O’ dj where art thou?

You know every now & then at DDPP we have a dj not show up to class.  It is a rare occasion, but it still happens.  It is a bit sad, but it is the reason we den mothers show up with our mp3 players ready to go (we be back up yo!).  Last night was one of those times where we missed out on what I am sure was going to be a rip-roaring playlist that would make us drop to our knees with dance satisfaction. 

The good news is that dj Snake (den momma Catherine) was at the ready and we were treated to a playlist she masterfully put together called “The Best of Sundays”.  It was all the hits from this past years Sunday mixes.  It was GLORIOUS!  We ladies got the dance satisfaction we so needed to make it through the rest of the week.

Here is a little sampling:

Full playlist here:

Pretty Girls Rock!

Hellz ya we do!

Rupaul kind of says it best when talking about pretty girls working it:

The gaggle of pretty ladies who gathered for the one & only dj Bootylicious session were rocking out & shaking that thang like it owed them some $$.  Bootylicious put together an R&B throwdown mix that had each of us grooving the night away.  It is one of the things I love most about DDPP, each dj brings their own flavor & style to class…they put their own stank on it if you will.  One of the best things about class is the anticipation…what will the dj play?  will it be a song I know?  You wait with bated breath to see what is next (well, at least I do)…that is what makes DDPP so great.  Dj Bootylicious gets it cause check out what she put together (on very short notice to boot):

Ya know, every time I hear the Singles Ladies song…I cannot help but think of this:

DJ Lady KStud: Worth Her Weight In Gold

I know it’s been a few weeks since the Olympics ended, but you guys…how great are the summer Olympics? I’ve still got them on the brain. Speed Walking! Rhythmic Gymnastics! Synchronized Swimming!!! (What…those aren’t your favorite events?) But the thing I really love most about the Olympics is that all those athletes make the craziest things look effortless.

What I’m trying to say here is…if there was a gold medal for DDPP playlist making, DJ Lady KStud would win it! She bounced into the studio last Sunday afternoon extra pumped for the playlist that she had made…an hour beforehand?!  Color me jealous. I start my playlists months before my actual  DJ date, and then spend waaaay too much time agonizing over song choice, placement, etc. But not Lady KStud. That girl’s a pro. She makes it look easy. She’s all like “What? This old playlist? I just threw it together. AND IT RULES.”

DJ Lady KStud’s sweet beats cut through us like a hot knife. She had us sweating like whoa- there was no doubt that our studio was where the party was at (oh oh oh oh)! After that hour, I do believe in magic. There was no WAY that playlist could have been perfected in such a short time! KStud, you’re like…like…more badass than a synchronized swimmer in a wolf costume spitting water.

And that’s about as badass as it gets.

Now not only was this DJ Lady KStud’s 15th playlist, but it was also in celebration of her 31st birthday! Her and I go way back, so I know that what she would really love most on her birthday is to give a gift to all of YOU, our lovely loyal readers and dancers. So without further ado, I leave you with the cutest video you will ever see (that doesn’t involve baby animals, obvs).  Happy birthday, DJ Lady KStud. And happy earworm to us all…

8 languages & 1 is made up…SAY WHAT?!?!?

First time dj…Chibi Squid started out the night with that comment.  Her playlist was made up of 8 different language & one was for sure made up.  We were all like…say what?!?!

She blew our minds with that statement & once we recovered…we were ready for our international dance off.  It was like DDPP on the Rosetta Stone.

 

We danced and grooved to songs we may not have known the words to, but you could see all the smiling faces of everyone from across the room.  Just adding truth to the fact that dance does transcend all cultures & languages (possibly even CAT).

 

Now, not only did Chibi Squid bring the international flavor, she also dropped some R&B on us with a little “No Diggity” by Blackstreet…just cause she likes the way we work it. This little gem was found on the interwebs:

There was no need to translate what Chibi Squid was trying to “say” to us with this mix…it was simply this:  Get off your asses & dance!  I have to give up to a dj who can challenge us & show us that dance/music is so much bigger than our little world.   Check the playlist here:

 

 

A playlist to make Clay Davis proud.

Forgive us for getting a bit behind on the blogs, ladies, PARTICULARLY when it causes us to delay filling you in on mixes as hot as the one DJ Hot Dish, uh, dished out earlier this month. In honor of her birthday, she managed to corral a whole MESS o’ women into the studio to celebrate. It kinda looked like this, but, you know, older:

 

In her introduction, our DJ exclaimed that this was her “Oh shit!” mix–as in, a bunch of songs that make her exclaim with joy whenever she hears them (played at DDPP or otherwise).

For those of you who haven’t scheduled your multi-season DVD binge of the Wire, allow me to introduce you to State Senator Clay Davis, the man who officially OWNED the word “shit”…that is, until DJ Hot Dish arrived:

Are you going to try to tell me you’re going to say that word any other way from now on? I didn’t think so! Because believe me when I tell you that the women in the studio that night had many occasions to express themselves with a bit of a potty mouth. How can I count the ways? Well, busting out “Don’t Stop Me Now” at the start of a mix is clearly one of them. But then our DJ continued her auditory attack with multiple amazing mashups, singalongs, and an ode to women’s bodies courtesy of 30 Rock. Yeah, you know the one:

Sheeeeeeeit, DJ Hot Dish. NICELY DONE!

