Den Mother Snafu botches class

I, Kelly Joy Vanater Peraino apologize to anyone who showed up to class today and experienced my spaciness in the flesh!  I showed up to class without my keys to the studio and proceeded home to grab them.  I realized when I returned that my “be right back” note said I’d return by 5:10pm rather than 4:10pm.  I don’t know if ladies showed and decided they couldn’t wait for “an hour” or if we just had a poor turnout. 

Luckily DJ Cumberbun (yours truly) disappointed herself and not another DJ by having to cancel class. 

Thanks to Victoria for being the lone woman waiting for me and thanks to the Lord above for inspiring me to put her phone number in my phone a year ago.

IF ANYONE CAME TODAY WITH THE INTENTION OF DANCING PLEASE LET KELLEY & JENN KNOW NEXT WEEK FOR A FREE PASS.

Love, your trustily scatterbrained Den Mother (Kell V-P)

DJ Michelle Leslie Brown does it again!

We don’t know how, but DJ Michelle Leslie Brown (MLB) continues to make mix after mix with perfect combos of rump shakin’, groovin’ tunes with a twist of old timey flair!  This week was no different!  She had us sweatin’ it up – just like we likey.  Kudos shortaay!

Hooray for Sundays!

Once again the end of summer is upon us, long leisurely days slipping away like so many dandelion seeds on the wind.  Anyone else hearing the opening to “Patience” in their head right now?

Me neither, just checking.

The temperature is dropping outside, anyway.  Inside the studio it’s still steamy as August–or as steamy as August was supposed to be!  Thanks to the booty shaking efforts of the fine ladies who joined us this afternoon to celebrate the triumphant return of Sundays, we conjured a sweat worthy of those 100 degree dog days of summer that turned out to be m.i.a. this year.  So take that Mother Nature!  Yeah.

Anywho, it’s great to have all you weekenders back!  Especially because it means I can recycle my Wednesday mixes and you’re none the wiser.  Wait a minute, did I just type that out loud…aw hell, who am I kidding?  I had a blast dancing to this one the first time around, and I’m glad I got to jam out to it again. And let’s be honest, we could all use a little more Mo-town in our lives, original and Philly style.

See you next week, FINALLY!!!

xo,

Dizz

Sausage Fingers

This is what many of our fingers looked, or probably more accurately – felt like after DJ A LaVee’s rhythmic blood-cell buster of a mix.   

Yep – sausage fingers. Translation: we clapped our hands, we slapped our thighs, we got down low and hit the floor. The room was pulsing with energy and our hands throbbing in that Cougar Mellencamp hurt-so-good kind of way.

DJ A LaVee was flawless in her delivery of throwback one-hit-wonders as well as rescued surprisingly awesome myspace finds from obscurity. More than once in the brief pause between songs I saw the womens panting and smiling, asking “What the hell song was that?” She keeps us guessing and delighting in her diverse aural treasures. We learned a lot last night – including the fun-fact that Skee-lo of the lost 90’s hit “I Wish” was a school guidance counselor. Getting schooled has never been so endorphin releasing. 

No Liars Here

No one dared speak out against the vivifying mix of DJ Health Care Reform. Why? Besides the fact that we’re civilized ladies, it’s because she gave us the straight dance express. Her sonic remedy for our flaccid leg blues was chock-a-block with fortifying tunes. These were songs that triggered no flare-ups, no relapses, no conditions besides a studio-wide epidemic of 100% joy. See here fer yerself. 

And at the end of class, we all went home and ate lollipops that looked vaguely like condoms. The end.

Shake yo’ self

“Shake your Ass, Watch yourself, Shake your Ass, Show me what you’re working with”. If you are not familiar with the movie About a Boy, then you have no idea what I’m talking about. If you are, you can picture “Marcus” walking down the hall of his new high school with huge headphones on singing this song, completely unaware of anything around him. He’s into the music, he’s feeling it, and he doesn’t care if he’s a little nerdy while doing it. The point is, its about being in your own space and time. This is exactly what DJ Michelle Leslie Brown let us do last night. We shook our asses to “Shake your groove thing…Shake your booty…” Let’s just say we shook it. Time and time again, she produces a stellar mix with no repeats. Not one. She said it was getting harder to do, but DJ MLB I have no doubt you can hang in there a lot longer. She rocked us and then even through in Rhythm of the Night! Except for the two ladies that walked in and stayed for fifteen minutes, we were feeling this tune. Awwww yeah. Keep it going girl.

