I know you like to dance. When you're alone is probably when you truly dance your heart out, the music blaring and no one there to judge your dorky left footedness. Lancer Productions provided a way for Longwood to take our inner dancer public and become a part of "the silent party phenomenon."
On Saturday, Jan. 21, Longwood's first ever Headphone Disco filled Dorrill Dining Hall's (D-Hall) Nance Room with a peculiar new form of clubbing. "From the UK to Uganda," the silent disco has become a hit, where dancers are given "two-channel wireless headphones and have two DJs broadcast to them over two FM channels simultaneously," according to the Lancer Productions website.
Two DJ's competed for the crowd: DJ Bryan, who specialized in "Hot 100, pop and urban music" and DJ Grahame, who specialized in "rock, alternative and college radio classics," according to the website.
Sophomore transfer Kelly Baer learned of the event through posters advertised around the school and admitted, "It just sounded interesting." While never having attended a Headphone Disco or the like before, Baer said she enjoys dancing, and that it's fun "just hanging with people, and dancing to the cool music and it's a good way to socialize."
Other students were attracted to the event for other reasons. While Roscoe Davis, freshman, enjoys dancing, he admitted that what first caught his eye was,"the food. No joke." He said he didn't become aware of the event when someone socialized with him in D-Hall. "I was walking down D-Hall, and someone just went up to me. I didn't know about it [until] they went up to me and talked about it"
Freshman Zack Rienerth became aware of the event the same way, saying, "Honestly, I think I got an e-mail about it. I was just walking back to my dorm, and someone was like, ‘Come in here. Free food.' So, I came in."
"I thought it was an interesting idea," said Rienerth. "Picking the kind of music you want and having two different choices, something that is unusual."
President of Lancer Productions Zach Sneed stated the idea for the event came from a conference taken by the Lancer Productions members who got to experience it first before bringing it to Longwood. "We go to a conference every semester, and we were down in Myrtle Beach at our South Regional Conference. And they had a booth set up, and they actually did a live late night performance, and we got to experience it"
Enjoying the uniqueness of the Headphone Disco, Sneed said, "When I did it I had a blast, and it's really cool because everyone has their headphones on, and they're all dancing and some people like singing, but when you take them off, it's really quiet. And it's really funny because you see everyone dancing and you can't hear the music."
He further stated, "I just like that I can switch back between different songs. The person next to me can be dancing to some hip-hop, and then in my phone, I hear some New Age pop. And then it just goes back and forth between what you're listening to."
Rienerth expressed that he has been going to more Lancer Productions events, saying, "I've been to a bunch." He said, "They do their best, and I'm appreciative of what they try to do."
Lancer Productions provided a new means to individualize fun by allowing each student to choose what DJ best fits his or her own personal musical needs. Find out more about future Lancer Productions events online at lancerproductions.longwood.com or on Twitter at LancerPro.
