Inevitably, we are going to come across crowds that are extremely difficult to get dancing. It's a part of what we sign up for and it can certainly be a frustrating challenge.
From my experience and from what I've seen from our DJs show reports, there are three methods that could help get a spark started for a tough dancing crowd.
1. Play more slow songs: People will (almost) always slow dance. People are usually nervous or afraid to dance because it puts them in a place of vulnerability. Slow dancing does not put people in that place because slow dancing only consists of holding your significant other and swaying. A slow dance will always get people on the dance floor. Once that slow dance ends, there will be people on the dance floor when you start the next song. That next song you play after the slow dance ends is extremely important at any show, but especially for a tough dancing crowd. Be sure it's a true silver bullet and turn it up. It's easier to start dancing when you're already on the floor vs. getting up from your chair and going out to the floor.
I think of playing a slow song as hitting the 'reset' button on my dance floor. People will come back out to the floor to slow dance and when they do, I have the opportunity to make them stay on the dance floor with the song I play next.
2. Play more requests: If somebody comes up and requests a song, they are basically saying 'I'll dance if you play ____'. When the dance floor is truly dead, if you take a request from someone, you'll know the person who requested that song will come out and they will more than likely bring their friends with them. If people notice that other people are dancing, it then feels more natural and less nerve-wracking to come out and dance too. Sometimes a well placed request can light the spark needed to get a tough crowd buzzing a little bit.
3. Play some group dances: People could be unwilling to dance because they don't know what they'd do or they think they don't know how to dance. That certainly becomes less of an excuse when the person in the song is literally telling you exactly what to do. Don't be afraid to come out and lead the dances if you want. There's been many instances in my career and in show reports, where the DJ has to provided the initial blast of energy to everyone to get them going.
All-in-all, pay close attention to what kinds of songs are completely bombing and what songs have some sort of success and continue to move your music towards what's working. It seems obvious and it's certainly easier said than done. These types of shows are where you really have an excellent opportunity to improve as you're forced to put some thought into what you decide to play.
Don't ever give up on the crowd. If people don't want to dance, they certainly don't have to dance. Don't get on the microphone and start shaming people or calling people out to dance, they won't want to and I wouldn't want that to happen to me. With that said, if you're continuing to struggle with the crowd, keep doing your best and start playing more music from their playlist. A very possible complaint is that 'nobody was dancing because the DJ wasn't playing music from my playlist'. However, if you're playing music from their playlist and nobody is dancing, the client certainly can't come to us on Monday and try to make that argument.
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