By Brit Charek
Three simple rules: no booze, no boys and no judgments (legwarmers optional).
That’s the motto of Dance Dance Party Party™ (DDPP), where women of all ages and walks of life dress comfortably and get together to turn the lights down low and the music up loud, refrain from talking and judging, and let loose on the dance floor for an hour. Unlike a typical workout or dance class, DDPP has no instructors and no expectations, allowing the dancers to choose how much effort they want to put into it.
Sound interesting? They have a Spring Social coming up on Fri 3/30 from 7:30-9:30PM featuring the music of Madonna and Michael Jackson, and it’s the perfect opportunity for any woman to get acquainted with DDPP and bust a move. But, more on that later…
Check out this exclusive Cool Cleveland video where correspondent Brit Charek interviews DDPP den mother Joanna Wilson.
New York City residents Glennis McMurray and Marcy Girt founded Dance Dance Party Party™ in 2006. The pair loved dancing at the club with their friends, but didn’t love the drunken dancers, the men who would hit on them and the judgmental looks certain dancers would get. DDPP took root in Akron in February of 2009 under the leadership of den mother Juniper Sage, who founded DDPP Akron after discovering the Chicago chapter. DDPP is active in over a dozen cities in the US and even has international chapters.
“Dance Dance Party Party is for any woman who loves to dance but has felt: …I don’t like to dress up just to get sweaty …I am too old/too young/too hip/too unhip to go to a club …My dance moves might be left over from high school …I am unsure what the music the DJs are playing is supposed to make me want to do,” says Juniper Sage on the DDPP Akron website. “It is silly. It may even be a little bit weird, but, once you have done it, you’ll want to do it — ALL of the time,” she says.
The Akron chapter of DDPP meets every first, third and fifth Friday of each month from 7:30-8:30 PM at the Martell School of Dance on West Market Street in Highland Square. They’ve recently started meeting the second Sunday of every month from 4-5 PM to accommodate the dancers who can’t make it on Fridays. The cost, which helps the den mothers cover the rent for their studio time, is a mere $2 per session — and the consensus is that it’s more than worth it.
DDPP attracts all sorts of women, from college students to retirees and everyone in between. Some mothers even bring their young daughters, but moms should take warning: “We can’t promise the song lyrics will be clean, but we don’t intentionally make them dirty,” says Juniper Sage.
Since a wide range of ladies show up to boogie, there’s also a wide range of music played. To become a DJ at DDPP you just have to come once or twice, sign up with one of the den mothers, create a killer DJ name, and prepare an hour long CD or iPod playlist of danceable music mix including one warm up and one cool down song. There was a recent DJ battle where DJ Steez and grrrilla beats created eight general musical categories: oldies, booty songs, guitar rock, seventies, eighties, current, hip-hop, and nineties, and then each DJ picked a song to fit the category. The final product was a diverse playlist; the energy kept everyone dancing all night!
“We only dance for an hour — but it’s a good workout,” says DDPP Akron’s second den mother, Joanna Wilson. “We invite ladies to dance at their own pace,” she says. “There are benches outside if they want to stop and take a break, there is a water fountain to grab a drink and there are several additional rooms for people who want to try something different.” The den mothers also ask the women to refrain from talking during the hour-long session. “We want to avoid people mistaking talking or whispering during the music for judgement,” says Wilson. “Other than that, we want everyone to let their inner diva out and dance their feet off.”
In addition to their regular DDPP gatherings, the group also offers special events that last a little longer but have an intermission, such as last October’s “Homecoming Coming,” which was Willy Wonka themed. This spring they are hosting a special two-hour Spring Social where they will be spinning an hour of exclusively Madonna followed by an hour of exclusively Michael Jackson dance tracks. If you’ve never been, this showdown between the King and Queen of Pop would be a great opportunity to check it out. The Spring Social is Fri 3/30 from 7:30-9:30PM.
Dance Dance Party Party™ Akron’s Spring Social is Fri 3/30 from 7:30PM – 9:30PM @ the Martell School of Dance at 788 W. Market St. in Akron. Learn more about the Spring Social and DDPP Akron by checking out their blog at http://DDPPakron.wordpress.com or by joining their Facebook group, or you could just show up in your comfy clothes at the Martell School of Dance on the first, third or fifth Friday of the month at 7:30PM, or the second Sunday of the month at 4PM, and be ready to get down.
Brit Charek recently received her Master’s in Education from the University of Akron. When she’s not teaching English she’s probably making something to sell at a local craft fair or wandering around the Highland Square neighborhood of Akron with her son, Holden, and his red wagon.
One Response to “Dance Dance Party Party™ Akron: No Booze, No Boys, No Judgement”
Deanna
I LOVE DDPP!!! I’ve been going for a few years now and I always look forward to it. A great time for any lady to just let loose and have fun! I like to tell people it’s like dancing around like an idiot in your house – except you just do it with other ladies. Such a blast 🙂