DJing at Dancebreak - DJ Guidelines

Why is this important?

At Dancebreak, our goal is to support the flourishing of the Stanford social dance community and create a welcoming space for all dancers. We love to see both veterans and newbies expressing themselves, improving their dance, and having fun! In order to promote that growth and connection, we all need to work together to provide some stable foundations, and DJs are a huge part of that mission.

The DJ is the heart of the Dancebreak event. As the most visible leader of the night, they curate the music that attendees will dance to, guide the vibes of the social, and generally keep the whole event moving smoothly.

Principal goal: The primary goal of Dancebreak is to get more people into social dance and create dancers who are fun to dance with.

Expectations for DJs

BEFORE THE SET

• Watch this video from Richard Powers about how to DJ: https://youtu.be/u7k_4HdbfIA
  • Richard has a lot of other great DJ tips on his website, and many of our guidelines are adapted from his. He was also kind enough to teach a more detailed lesson at Dancebreak (which assumes you’ve already read his website):

• Find a DJ partner. All sets are required to have at least one experienced DJ. If this is your first or second time teaching with us, please pair up with a veteran. DJ teams reduce the workload and responsibility for both DJs!
  • If you do not frequently dance all of the styles at Dancebreak, it is a good idea to pair up with someone who knows the styles you don’t, so that you can pick music that all dancers will enjoy.
  • If you don’t have a partner in mind, the Dancebreak admin team can help you find someone.
• Reach out to the Dancebreak admin team to schedule your set. We will also check your DJ duo and/or help you find someone.
• Prepare a setlist. Follow the guidelines set forth later in this document.
  • Use this template to help organize your music
  • Use the checklist at the bottom of the home page to make sure that the set aligns with out guidelines
  • Work with the day’s instructors and Dancebreak leadership to ensure the set is beginner-friendly, aligns with the lesson of the day, and supports the overall Dancebreak goals.
  • Note that the actual length of songs is less than the set time. You must account for pauses, jam preparation (and birthday pivots), and teaching mixers. This is accounted for in our template.
• Send the admin team your setlist. At least a week before your set, send us your song list, including any potential edits you plan to make. This way, we can review and give feedback before the set.
  • All of your songs should fit within the guidelines below. In particular, pay attention to song length, tempo guidelines, and the sequence of last dances. If you would like help finding songs that are danceable and beginner-friendly, reach out to the admin team. We are currently building out a catalog of pre-approved songs for Waltz, WCS, and Lindy Hop, including a collection of pre-approved edits.
  • If you want to play music that doesn’t quite fit, you are required to edit songs as necessary. Though we emphasize that you can absolutely craft an excellent setlist that doesn’t need any song edits.
• Ensure a balance of new songs and old songs. There are some Dancebreak classics that people love to hear again, and many dancers enjoy jamming out to their favorite tunes, but your set can also be a great way to introduce us all to new, exciting music.
• Download your setlist to your computer so it can be played without Wi-Fi. Stanford Wi-Fi is notoriously unreliable, and nobody likes it when the music cuts out mid-song.

DURING THE SET

• Bring your own computer to play the set. If you expect to need a specific dongle/converter, make sure to bring that with you, too.
• Announce the dance style before/at the beginning of each song. Some people don’t do certain styles (or only do some roles in certain styles), so announcing allows people to find an ideal partner and role for the dance.
  • Also, announce/explain the “dance with a stranger” when it comes on.
• Provide a 10-second pause between songs. This gives dancers time to mentally reset, find new partners, and prepare for the new style.
• Facilitate the jam. Clear the dance floor, help identify jam-ees, and explain the procedure.
• Teach mixers or uncommon line dances.
• Monitor audio levels. Make sure that the music is audible but not painfully loud. Adjust this throughout your set. You may also have to adjust your mic.
• Stay near the DJ booth. There should always be at least one DJ available to answer questions, handle technical glitches, and watch the floor to ensure safety (and proper dance shoes/socks). This is one of the major reasons we require DJ partners: so you can still dance!
• End on time. Between logistics, the jam, and pauses between songs, you may have to skip songs to stay within the 2-hour limit. Though this can be a bummer for DJs, a lot of our attendees appreciate the timeliness.

AFTER THE SET

• Help us clean up. We are really lucky to use our amazing dance spaces on campus, and we need to leave them clean to continue doing so!
  • Make sure the lights/fans are turned off and the doors are closed.

Song Selection

A 2-hour social typically includes ~30-35 songs, including time for a jam. Of the first 5 songs in the set, at least 2 should be of the style taught in the lesson, and the first one should be in the lesson style to make a smooth transition.

Songs at the beginning of the set (the first ~10 songs) should be between 2-3.5 minutes long with a strong downbeat, to ease in beginners and allow for frequent partner switching. Songs in the rest of the set may be longer, but they should still be less than 4 minutes.

Additionally, all songs in the set should adhere to the following BPM ranges for the corresponding style:

Songs on the lower end of the extended BPMs should be more mellow, while songs on the high end should be energetic and have a strong downbeat.

