Host Your Own Song & Dance Party

This Saturday and Sunday, January 4-5, 2025, I have the honor and privilege of hosting a two-day Virtual Pop Up Healing Center with friends and colleagues that I love and admire. In addition, I am hosting a one-hour Song & Dance Party on Zoom called "Setting Our Souls FREE Through Song & Dance." This article is to support ANYONE in hosting their own Song & Dance party in person, online, or through a hybrid event that offers both options.

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Ready, Set, Party!

I have hosted singing and dancing parties since my 20s, but I really got the hang of it in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• In June 2020 I co-hosted a 7-Day Virtual Pop Up Healing Center with friend Adelina Tancioco.
• Since summer of 2020, I've hosted dozens of workshops, including several Dance and Release parties.

I've learned a lot about how to host a party, whether in person, online, or both. It's my pleasure to share my best tips and tricks with YOU so that you can host YOUR OWN party one day, or enhance the parties you already host.

The 6 Steps are on the right and can be downloaded by clicking HERE or on the graphic. They are:

1. Build Your Team - Find people who can support you.
2. Schedule the Party - Choose a date, time, length for the party, and whether it will be In-Person, Virtual, or Hybrid.
3. Outreach - Everyone on the team has a responsibility to outreach to their networks.
4. Build the Playlists - Build playlists for 1) Singing (Karaoke), 2) Relaxing, and/or 3) Dancing, depending on your program.
5. Find Plants - Identify at least 1 person to lead for each of the elements.
6. Host the Party - Enjoy the day with whoever attends.

After hosting your first Song & Dance Party, consider Planning Another Party! Host another party for a holiday (e.g., Galetine’s Day, birthdays, reunions) or host a party just because!

Finally, I encourage you to think of Song & Dance Parties as opportunities to bring people together. They should be more about QUALITY (who shows up) not QUANTITY (how many register or attend). 

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Make It Your OWN!

Song & Dance Parties can be simple or as complicated as you want to make it. For example:

A Simple Party...
May only use one (1) playlist and programmatic element:

• Singing (Karaoke),
• Dancing, OR
• Chilling (like a soundbath).

A Complicated Party...
May use all three (3) playlists (and others!), as well as incorporate other programmatic elements, such as:

1. Use a spin wheel to switch up which playlist is activated during the party. Go back and forth from singing to dancing to chilling at different intervals and sequences.
2. Teach choreography like a line dance or simple repeated moves to make it more like a dance class. You can find a lot of ideas for dances on YouTube.
3. Use a theme to spice up the decor, attire, and song choices for the party. I have done 80s and 90s Top 40 Hip Hop themes, as well as 40s themes (think Great Gatsby).
4. Make the party competitive so that people can win prizes for topics like Best Dancer or Best Singer.

​These 4 Steps are on the right and can be downloaded by clicking HERE or on the graphic.

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Resources to Support

Below are the resources I shared with attendees at the January 5th workshop, feel free to use them or gain inspiration from them for your own playlists!

• Karaoke Video Playlist on YouTube - https://bit.ly/mer-karaoke-jan2025
  
• Dance Playlist on Spotify - https://bit.ly/mer-dancemix-jan2025
  
• Chillaxin Playlist on Spotify - https://bit.ly/mer-chillaxin-jan2025