Have we all got to learn from DJ Two Step…..

What do mashed potatoes, tootsie rolls, & peppermints have in common? Not only are they edible, but they are danceable, too. That is, if you know how to do the moves. I, for one, realized I need a lesson in the decades of dance songs that involve choreography. The DDPP ladies, no matter if they knew the tootsie roll or the monster mash, strutted their stuff, making up new moves to the legendary songs as they went. If we didn’t know how to do the Hustle, we created our own DDPP version. The night was full of songs we recognized (the cha cha cha by Sam Cooke…thanks DJ Two Step. It made me think of my wedding dance song, also by Sam Cooke), and we danced to songs we couldn’t even understand, like “the wall” song, where apparently, you aren’t supposed to dance at all. Needless to say, our evening was full of classics that make the body want to move and some not-so classics that made us think we were birds flying overhead looking for worms to eat…or wait, were we the worms below doing “the wiggle” ourselves. Needless to say, DJ Two Step has made a new name for herself…Amazing. Cheers to shakin’ our butts on the dance floor way , way way beyond the twist.

Agent N-a-palooza!

DJ Natalie threw down Chicago-festival-style last night with a Pitchfork/Lollapalooza inspired mixterpiece!

Regrettably, VERY regrettably neither Jenns could make it last night. Martin/Salvatore was out for the count with a perplexing and vexing foot injury that the doctors have yet to make sense of. And Brandel is in the middle of work insanity – which is almost always how it is – but more now than ever. She’s producing an exercise video of an extremely inspiring woman – Dara Torres. She’s 41, babelicious (in all senses) and will be swimming for the USA at the Beijing Olympics. Go Dara!

Alas – for those who made it – you can certainly recount fond memories of this incredible and topical (incropical?) mix. For those of us who didn’t – I lament in solidarity. Thanks Natalie for kicking ass in that special way that only you do. I seriously want a copy of this mix. Big time.

Praise be to DJ Michelle Leslie Brown

(posed by Megan Krejny…)

Q: What was hotter – the 90+degree day outside with a heat index over 100 yesterday or the tunes sizzling off DJ Michelle Leslie Brown’s ipod?

A: The tunes. (duh!)

Last night felt like a long lost friend-sleepover party as a group of DDPP fanatics boogied down, hard. I think we covered every square inch of that studio through sashaying, skipping, break dancing and plain old running in circles. The blessing of small classes is the room to take busting a move to new levels.

Thanks to all who let the bass pump up their soul. We just can’t get enough of DJ Michelle Leslie Brown!

NO DDPP ON SUNDAYS UNTIL OCTOBER

Fine examples of the female form in motion!

We have an announcement to make that will vary in importance to you…

Seeing as how very few human beings crave to be indoors on a beautiful, summer Sunday afternoon (ourselves included), we’ve decided to cancel Sunday DanceDancePartyParty classes from now until October. 

(handing you a virtual tissue, patting your shoulders, giving you a delicious piece of homemade cake)

We know. We didn’t want to do it either. But it’s better this way. Go out and frolic, picnic and dance in fields of green, luscious grass! Lord knows Chicago summers are far too fleeting to take for granted. 

For all of you who have been loyal Sunday devotees – we sincerely apologize. Save up your energy for Wednesday classes (still on from 6:30-8pm) and get excited for the Fall!

So to summarize: 

NO SUNDAY DDPP STARTING JULY 20th (this Sunday)

FIRST SUNDAY DDPP WILL RESUME OCTOBER 5

Stay tuned for other exciting events sure to transpire in the not-so-distant future. 

We love you and truly appreciate your support. 

Twirling Confidently into Summer, 

Jenns Brandel & Martin

Kung-Fu Fighting

No rain today – we were walking on sunshine (with protective footwear mind you – mamma didn’t raise no fools). DJ AllieKatt took a break from perusing the alleys for fish and that damn Heathcliff and man oh man we were happy she did. It was (sorry) the purrrrrfect mix for a sunny Sunday afternoon in Chicago. The energy was off the charts for the entire class and each of us took turns losing control in order to maintain the homeostasis of the room itself. Thankfully – no fire alarm this time!

Musical highlights were plentiful – including Kelley C’s verbatim rendition of “Baby Got Back” and all of our neutron dances – which were no doubt enough to create new matter.

And and and…DJ Alliekatt showed us how she gets her name with song number 11. See below.

Yep – it’s true. We allow cats in class – especially the kind with a K Thanks for a FANTASTIC mix that all who experienced will sleep like babies tonight because of. Whew! Sweeeeeat!

WE’RE SO FRICKIN BACK, JACK

We were absent for 3 weeks. The above is what happened pretty much every day of those three weeks. Jealous? I am – of Jenn Martin’s Salvatore’s hot indigenous outfit! This photo was snapped of your loyal, loving den mother’s during the welcome dinner for Jenn’s wedding. True to her style and spirit, Jenn busted out this hot outfit (and her now-hubbie Jim, had a matching red poncho – amazing!) without anyone’s knowledge. She’s a card – a Queen, an Ace…but mostly a Joker.

So in our travels in which either one or both of us visited or did the following: the beach, Machu Picchu, hung out with international drug traffickers in a Bolivian prison, and got invited to a Harlem Globetrotters game in Lima by you guessed it, the Harlem Globetrotters. It was yes, amazing. But in all of our fresh-squeezed orange juice mornings and long trips to the toilet, we missed you all. Terribly.

Please come say hi and shake your tail feathers with us again soon. If you’re nice, we’ll bust out our newest dances: the llama/alpaca mating ritual. (HOT)

Kiki’s In Bizzo

I couldn’t have been more pleased to come back from 3 weeks without the dance (sans Jenn Martin’s Salvatore’s epic 5 hour wedding dance party) to Kiki Bizzo’s fantastic, masterful mix. No thanks to the Cubs and George Michael’s concert, we began class a little on the late side – which turned out to be just fine! Meant we had to just up the BPM (boogie per minute). Luckily, we’re all experts in such matters. Below, please spy Kiki’s jammin jams:

Yep – getcher glasses out and make it work. Or just close your peepers and tap your puppies and trust it was a helluva time.

Hope to see all ya’ll sooner than later! We got plenty of room in our studio – some come the hell by, why dontcha? DO IT!

Have the DDPP ladies been resting on their laurels?…

…hell no!

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you may be wondering where all the posts are. No, classes haven’t been canceled. What has happened, though, is that the lovely Jenn Martin got married! In freakin’ PERU!

Not content to throw down just any ol’ wedding reception, Jenn and her man decided to throw a party and get their groove on in the Peruvian mountains. With her extensive background in dance party planning, you can bet that the dance hall was hoppin’.

Of course, Jenn took her partner in crime, Jenn B, for the occasion as the maid of honor. Which sadly left us Chicago-based dance enthusiasts without our guiding stars.

But fear not, as a dedicated group of DDPP vets stepped in to carry the torch (er, disco ball?) while they were away. These ladies (Victoria, Kelly, Megan and Kristen) have battled sticky doors, shoddy wiring, and other obstacles to keep the dance fever high. Kudos to them for all of their hard work!

So, our apologies for the blog being a little out of date. Want to know what’s been played? Don’t fret; our Database Czar is still plugging in those entries, so click the Song Database link above to see what’s been hitting the dancefloor.

Congratulations to Jenn M!!! And to both Jenns: come home soon, DDPP isn’t the same without you!

Respectfully submitted,

DJ Reaction (nee Import, Century)