Anniversary/Marriage Countdown
Dance All married couples and newlyweds are invited
onto the dance floor. The newlyweds are requested to remain on
the dance floor throughout the entire dance. Every thirty
seconds or so, the D.J. will ask everyone that has been married
a year or less to leave the dance floor. Then 5 years, 10 years,
etc. This continues to 40 years. Then the D.J. will count “41,
42, 43...” until only the longest-married couple and the
newlyweds remain. The D.J. will prompt the crowd to applaud them
and ask the older couple to share their secret for a successful
marriage over the microphone.
Back-To-Back People are
asked to dance as singles on the dance floor. When the music
stops, everyone is to find a partner and interlock their arms
back-to-back. The last two people to form a pair are out. The
music will be started and stopped until there is one remaining
pair on the dance floor. They are the winners.
Centerpiece Givaway During
the meal, the D.J. will ask someone at each table to hold up a
dollar bill. When the music plays, the dollar bill is to be
passed around the table clockwise (to the right). When the music
is stopped, the person holding the dollar is to become the
In-Charge for the rest of the guests at the table during the
remainder of the reception. They are to make sure that anybody
who needs a drink or anything else, will get serviced. That
person keeps the dollar for their efforts in this regard. Now
the folks who initially held up the dollar bills have just
bought themselves the table centerpiece! (Very fun game to get
the crowd motivated.)
Chicken Dance D.J. asks
the guests to form a circle on the dance floor. D.J. starts the
Chicken Dance song. The guests then go into the chicken dance
routine which includes a dosey-doe. Very popular group
participation dance.
Conga Line D.J. asks
for everyone on the dance floor to form a line behind the Bride
& Groom with their hands on the waist of the person in front of
them. The line goes all around the room and picks up guests and
ends up with everyone on the dance floor.
Dollar / Money Dance This
is traditionally done at a wedding reception. For a dollar or
more, any guest can briefly dance with the bride and groom. In
order to begin, the D.J. will ask the Maid/Matron of Honor and
the Best Man to assist by standing next to the bride and groom,
respectively. The women are asked to line up behind the groom,
and the men behind the bride. The D.J. will play popular ballads
so that all participants will have the opportunity to dance.
Participants are not to dance longer than 30-60 seconds.
Freeze Contest A
volunteer “judge” is chosen. The people are instructed to stand
in the middle of the dance floor and dance in couples or singles
while the music is playing. When the music stops, they must
immediately freeze or the judge will tap them on the shoulder
and they will be “out.” Prizes will be given to the Third,
Second and First Place winners.
Garter Toss Trick Game After
the bouquet toss and the garter toss, the girl who caught the
bouquet is asked to sit in a chair on the dance floor. The D.J.
will play some fun music and the guy has to put the garter on
the leg of the lady who caught the bouquet. If the crowd is a
little risqué, the D.J. may play the “baseball” segment of
“Paradise by the Dashboard Lights”, and have the woman put the
garter on the man after he has put it on her.
Guys Singing to Girls The
D.J. will ask that all the girls line up on the left side of the
dance floor and all the guys to line up on the right. The D.J.
will announce that this is a yelling contest. First, all the
guys are to yell to the girls, as loud as they can “Celebrate
good times, come on!” The D.J. will then ask the girls to yell
the line as loud as they can. The D.J. will then ask the bride
and groom to decide which group was the loudest. The girls are
usually the winners. So now, the guys are asked to get down on
their knees and sing the song, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”
to the girls, along with the music.
Hula Hoop Contest The
group is divided into teams of 5 to 10 people. One team is
invited to start the contest by forming a line. Each member of
the team gets a hula hoop. When the music starts, they must spin
the hoop continuously between their shoulders and knees only.
When the hoop falls to the ground that contestant is out. When
there is only one person left, that team is finished. This gets
repeated with each of the teams. When each team is finished it’s
time for the big “Hoop Off”. Here the winners form a circle and
finish the contest to the final winner. Sometimes when there are
real pros at the hula hoop, the D.J. will have them spin the
hoop on one foot!
Limbo Rock Two
volunteers are to hold a six-foot pole at each end. The D.J.
will ask the people to line up in front of the pole. When the
music starts everyone must dance under the pole by arching their
backs with their heads being the last thing to go under.
Contestants who bend forward or arch their necks will be “out.”
There should be enough space between the participants so that
they do not bump into each other. Every minute or so the pole is
to be lowered a few inches. Those who bend improperly, touch the
pole or fall are eliminated.
Line Dance The D.J.
asks participants to form two lines, one facing the other. All
the guys stand in one line and all the gals stand in the other.
The couple at the far end of the line are instructed to dance
between the lines, bumping their hips along the way, when the
music starts.
