but the MIRRORS as well. Hot damn! I decided to wear my special dancing shirt, but if I had known we were going to be doing bikram DDPP, I would have shown up in only my underwear! (Yes, you can all breathe a sigh of relief that I didn’t.)

After the mix, there was still fun to be had. Everyone that showed up got a copy of last night’s mix, as well as brownies, candy, and special surprises. We gave away a gift certificate to Old Arizona, tickets to an NSRG roller derby bout, and 2 GB of DJ Reaction’s music from the past year. I think the most coveted item, though, may have been the yellow and green Whip It headband. Who knew?

Again, Michele and I thank everyone for helping us bring the dance to the Twin Cities: to Old Arizona for being such kind hosts, to all the DJs for stepping up to the booth and spinning some hot stuff, and, of course, to everyone who has come and danced with us. We’re looking forward to another great year!

Below, we present some of DDPP TC’s best! (Don’t worry, there’s more where this came from…):

Just Two More Days Until Our Birthday!

Your den mothers are so excited about turning one–we’re bringing our own bibs and will be drooling all over the place!

Okay, maybe not.

And in case you were wondering if you could get us a present, the only thing we would love is to see YOU on the dancefloor. So come on out this Thursday for hot jams, sweet pastries and lots of free goodies!

PS–RSVP YES on Facebook, get an awesome goody bag from your loving den mothers!

We’ve Got the Dance Virus

While everyone else is worrying about a certain H1N1, we’ve got our own super-dangerous strain of Dance Fever going on. Symptoms include: lots of sweat, feelings of exhilaration, and moves that can look a little like this:

Luckily, the ladies at class tonight were professionals, and knew how to handle the outbreak of grooves on the dance floor. Just watch out; it’s pretty contagious.

See you next week at our totally rockin’, totally incredible one year anniversary bash! “How awesome will it be?” you might be asking. The answer is: it will be like 10 lbs of Awesome in a 5 lb bag.

Yes, that awesome.

See you next Thursday! Until then, let this list of grooves tickle your eyeballs:

Ending the Year in Style!

Well ladies, we only have two months left in 2009, and boy have the months flown! They’ve gone by so quickly, in fact, that a milestone is upon us…that’s right, November 12th will mark DDPP TC’s ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!

So prepare yourself…there will be prizes, baked goods, and yours truly will be spinning our greatest hits from the past year! Also, if you RSVP on our Facebook page (look up and to the right to check it out), you will get a FREE GIFT!

Also, just to do some housecleaning…with all the holidays going on, our DDPP schedule will be a little spotty. That doesn’t mean you can’t dance your face off; it just means that you won’t be able to do it within our friendly confines for a few Thursdays. But dry those tears, because you can still get down with us on:

November 5, 12, 19
December 3, 10

Look alive, because within those weeks we hope to have 1) the first ever cross-state Mix Swap with DDPP Chicago, and 2) a cross-promotional event, to be announced. Be sure to check back for more updates! Or, you can always visit our Facebook page–be our friend!

With the New Year, we’ll return to our regular dancing schedule.

Mark your calendars! See you tonight!

We will Survive!

Despite technical difficulties, the ladies of DDPP Twin Cities brought the funk once more. They kept the music blaring and the hips a shakin’ all the way through this rocking mix. Thanks for your patience ladies!!! Here’s the mix brought to you by DJ G Funk.

1. Creator – Santogold
2. Fresh Air – Brother Ali
3. Shake Your Grove Thing – Peaches & Herb
4. Mamma Mia – Abba
5. Boys Wanna Be Her – Peaches
6. Learnalilgivinanlovin – Gotye
7. Hysteric – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8. Hang Me Out to Dry – Cold War Kids
9. Respect – Aretha Franklin
10. If Looks Could Kill – Camera Obscura
11. The Only Ones – The Lookbook
12. Once Bitten Twice Shy – Great White
13. Bad – Michael Jackson
14. Black Gloves – Goose
15. I Wonder Who We Are – The Clientele
16. Kiss, Kiss – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
17. Stripper – Sohodolls
18. Hit Me Up – Gia Farrell
19. Dusk Till Dawn – Ladyhawke
20. The Ice is Getting Thinner – Death Cab for Cutie

The Director’s (un)Cut Mix

It’s been a busy time here at DDPP. Your den mother, having relaxed and enjoyed the three weeks of new DJs, found herself returning to the DJ booth this past Thursday. As always, she had a mix ready. Unfortunately, she didn’t quite think that this mix was ready for the primetime yet. But, with work deadlines looming and life in general keeping her on her toes, the mix sadly got a little neglected.