Boogie Down on Aisle Three…

Ever  taken your baby deer to Jewel and busted out some sweet dance moves amid the boxes of Oysterettes?

Me neither.  But that’s because they aren’t playing the right kind of Muzak!  (And because my baby deer doesn’t do carbs).  Thankfully here at DDPP we do Muzak right.  Or rather, DJ Muzak does DDPP right.  I know I can always count on DJ Muzak to upgrade the hits.  She gets us flappin’ our wings and sharpening our claws (WARNING: DDPP may cause you to spontaneously burst into late 80s choreography).  She knows what them girls like–gettin’ crazy!–and our respect for her is no secret.  Many a time I’ve jumped in front of that lava projector and thought holy sh*t, being alive kind of rules.  Ladies, it happened again yesterday afternoon.  Sure, life’s complicated, but it’s alright–as long as you have a dance studio, a room full of fabulous females, and the stylings of one DJ Muzak.

Much love to you woman–skinny and California!

PS. Sundays are back on FOR GOOD at the end of September.  Stay tuned!

The Circle of Life

Last month we donned our white gloves and recognized the passing of a legend.  DJ Peaches did a fantabulous job putting together a mix of Michael through the years, and the result was such a zombie-lurching, moon-walking, crotch grabbing blast that we asked ourselves whether once was really enough.  The answer…NO!  And DJ AWOL (aka AllieKatt) was there to heed our call.

So, last night we donned our white gloves and celebrated Mr. Jackson’s birth.  Had I had a little more foresight, I would have called up the Cake Boss and had him whip up one of these:

Next time fo’ shizzle.

But thanks to DJ AWOL’s sweet mix, I didn’t miss the cake.  This mix was so mind-blowing it reduced me to syllables: YOW, ZA.  I said it last night and I’ll say it again: I have never laughed so hard at DDPP. Between getting cornered by zombies and breaking out into a cross the room hoe-down stomp, I was literally clutching at the walls to stay upright!  Disco Michael, Doo-wop Michael, creepy PYT Michael–this mix had it all!  With only one, extremely necessary, repeat from the July mix, (Mwah-ha-ha!) we were reminded just how versatile MJ was, just how far and wide his reach.  His songs tap into the memories of people all over the globe, and every time we do this I am surprised, shocked even, to hear a song that I’ve known my whole life and not even realized it was sung by Michael Jackson.  Damn.  DJ AWOL, I think you got Michael the perfect gift.

And what’s more, last night was a dual celebration!  DJ AWOL shares her birthday with MJ!   So this Saturday (the actual b-day), shoot a Shamowan into the universe for MJ and AWOL alike.  DJ AWOL, thanks for the gift of your mixes, your sweet moves, and your bold karaoke spirit!  Hope you have a great weekend sister–you deserve it!  In fact, I know what I can get you!  Your very own Sunday DDPP.

That’s right ladies, our monthly summer Sunday DDPP is back THIS SUNDAY!!!  Come on out and get down to the groove of DJ Muzak, who will most assuredly get your pulse pounding.  4 o’clock as usual–be there or be sorry!

Did some sing Karaoke?

Nine beautiful and brave ladies showed up for the first DDPP fieldtrip to Karaoke on Lincoln. We had our own room but we could have basically taken over the entire building. In fact, the way the man and the woman behind the bar was pouring me shots, I think we actually did win the hearts of the staff! Some ladies showed up in the latest DDPP fashions and our beloved den mothers, the K’s, were rockin’ the house with floral and spandex patterns and material. I think my favorite part of the night which could have been everyone’s from the sound of laughter, was “Smooth Criminal”. I keep wondering if Annie’s ok. She never did respond to your insistent questioning. Nice job on the microphone ladies! We had so many songs that made all of us belt out together. Everyone had a great voice except for moi! Thanks for embracing mine! The only thing that would have completed my night, was having my partner and sidekick present. Ms. Jenny B was missing and I longed for her presence when I plugged in ‘Maneater’ by Hall and Oates into the gray box (Jenn-don’t worry. Ninety nine percent of the songs I entered into that Gray box never came out

We had a blast and rocked it so hard that all of the ladies around us were willing to take off all of their clothes and do sexual dances for us. There were even some school girls in there, but I guess it is that time of year again. Thanks again ladies for making it to our first sponsored field trip.

Carol Lugo