Highway to the Pelagic Zone

Any mix that has Kenny Loggins on it is after my heart. Any mix that has Kenny Loggins on it TWICE on it is testing my ability to not propose marriage to the ipod. And any DJ who contributes a new word to our collective vocabulary (as one DDPPer said “that’s a GRE word!) with her own DJ name is dangerously, excitingly pushing the bounds of over-stimulation and yes, MAGIC!

DJ Pelagic Magic did all of this and more during Wednesday’s evening of enchantment. With a room full of DDPP first timers, she gave them a spirited lesson in how a mere 60 minutes of music can transform the very chemistry in one’s body & brain for the better and how an hour of shakin it can disorient oneself so fully that they feel as though they’re on the highway to the danger PELAGIC ZONE.

Pay Attention: Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom or near to the shore is in the pelagic zone. The word pelagic comes from the Greek πέλαγος or pélagos, which means open sea. And it was in this majestic zone where we all swam willingly and lost our bearings on what social etiquette entails, how one is supposed to move one’s body in the company of strangers, and how to be blissfully unaware of what others think of us for one full hour. In this magic, pelagic zone, we made new friends.

Sorry – I just really love that illustration. And those happen to be creatures found in the very pelagic zone that we entered. And so was this young man below, who was similarly disoriented as well, but appropriately appointed. I wish we could have gotten a photo of all of us together . Damn. Next time.

Thank you DJ Pelagic Magic for such a boundless, beauteous mix! We will gladly leave our life preservers behind and trust you to bring us out to sea and back to shore any ol time.

and if you want to be less awed by beauty but more by weirdness, there’s this:

 

Post-Op Explosion x10

Slap Chop shocking us monkeys.

It was a dark & stormy afternoon, but that was nothing to the Sunday DDPP crew, tough ladies that we are—we waded through the muck & the mire (and perhaps jumped in a puddle or two…ah the child in one never dies) to be rocked to the core…by none other than DJ Slap Chop!  Not only did Slap Chop bring the tunes in her 1st DJing outing since her knee surgery…it was her 10th time delighting the DDPP masses.  She brought the house down with her playlist making skillz–proving that she was indeed “back in the saddle again” & we were sweaty heaps because of it.  Everybody did indeed have fun that night!

Knee surgery cannot slow down Slap Chop!

You know it is good when the smiles on the faces of the newbies (welcome ladies!!) glow with satisfaction & with a yearning for more. 

Check the playlist here. 

 

We love ya Slap Chop & thanks for bringing your own cult of personality for the 10th time…OH YEAH!

Excuse me Colonel, I found a dancer in my double down

Hailing from the dairy state… a state who’s bird is the drumstick, the flower: canola, and the motto: why is that not battered? is our DJ of this past Wednesday evening’s hearty artery party: DJ Deep Fried Goodness. She seriously satiated our every carnal craving with her killer mix of jalapeno heart poppers and lockers. Our t-shirts served as serviettes, sopping up the grease we generated through gyration. And after we felt the cool breezes generated by Mr. Blue Sky, this mister below was blowing his oral breezes onto molten-hot curds, and waiting for us as we exited the studio… popping one perfect curd in every maw as we exited.

Perhaps part of this post is fantasy. Perhaps someone will heed this fantasy and make their boyfriend do this for us one day. I will be ready with a mouth dripping with ranch dip after each DDPP from now on, regardless. God I’m disgusting. Hey – want to watch a silly video of ladies dancing through the decades and not quite understand why the audience feels it’s soooo hilarious? Oh goody.

OK – with that, I think you more than deserve to peep DJ Deep Fried Goodness’ playlist. Thank you for playing. (that’s both a reference to you, DJ, and to ya’ll – ya’ll) Hi-YA!

 

Double Dare: DDPP Gets Transcendent

What. A. Sunday. It’s actually hard to describe without resorting to analogies packed with rainbows, glitter, and buckets of warm, wet triumph – otherwise known as sweat. But I’ll do my best here and begin by saying this past Sunday may go down as the best day in DDPP history thus far. And yes, we’ve been at it for years now. Perhaps this is the case because we broke format for the first DDPP and allowed the XY chromosome to join over 2 dozen of us us in jaw-dropping displays of bodily mobility (boys – 5 of ‘em, were fully present). Or maybe it’s because our 2nd DDPP had over 30 women freaking the frick out. But I’d like to keep the wonderment in mind that there just may have been more of us in the studio than we actually counted, as these 2 mixes were all about celebrating and honoring those we’ve loved and lost. Yep. I think all that extra energy in the room were really spirits there to check out our moves and giggle/marvel at our silly flesh-contained souls.