Love Songs to the Bride This
is generally done while the bride and groom are doing table
visitations. The D.J. will announce that the bride and groom
have requested that rather than tinging glasses in order to get
them to kiss, they wish to have a love song sung to the bride.
The D.J. will then pass a wireless microphone around to persons
who wish to sing a love song, accapello, to the bride. After the
song is sung the bride is to kiss her groom.
Multiplication Dance For
this dance everyone stands in a circle. The D.J. will choose a
man and a woman to dance in the middle of the circle. When the
D.J. announces ?break”, the people in the middle of the circle
is to pick someone of the opposite sex to join them. Only the
people in the middle of the circle dance. This continues until
everyone is dancing. This is a great way to get the whole crowd
to dance.
Musical Chairs In
advance, the D.J. will ask the host/hostess of the party to
choose 18 people he or she would like to be part of the Musical
Chairs game. When the time comes, the D.J. will have 18 chairs
lined up on the dance floor, back to back (two rows of 9 each).
The D.J. will then call out the names on the list and have these
people come to the dance floor and take a seat. The audience is
then asked to applaud the specially selected people and will
then announce that this is Musical Chairs. The D.J. will then
ask that a volunteer come to the dance floor to be the referee.
When the D.J. starts playing music everyone in the chairs is to
get up and start dancing around the chairs going clockwise with
their hands on their heads. During this time, the referee is to
remove a chair. When the music stops, everyone is to find a
chair and sit down. The person who doesn’t have a seat is “out.”
(If two people sit in the same chair, it is the referee who
makes the decision one who sat first.) This continues until
there is only one person left.
Orange Pass with Chin Everyone
on the dance floor is to form a circle. The D.J. will place an
orange under one person’s chin and start some fun music. The
person with the orange is to now pass it to the person to the
right’s chin. Hands are not permitted. This continues around the
circle. Anyone who drops the orange or uses the hands is to
place it under the next person’s chin and is “out”. The winner
is the one who was able to keep the orange under the chin during
passes without dropping it.
YMCA At the beginning,
the D.J. will play the YMCA by the Village People. The group
gathers together on the dance floor. (Sometimes different hats
can be worn for this wild dance.) On the chorus of the song,
everybody raises their arms in the positions to form the letters
“Y”, “M”, “C” and “A” to go along with the lyrics of Y......
M.... C.... A.... This is a time tested group participation
dance!
Snowball Dance (to any
appropriate, longer, slow song -or- whatever suits the party) -
Starting with one couple dancing, (consisting of the Bar or Bat
Mitzvah boy or girl and an adult partner during a Bar/Bat
Mitzvah), whenever "Snowball" is called, those dancing go out
amongst those in attendance not yet dancing and select someone
to quickly bring back to the dance floor. Thus starting with 2
then making 4 then making 8 then 16, 32, etc. on the dance floor
until there's no longer enough in attendance to double the dance
floor population, at which time everyone is invited who hasn't
been selected. The next command given is simply to change
partners. A great way to pack the floor and provide grounds for
lots of participation.
Anniversary Dance (to
"Remember When" by Alan Jackson) - An activity solely for the
adults in attendance good while the kids are involved in an
activity like "make your own sundae": All married folks are
invited to the dance floor with their partner. All start dancing
and continue until they are instructed to leave because they
haven't yet been married for so and so many years. The number of
years proceeds from 1 on up as far as possible e.g. "If you've
been married for less than 20 years, please step off the dance
floor." (At a wedding, the bride and groom can stay on the floor
for the duration and then dance with the couple who have been
married the longest.)
Party Circle (to an
array of music with an “up” feel and an easy, danceable tempo) -
A circle of dancers with the focus on the individual(s) showing
their "stuff" in the middle, gives everybody an opportunity to
feel like a star and be appreciated, for as long as they’re
comfortable in the spotlight (or until it’s someone else’s
turn).
Face Off (to a more
“funky-sounding” array of music with an “up” feel and an easy,
danceable tempo) - Two columns of dancers face each other, guys
facing gals. Dance partners dance down the middle between the
two columns. In that there's often an uneven number of guys
facing gals, dancers often get matched with someone different
when it's their turn, which adds to the excitement and variety.
The Stroll (to “The
Stroll” by the Diamonds) - A 50’s version of the Face Off with a
more relaxed tempo, featuring easy to learn characteristic dance
steps is a “must” at a Sock Hop or “Golden Oldies Spectacular”
theme party.