Smooth As Dre

Many things come to mind when I hear the word DRE:

THE DOCTOR

THE “CHAMPAGNE”

THE GIANT

THE OUTKAST

But what we got this Wednesday was a million times SMOOTHER than any of those fools!  DJ DRE DRE SMOOTH‘s very first DDPP playlist was an amazing build-up of movin’ and shakin’.  We had an amazing 28 dancers packed in our studio – half of them were first timers!  Luckily, DJ Dre Dre Smooth has a natural knack for creating a mix that started with some English rock favorites, got our heart rates up with an international jam and sealed the deal with some hip hop royalty and a couple of pop favorites.  The newbies were jumping, the regulars were boppin’ and we were all sweating the day away and STEAMING UP THE MIRRORS!  You know you had a successful DDPP when the mirrors are fogged up before the last fast song!

Someone came up to me after class asking about the awesome Indian jam that was played….it is Mundian To Bach Ke by Panjabi MC!  Here is the vid!

One more notable moment was when the DJ announced that it was the “last fast song.”  The entire group of 28 hot, sweaty women all gave a collective GROAN because we wanted MORE!  More Dre Dre, more smooth beats, more sweat, more fog, more DANCING!  Thank you everyone for an unbelievable class!

Ah, summer vacation!

I remember summer vacations when I was a kid.  No school, sleeping in, riding my bike.  DJ Chelles Belles took us all on a summer vacation, to all the places she wanted to go to this summer.

One of my favorite things to do during summer vacation was watch cartoons.  Here’s a cartoon about Istanbul (not Constantinople).

I could stay up late and watch TV.  One of my favorite shows was “The Midnight Special,” with live performances from rock and pop bands.  Remember, I was in school WAY before MTV.  Here we have Ike and Tina Turner rollin’ us down the river.

Later, in college, I discovered things like photography, music videos and Japanese food.  Wouldn’t it be cool to go to Japan on summer vacation?

Unfortunately, I didn’t go to any of those places this year.  I didn’t even take a summer vacation.  I take little one hour vacations at Dance Dance Party Party!  DJ Chelles Belles took us away from our mundane lives and plunged us into the best, most rockin’ summer vacation ever!  We went to China, New York, Paris, Waterloo, Mars and all over the world!  Thank you, DJ Chelles Belles!

It Takes Two Butts To Make It Deluxe

This Wednesday was as bangin’ as they get!  A two-woman-ass-shakin’-playlist-making team appropriately called DJ Buttsy Deluxe rocked our socks off!  If you lived your formative years in the early 90s you were right at home with the old school jams that you may or may not have wanted to forget.  Are you searching for a Real Love?  Is this the Rhythm of the Night?  …oh yeah?  This mix put me right back to the middle school dances when I was so confused that only Mark Martin – the awkward towhead nerd – wanted to slow dance with me.  I mean, I was wearing the latest style – boxer shorts, an over sized white T shirt with the sleeves rolled up and Umbro indoor soccer shoes!  Not to mention my Coke bottle glasses and awesome braces!  Screw the slow dances (sorry Mark Martin), let’s get back to the incredible music and slick dance moves displayed this week when DJ Buttsy Deluxe blew us away with their unbelievable Spotify playlist.

A key figure of any nostalgic jam-filled donut of a mix MUST include the effervescent Chaka Khan!

Talk about coveted dance moves!!  She is the real deal.

This mix turned us upside down and inside out.  We had more dancers than we have had in a long time and I know they left sweaty and happy!  Thank you Buttsy Deluxe for your collaborative flashback mix of some super memorable dance jams.  I don’t know about you, but MY butt was feeling DEEEELUXE.

(click on the image to view the playlist clearer)

Grown and sexy frosting.

Now I feel like den mother Amy is just messing with us. What kind of Google searches does she want people to be using to find this here blog, anyway?

 

And yet, the birthday girl/bride’s wishes shall be my command. Because yes, that’s right, for one time only, DJ Sex Frosting became DJ Grown and Sexy Frosting to celebrate her 30th birthday. Back story: apparently there are quite a few clubs out there in the world that won’t admit anyone UNDER 30 in them. We know this because Amy’s bearded, in bed by 9:30 when he was 28, never met a bowtie he didn’t like, friend Dan was denied admission to one of them a few years back. There was apparently a sign that clarified these rules on the wall outside the club; because I do not have access to it, I have to imagine it looked something like one of these:

[Heretofore unknown life goal of working a Maxine cartoon into a DDPP blog post? REALIZED.]

So as you might imagine, DJ Grown and Sex Frosting dished out a heaping helping of songs that reassured us that though she might be growing older, she was still oh so young at heart. But what of that other part I mentioned above, about her being a blushing bride-to-be? Though the girl avoids making themed mixes like the plague, she still made sure to remind us that she was awfully excited to be marrying her Mighty Mighty Good Man. And less than seven days after a whole roomfull of DDPP ladies lost their minds to a mix that honored The Power of Love (hell yes, Huey Lewis!), marry him she did. CUE THE TEARS!

Photo credit: the AMAZING Olivia Leigh Photographie!

Congrats, DJ–on finally joining us in our thirties, on becoming Mrs. Kelley, and on being the most amazing, fiercest dancing redhead I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.