The first mix of the day was DJed by myself, known to you this day as “DJ Eye of the Tiger Balm.” But you likely already put that together by seeing my latest passport photo above. My mix was honoring a dear friend of mine, and a dear friend of so many – Gavin Welch. Last year he was killed in a car accident, and left so many of us in awe of how one young person can be responsible for so many incredible, hysterically funny memories in so many lives. As you can appreciate from the photos below of sir Gavin (all painted/photoshopped by him), he was as full of love, hilarity, and hope.

The mix I put together in his honor, was composed of some of his favorite songs off his ipod (as sent by his lovely sister, Meghan Welch), some songs that were #1 on the charts during his birthweek (today is his birthday, Feb 15th), and some songs that just exuded Gavin energy. The last song, Temple Mystique is by a new band called “The Hidden Words” and is made up of the former creators of the Unicorns and Islands – both amazing Montreal bands. This last song is a reference to writings of Baha’u'llah, the prophet-founder of the Baha’i Faith, of which Gavin was a member.

Thank you SO much to all who showed up in support of our experimental, male-open DDPP. I think we all agree with DDPP regular Jill, who said afterward: “You know what, I had no problem with having mens at DDPP. I didn’t think that the vibe was that different with them there. If we want to invite them back again that is OK with me.” Mens – keep yer eyes peeled, we may just be rolling out the red carpet for you once again, soon.

Our second mix of Sunday was also in honor of someone super special, our DJ U.N.I.T.Y.’s dear mother, Maria, who passed away 11 years ago on this day, February 15th.  Unity said her mamma is who inspired her insatiable love of dancing, and as you can see from the photos below, Maria knew what was up.

DJ U.N.I.T.Y.’s mix brought the house up, down and sideways. We had a near record number of ladies turn out to turn themselves inside out to her relentlessly catchy and groovable mixterpiece. And what took it over the top? Glow bracelets. Lots of em. This is one DJ who has been earning her style points. If you need anymore proof, look no further than her senior year photo.

Much of the inspiration behind her song choice was her mom, Maria. Sweet Dreams was Maria’s all time favorite song, and Hey There was #1 the week and year she was born.

(Song #2–Track 11 is Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics, Song #15—track 5 is Take on me by A-ha.)

Thank you Unity for yelping yer hiney off, getting all these amazing women to come out and feel the power of DDPP, and for this just.plain.perfect mix that brought us all over the top. I heard reports of women getting out of class and sprinting around the neighborhood as fast as they could, pumping fists… of the best nights of sleep they’ve had in years… and of total healing heart explosions of goodness. Yep, that’s one damn fine way to have spent Valentine’s day weekend, I reckon.

FORMAT BUSTER! Double DDPP tomorrow (Sunday!)

Yo yo party people!

Big day is tomorrow: our first ever Co-Ed DDPP followed by our classic Ladies Only DDPP! For you virgins, here’s what to know:

Co-Ed DDPP is from 2pm-3pm

Classic DDPP is from 4-5pm

*studio opens approximately 20 minutes prior to each DDPP.

1) We’re expecting a BIG crowd for Co-Ed DDPP.*** Due to the size of the studio, we’ll only be able to take in the first 35 people who show up.*** The studio will open at 1:40pm, so make sure you get there early to secure a spot. After snowmageddon, parking is a touch rough. So allow time to park or take pub trans (Damen bus, Irving Park bus, brown line to Irving Park, etc).

2) Location: 4057 N Damen Ave, IN THE BACK. The building is a corner 3 flat on Belle Plaine and Damen, across from the CVS. Please walk east down Belle Plaine and enter through the wooden gate in the back. We’ll have signage up.

3) Get ready to sweat your tush off! So wear whatever you don’t mind getting wet. Some folks wear 80′s gear, some yoga gear, some sequin action, some sweatpants. Just be comfy. And you can wear shoes so long as they’re sneakers (non-scuffin kicks). And unlike at a club, there’s not really a spot to “take a break” and just watch the action. Expect to dance for a full hour, at whatever pace you’re feelin. Lights will be off, and no one will be judgin you for downward doggin or spinning in circles.

4) Bring a water bottle! We sell bottles of water for $1 if you forget one.

5) This DDPP has a suggested donation between $5-10. All proceeds are going to charity. We can’t take cards, but we will have change for cash.

6) We WILL be having our *classic* ladies only DDPP as usual this Sunday after our co-ed DDPP. Classic is from 4-5pm. Ladies: you attend the earlier co-ed DDPP, you get free entry to the later one!