If a style is not in this table (e.g., many Latin dances), the song should follow the typical tempo range for a beginner-intermediate dancer. Feel free to reference this guide from Lucas Garron for additional BPM ranges.

A small number of songs in each set (0-3) may violate the tempo and length guidelines for that particular dance style; however, these should be played near the end of the set, and explicitly called out as advanced songs.

Breakdown of Dances

To ensure a good balance of the many dance styles we do at Dancebreak, here is a suggested breakdown of a 35-song set:

• 1 Dance with a stranger (In the style of the lesson and in the first 1/3 of the set)
• 17-18 Waltzes
  • 9-10 Cross-Step Waltz
    • 1 Jam + Birthday Pivots
  • 7-8 Rotary Waltz
  • 0-2 Fast Waltz
    • 0-1 Accelerating Waltz
• 1-4 Polka
• 0-4 Other Waltz
  • Zweifacher
  • or other mixers
  • Schottische
  • Mazurka
  • Redowa
  • Foxtrot
• 1-2 Choreographies
  • Bohemian National Polka
  • Romany Polka
  • Shim Sham
  • Dawn Mazurka
  • Kerry Polka Sets
  • St. Louis Shim Sham
• 1-3 Line Dances
  • Tokyo Polka
  • Shivers
  • Bus Stop
  • Barbie Line Dance
  • Lineathon
  • Midnight Waltz
  • or other line dances, but they must be taught first
• 1-3 Mixers (must be taught)
  • Cross-Step Waltz Mixer
  • ’t Smidje Mixer
  • Chaos Mixer
  • Circassian Circle
  • Irish Céilí
  • Swing Rueda
  • West Coast Swing Mixer (DJ must call “rotate”)
• 4-6 Lindy Hop
  • Consider using the songs from the Approved Lindy Hop lists (SSD setlists).
• 4-6 West Coast Swing
  • Feel free to use songs from this approved Spotify Playlist, which is sorted by BPM.
• 0-4 Other Swing
  • Charleston
  • Bugg (4 Count Swing)
  • Shag
  • Balboa
  • East Coast Swing (6 Count Swing)
• 0-4 Other Contemporary
  • Nightclub Two Step
  • Hustle
• 1-4 Latin Dances
  • Tango
  • Salsa
  • Cha-Cha
  • Bachata
  • Merengue
• 1-4 Fusion
• 0-4 Other dance styles

If a dance style is being taught on a particular day, there must be at least 7 songs of that dance style. There may be fewer waltzes than usual to accommodate this.

If you do not personally do one or more of the required dance styles, that’s okay! Just let us know, and we’ll either provide you with songs to add or pair you with a co-DJ who can fill in the gaps.

Final Sequence

Since West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Cross-Step Waltz, and Rotary Waltz are the primary dance styles at Dancebreak, we like to close out the night with these core dances. For this reason, all Dancebreak sets must end with the following sequence of dances:

1. Last West Coast Swing
2. Last Lindy Hop
3. Last Cross-Step Waltz
4. Last Rotary Waltz

The very last dance of the set should always be a rotary, as Dancebreak is “the waltz club” on campus, but the other 3 “last” dances may be rearranged. Keeping consistency with this pattern gives attendees a sense of familiarity and closure as we end the night.

This suite of last dances set the tone that dancers exit the event with. Because of that, we like to end with classic/well-known Dancebreak songs that everyone will enjoy, leaving the crowd on a positive note as we close out the night. Dancers respond especially well to last dances that are about saying goodbye and/or have a drawn-out ending. For some last waltz inspiration, check out our pre-approved list here.

After the final rotary waltz, an additional “closing” dance, such as the Mama’s Stew (from SSD) or Big Apple (from Jammix), can optionally be added at the end of a set, if there is time. This should probably be a solo jazz routine.

The admin team will also help give feedback on your last dances during the setlist review phase.

Editing Songs

As a DJ, you are expected to play songs that are beginner-friendly and danceable. Many songs do not require edits, but if the original version of a song is not naturally danceable, please edit the song. Required edits may include:

• Adjusting tempos of songs to bring them to the target BPM listed below.
• Cutting songs which are too long (over 4 minutes), or looping sections of songs which are too short (under 2 minutes).
• Truncating long intros and outros.
• Removing sections of a song without a consistent beat.

You are welcome to edit with whatever program you prefer, including Audacity, Cakewalk, GarageBand, a custom Python script, or anything else.

• Audacity has a built-in speed plug-in that works well for tempo changes of less than 10%.
• Amazing Slow Downer (paid) works well for tempo changes beyond that.

Approved Last Waltzes

We are currently building out our catalog of pre-approved last waltzes! Please reach out if you would like to suggest an addition to this list.

https://www.notion.so/266fe184d678801ca898c60209604042

Approved Lindy Hop

If you aren’t an SSD (or WNH) regular, please use songs from these SSD setlists for Lindy Hop. Maiya has compiled an analysis of the different setlists: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jKk-xbS8kzngEQUsdekgRJUiVEjLjrKXfXrViiHS0Pw/edit?usp=drivesdk&usp=embed_facebook.

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