How to become a Dancesport DJ?

Hi all,

I have a large music collection that I would love to share by playing the music at competitions. Where can I start? What do I need in order to qualify? If you can help me I would appreciate it.

Thank you,
-parker
 
The software to adjust tempos to the appropriate mpm for different dances and levels, plus an understanding of what those tempos are?
 
If you haven't yet, you might attend some competitions and see what a competition DJ has to do.

Some questions you might ask yourself:

How well do I know my music collection?
Do I know the rules for playing music - eg tempo, duration of heats.
How do I react under pressure?
Am I willing to spend a lot of time seeking out new music?
How good is the music I have?

Have you done any social DJ work? You might start there. It's probably a lot easier to get someone to let you DJ some social dances than to expect you'll get a competition gig out of the gate.

Is that the sort of thing you're looking for?

wc
 
Hello all, thank you for your replies,

To answer your replies:

I know my music collection extremely well. I know all competition requirements for heats, duration of music and tempo requirements.

I am confident that I have some of the best dancesport music. Every song I own meets every competition requirement. I am also constantly updating my music, getting new music every week.

I own all the best Dancesport CDs ever released and I have several that I have found that meet competition requirements.

Yes I have played at many Social Dance events. I am always the one running the music because everyone loves the music I play.

thank you all again,
-parker
 
Hi Parker. How do you find a lot of your music? I love music though I have no plans to dj and am always looking for more especially dance music. Thank you.
 
Hi Parker. How do you find a lot of your music? I love music though I have no plans to dj and am always looking for more especially dance music. Thank you.


A majority of my music comes from FILESTUBE. COM

it is a HUGE source for dancesport music. You will be able to find at least 75% of all the Dance CDs ever released.

I also get music from iTunes
 
One thing to realize is that, at least at the moment, most of the music being played at competitions isn't actually dancesport specific music. Granted some of these are atrocious and should never be played at a competition (regardless of "appropriate" time structure & tempo, etc.), but this certainly seems to be the current trend, so it would be important to not only have dancesport-specific selections. (You may well already know this, but since your posts make specific mention of dancesport music, I just wanted to be sure.)
 
indeed, sdsalsaguy. I know the DJ that normally does our regional FA comps here mixes his own versions of more current songs, to get them right tempos, etc, and to avoid just being stuck with the standard dancesport stuff
 
An ASCAP/ BMI licence?

The last time I did any reading on the topic, I believe I discovered that buying a license is the responsibility of the venue (e.g. reception hall, hotel, etc.), not the DJ.

IOW, if an ASCAP enforcer drops by a dance competition, hears music on the ASCAP list and doesn't find a license, it's the hall owner he'll go after, not the DJ. Of course, if the venue doesn't have a license and doesn't want to buy one, the venue owner will very promptly tell the DJ to stop playing ASCAP music or leave.

That's how it works, IIRC. I'm not an intellectual property lawyer, so the standard disclaimers apply.

(Void where prohibited by law, your mileage may vary, must be 18 or older to win, no purchase required, no animals were harmed in the production of this message, etc. etc.)
 
Hi! I know it may be off topic but I'd really appreciate if you could tell me where I can find the cha cha version of Ray Foxx feat. Lovelle - The Trumpeter Thanks!:D
 

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