7) In between DDPPs, we will be hydrating at the Globe Pub, 1934 w Irving Park (2 minute walk from DDPP).

Post any additional questions on our Facebook wall, and please pass this message on to anyone else who’s coming along.

AND GET READY!

ROCK that BODY ♥,

Jenn Brandel
Jenn Salvatore
Kelley Clink
Kelly Peraino
aka DDPP CHICAGO

Breeches Women Ill Ill!

Our DJ du jour this past Wednesday was none other than our terrific, our prolific DJ Michelle Leslie Brown. But say there – would a DJ by any other name smell as sweet? Accordingeth to this uber fun anagram generator, she could also just as easily be known as: DJ Embellish Recline Low, DJ Chenille Smell Rib Woe (a rib woe, I actually do have. PSYCHIC generator!), or of course, my fav: DJ Breeches Women Ill Ill.

So wha happened on Weds? Pretty much this:

Our DJ had a room full of DDPP virgins begging, pleading for more. She dished out all never-been-played-at-ddpp-before tunes, as she’s known to do, and raised our collective body temperatures to approximately 946 degrees (Celsius). And I guess we should mention this, too… her mix was also rumored to be responsible for liberating Egypt from (now former!) President Mubarak. Reaction shots:

Let freedom, liberation and dance music RING! Congrats on another historic mix, DJ MLB!

 

Sport V Dance

Two big winners emerged from events so big on Sunday, they can only be called super.

One was Aaron Rodgers, the other DJ L Scream. With every winner though, there are sometimes losers. (click on the photo below to reveal one, and here for another).

But among the winners, one could construct an even larger battle. Sport versus Dance. Your logic could run like the one below. But that Venn diagram is just dead azz wrong when you consider Dance Dance Party Party.

Exhibit A – “performance and appearance are important” NOPE. Who the hell is anyone trying to impress?

Exhibit B – wait. Why the hell am I wasting all of our time? There ain’t no need to nitpick this 4th grade assessment. We should just pair up the manliest of sports (pro wrestling of course) versus the power of body + music and see what happens.

Dance wins by a landslide, suplex, boston crab, piledriver, and a jump off the top turnbuckle. Enter this playlist into evidence. BANG goes the gavel. CASE CLOSED.

Bee Boppin’ and Skattin’ Like a Ssssnake

It’s not out of the ordinary for a room full of 24 sweaty, free-spirited women to scream, walk on their tippy toes and breathe heavily when a SSSSSSSNAKE enters the room.  But when you add a skat cat, some wannabe prostitutes and a beat that just won’t quit – you have a DANCE DANCE PARTY PARTY sesh for the record books!!

This mix – fresh from the womb of veteran DDPPer DJ Ssssnake was fresh and had all of us hot and bothered in the best way possible!  What a great way to spead the joy of DDPP to the virgins that attended!  For realzies.

***No DDPP Tonight***

Yep – this time the mass hysteria was somewhat warranted. Due to the dangerously low temperatures + horrendous travel conditions, and the fact that this is the third worst storm in CHICAGO HISTORY, we have to call off DDPP for tonight. Please take this opportunity to crank up your heat and your tunes and dance your tushie off at home tonight instead. Or you can try this (at your peril):

We will be on as usual this Sunday from 4-5, barring any other weather-related insanity.

SUPER SPECIAL: Valentine’s DDPP DOUBLE SESSION! In honor of those we’ve loved and lost…

To pay tribute to the holiday that’s all about <3 LOVE <3, we’re doing two super special DDPPs on Sunday, Feb 13th! That’s right – there will be 2 DDPP sessions in a single day. Can you handle it? We certainly can.

The first session will be from 2pm-3pm and we’ll be breaking one of our cardinal DDPP rules just this once. Yep – we’re allowing DUDES! In honor of a dear friend of ours, Gavin Welch, who passed away in 2010 in a car accident, we’ll be doing our first-ever DDPP where humans with penises will be allowed to shake it with those of us with fallopian tubers on the dance floor! All proceeds of this DDPP will go towards causes that were dear to Gavin’s heart.

Our 2nd DDPP of the day will be the usual time, from 4-5pm and it will be the classic, ladies only DDPP. In this special Valentine’s day edition of the classic DDPP, we’ll also be dancing in memory of those who we continue to love, but who are just with us in spirit. And in case you needed another reason to spend two glorious hours on the dance floor, we’ll give you one: if you come to the first hour of DDPP, the second one is FREE! Yep – two hours or dancing for the price of 1! That’s just our little way of saying WE LOVE YOU, too.

Please spread the word ya’ll! For the love of dance. For the love of those we’ve loved and continue to love…