Human Arch (to an array
of music with an “up” feel and a easy, danceable tempo) - The
first couple joins hands and forms an arch. The second couple
dances under the arch and then adds their hands making the arch
a little bigger. The third couple dances under the arch and then
joins their hands together, and so the arch grows with each new
couple becoming a part of the arch after they’ve danced under
its length. When the last couple has joined the arch, the first
couple gets to dance under everybody’s joined hands. This
process continues until each couple gets to dance through this
human tunnel, which when long enough, can wind its way back and
forth several times over the dance floor.
Electric Slide (to
“Electric Boogie” by Marcia Griffiths, “Pink Cadillac” by Aretha
Franklin, “Candy” by Cameo, “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett,
“Got To Give It Up” by Marvin Gaye, etc.) - This is STILL the
line dancing mainstay with endless variations. Back To Top
Cha Cha Slide (to “The
Cha Cha Slide Part 2” by Casper) - Line dancing at a faster
tempo for young and old, this slide provides a lot of
opportunities to “express oneself,” and is fun to mix in and out
of and teach without missing a beat. Back To Top
Cupid Shuffle (to
"Cupid Shuffle" by Cupid) - One of the "newer" Hip Hop line
dances, lots of fun and easy to learn made up of three 8-beat
phrases and two four beat phrases, lending itself to creativity
and expression. Back to Top
Charleston Shuffle (to
“Plastic Dreams" by Jaydee) - Often referred to as the “New
Electric Slide,” the Charleston Shuffle is a line dance that is
fun to learn and especially captivating to watch. Back To Top
Cha Cha Call (to “Back
It Up and Jump” by Alexander and “Booty Call” by Blackstreet)
Also referred to as "Mississippi Slide" and "Booty Call", a
funky line dance which is easy to learn by listening to the
lyrics is another group dance that can be effectively sandwiched
between familiar dance numbers. Back To Top
John Travolta Dance (to
“Ladies Night” by Kool & the Gang, “Night Fever” by the Bee
Gees) - Taken from the movie “Saturday Night Fever,” this line
dance creates a spectacle, featuring a variety of the classic
John Travolta disco moves, transforming those on the dance floor
into impressive floor show entertainers. Back To Top
The Hustle (to “The
Hustle” by Van McCoy) - What has been construed as the “original
line dance,” The Hustle is a natural for the “Saturday Night
Fever” theme party. Back To Top
Stepper’s Game (To
“Step In the Name of Love” by R. Kelly) - Seven smooth moves
that feel so good, can be done with partners or in a line. Back
To Top
Macarena (to “The
Macarena” by Los Del Rios) - Eight moves that can be done
standing in place and taking a quarter turn to the left, or as
an uncanny conga line. The moves can be transferred to a variety
of other dances. Back To Top
Conga Line (to “Shake
Sonora” by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, “Hot, Hot, Hot” by Buster
Poindexter, “Conga” by Gloria Estefan, etc.) - Whether
spontaneous or staged, with or without the hands on the hips of
the person in front, with or without conga sleeves and maracas,
in a circle or winding its way around the room, out the door,
back in again and onto the dance floor, conga lines simply
enliven the party. Back To Top
Party Train (to “C’mon
Ride It” by Quad City DJs, “Love Train” by the O’Jays,
“Locomotion” by Kyle Minogue, etc.) Great for sparking the party
up a notch, introduced to a packed floor, and staged with a
charismatic “engineer.” Back To Top
Bunny Hop (to “The
Bunny Hop” by Ray Anthony) - It’s an old-fashioned follow the
leader around the room dance, based on a rhythm pattern that
repeats every 8 beats. Back To Top
Chicken Dance (to
“Chicken Dance” by Gotman Sauerkraut Band) German circle dance
for young and old, roosters and hens—we do it “southern style!”
Back To Top
Hokey Pokey (to “Hokey
Pokey” by Ray Anthony) - Inherent with this old-fashioned circle
dance are some “twists” that can make it even more “hokey.” Real
young (or real drunk) often enjoy this simple number. Back To
Top
Hora (to a wide range
of traditional Horas and Medleys of different duration) -
Presented as an exciting, even climactic, dance that can be led
all around the room, this Jewish circle dance celebrates life.
Back To Top
Tarantella (to
“Tarantella” from the Godfather, “Tarantella” by Chuck Mangione,
etc.) - Presented as an exciting, even climactic, dance that can
be led all around the room, this Italian circle dance celebrates
life. Back To Top
Cotton-Eyed Joe (to
“Cotton-Eyed Joe” by Rednex) - Great to bring out the “Yee-Hahs!”
especially when beat-mixed to a crowded dance floor from a
neighboring tempo, this fast-paced number is an easily-taught
country line dance. Back To Top
Boot Scootin’ Boogie (“Boot
Scootin’ Boogie” by Brooks & Dunn) - This classic,
catchy-looking, country line dance is done to some
catchy-sounding music.
