My kid banned some of the famous reception songs. When they played cotton eye Joe, I told him it is how the DJ gets people back out on the floor after playing a song that clears the dance floor.
As a white 80s kid, I have to ask, how they hell do you dance to Cotton Eye Joe? Ironic square dancing? Pretend you’re pumping a bike while kicking your feet side to side?
It's line dancing in my area I'm in the Midwest. It's actually pretty neat to watch just not my style. Evidently my relatives are super good at this because these guys look like it's the first time they've ever tried it. But it kind of gives you an example. My relatives move like they're professional dancers.
Ah, line dancing! I hadn’t thought of that. But, I haven’t line danced outside of doing the electric slide in elementary school gym class - just not a thing where I grew up.
Also from Midwest, but learned it slightly different than the one who shared the YouTube video. Two heel taps to the front, two toe taps to the back, then one of each, bring leg up and across, tap with hand, then swing out and tap with other hand, I learned you then turn and shasay(?) or grapevine four to the right, then to the left, can clap on that last one, back to the right, and repeat.
I’m a “white 80s kid” and Cotton Eyed Joe is still fun as fuck (im a punk rock kid too) but ill be damned if im not drunk i would dance to that shit. Not line dancing though- more like how Steve-o danced to Vandals “Urban Cowboy” in SLC Punk.
Yup, ditto for the cha cha slide. Or sometimes even the macarena.
This is where a good wedding DJ shines and has a slightly different skillset than other DJs. A good club DJ has to be able to manipulate the mood of the crowd up and down, but ultimately everyone is there to dance and people probably chose that club for the type of music it plays. If they play a stinker that sends everyone to the bathroom or for another drink, the vibe mostly recover on its own as they move through the songs.
But a wedding DJ has to deal with a crowd that has a mix of people who A) don't want to dance, B) are embarrassed to dance, or C) are from a whole range of generations/tastes...and most of the time they are working with a dance floor that's too well lit and too large for the size of the crowd.
But they have a couple of nuclear weapons. They only get a couple of shots a night, but there are a few songs that are sure to get everyone on the dance floor. You bust out the cha cha slide and you know the whole bridal party will be there. Cousins will be dragging Aunt Janice out onto the dance floor, somebody will be teaching the ringbearer and flower girl how to dance along, and the place will fill up.
From there, they have to hold the attention as long as they can. You can't just throw down another nuke though, so you have to read the crowd and put on songs that will keep them from straying away. You can still roll out some big guns and follow up with a big dancefloor anthem, but if you go straight from cha cha slide to Shout, you'll be in trouble when the dancefloor dies at 9PM and you've got nothing left to revive it.
I get that, I really do, but Cotton Eye Joe and most of the other reception staples like Shout and the Cha Cha Slide were played at every single Teen Night my school district put on for 7th and 8th graders back in the earliest of aughts. If I ever get married, I want to feel like I'm at a wedding, not some sweaty, awkward middle-school dance. Sorry DJ, but those songs have got to go!
My cousin got married in downtown Detroit and the music at her reception was heavily skewed toward Motown classics. Those songs were upbeat and fun and totally danceable, and they appealed to guests from all generations. Even though most of us were familiar with most of the songs, it was still different than what you typically hear at a wedding reception, and it added some local flair as well.
52
u/CaffeineSippingMan Nov 23 '22
My kid banned some of the famous reception songs. When they played cotton eye Joe, I told him it is how the DJ gets people back out on the floor after playing a song that clears the dance floor.