So this past Thursday, the dutiful ladies that came out to dance were good sports and danced heartily to her mix, warts and all. Actually, it wasn’t half bad. I mean, who can go wrong with a little ’80s era Madonna?

A big thanks to all the lovely ladies that shook it this Thursday. And welcome back den mother Michele–we missed you!

Wake Up with DJ Buzz!

Okay, even though it wasn’t 5am, the crew seemed a little groggy as they walked in Thursday night. Your den mother was no exception. Luckily, Kari, aka DJ Buzz came to the rescue and perked us up more than an IV of Jolt cola!

Before the mix, DJ Buzz apologized for scraping the “bottom of the barrel” for her mix. Well, if that’s bottom of the barrel, I can’t wait to see the cream of the crop. Awesome job lady! I hope you refill your dance song list soon, because I’m thirsty for another one!

And here it is:

Well, three new DJs in three weeks. Whew, what a ride! Great job to all involved! Yours truly will be back spinnin the (proverbial) tables this Thursday, and hopefully we’ll catch a glimpse of den mother Michele, back from her travels…

Months in the Making

A long time ago, your den mother was once just a groove-bustin’ dancer at DDPP Chicago. Although I loved to dance, I was too shy and/or scared to DJ myself. Finally, after about eight months on the dance floor, I finally busted out a mix (full of international music), and DJ Import–soon to become DJ Reaction–was born. Since then, I’ve never looked back. Instead of agonizing over every song again and again, I can pop out a dance mix in (almost) two shakes of a lamb’s tail, and have now regaled (tormented?) the ladies of DDPP with many a playlist over the past year.

And here, in the Twin Cities, there’s the lovely Judie. Judie has been coming to DDPP for the better part of a year now, dancing almost every week. Only a week or so ago she was the first to complete her card under our Frequent Dancer program. But she had never DJed.

So when Judie told me that she wanted to DJ, I was ecstatic. What musical genius was lurking in that ol’ noggin of hers? We found out this past week, and all I can say is, it was just as awesome as I thought it would be. Judie, aka DJ Groove, rolled out beats that had me thirsting for more–literally; I think I was hitting the water bottle every five minutes.

Excellent job, DJ Groove! Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another six months for your next mix…Until then, here’s what we grooved to Thursday night!

Mix Tapes and Cupcakes!

It was a dark and stormy night this past Thursday, and a good portion of us dancers arrived soaked to the bone. Luckily, DDPP provided the perfect environment to warm our souls and dry our socks.

A week before, one of our newest ladies, Kel-c, asked if she could make a mix tape for the upcoming class. Unfortunately, our lovely stereo system did not include a cassette deck. Unfazed, Kel-c showed up with an old walkman in tow, which worked with our input jack perfectly.

Thus, DJ Low-Fi was born. And let me tell you, the jams did not stop! (Well, except to switch to side 2.) I’ve danced to some crazy shit in my days, but it will be hard to top dancing to an old Richard Simmons recording. “Inhale! Exhale” This is for YOUUUUUUU!”

Totally. Awesome.

If you can believe it though, the class got even BETTER. Thursday marked the night when Judie, dance vet extraordinaire, used her frequent dancer card to get a free class. Dreams can come true, ladies, and we celebrated this momentous occasion with lots of beautiful little cupcakes. Oh, it was a sight to behold.

So thanks ladies, for constantly raising the bar, and never ceasing to amaze me. And kudos again to DJ Low-Fi, for rocking decades-old technology harder than I could rock a brand new iPod. And now, the amazing mix lovingly transferred from vinyl just for us:

Be sure to join us this Thursday, when Judie celebrates her new frequent dancer card with her first ever DJ mix! Can’t wait to see what’s in store!

The Contra-Positive of Sedated

I was talking with a friend of mine who was a math major, and he used the term “contra-positive”. Huh? “It means negative.”

Well, the title of DJ Reaction’s first song was definitely the contra-positive of what transgressed Thursday night. Our small but devoted dance crew brought it, no matter what the speakers threw at us. Den mother Michele won for the Trooper Award; you didn’t even notice that she was feeling a bit under the weather. That’s right, foxey lady; show that cold who’s boss.

I’m no doctor (well, I’m no MD), so I can’t prescribe hard-core dancing for whatever ails you. Unless, of course, you’re suffering from boredom or a lack of awesomeness. Then, I recommend one dose of DDPP per week. Use as directed.

…

So, rumor has it we’re going to have TWO new DJs in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to check it out, ladies, as I’m sure it will be hot. Until then, check out what DJ Reaction was (figuratively) spinning this past Thursday: