Crystal & Reggie - Doing the Chicken Dance in Top Hat & Tails at the Fiesta Palace-Merrillville, IN

Had an unforgettable night Saturday (Sept. 17, 2011) DJ-ing for Reginald (Reggie) and Crystal at a banquet hall called the Fiesta Palace in Merrillville, Indiana.  It was great being back in Merrillville again - I had performed for a Valentine's Day Steppers set and after party for The Stylistics, Chi-Lites and Dramatics concert last year at the Star Plaza Hotel's Celebrity Ballroom. 

The Fiesta Palace is also a great facility - very spacious with a huge dance floor and a stage for the DJ. 

Crystal had been planning her wedding for some time and booked me almost a year beforehand.  This gave her ample time to think about her song selections and make revisions.  She wanted to do something very special and unique for her Father / Daughter dance in particular, but overall wanted to make sure that the music reflected her and her friends' and family's tastes.  We went through a number of different ideas and she even brought in a choreographer at one point to help her work on her dances.  When the day arrived she was confident that she had chosen the music that would make the lasting impression that she wanted. 

Crystal chose her father to be the MC.  This was a great choice as he's a man of great personality - full of life and love for his daughter.  He was also able to connect with the crowd as someone who knew everyone personally - the fact that he was wearing a top hat & tails with a shiny cane and white gloves also got their attention! 

I provided a microphone and stand for him on the dance floor and he and his wife began introducing the wedding party as I played the instrumental to Kanye West's "Good Life".  The bridal party entered doing their own special dances with much fanfare from the crowd.  It was then the big moment for Crystal and Reggie to make thier grand entrance.  They requested that I play "I Wanna Love U Girl" by Robin Thicke - to which they bounced in stepping and grooving to the beat to the roar of the crowd.  The couple went right to their first dance after that to Jill Scott & Anthony Hamilton's, "So In Love".  After then went on to the cake cutting to Kem's "Share My Life".  

After many cocktails and greetings - the food was blessed and dinner was served.  Crystal was active in selecting songs for each stage of the evening and wanted a mix of classic and contemporary grooves for dinner and cocktail music.  This ranged from: Rose Royce, Patti LaBelle, Anita Baker and Sade to Roy Ayers, Debarge, Alicia Keys and Bruno Mars.  I also slid in some 90s R&B from the likes of Keith Sweat and Rome that got the bridesmaids dancing in their seats and dropped "Sky's the Limit" by Notorious BIG and 112 that had the groomsmen stepping in the aisles. 

After dinner, Crystal wanted to go right to her special dance that she and her father had worked on.  She wanted me to start with Celine Dion's "Because You Love Me" - which prepped the crowd for what they thought would be a slow dance - and fade into 3 increasingly funkier songs - R. Kelly's "Happy People", the traditional "Chicken Dance Polka" and finally "The Humpy Dance" by Digital Underground.  By the time I got to the Humpy Dance, the crowd was so alive they rushed The Fiesta Palace's huge dance floor and joined in with Crystal and her dad. 

Watch their full first dance video here: 

After this, Reggie and his mom got up and kept the spirit going by starting off nice and easy to "Good Times" by The Jacksons and ending with "Otis" by Kanye West and Jay-Z. 

Shortly after that I opened the floor for toasts and speeches and nearly 20 guests got up and shared stories and offered well-wishes to the newlyweds.  After that, Crystal tossed up the bouquet to "Pretty Girl Rock" by Keri Hilson while Reggie slid off the garter to "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" by the SOS Band.

After that, it was my time to turn up the volume and the lights!  Crystal and Reggie had purchased my dance floor lighting package so I brought out some bold LED lights that filled the dance floor and the room to the beat of their music.  Learn more about my lighting package here: http://www.djkelwin.com/booking.html.  

The crowd was multi-generational, so I had something for everyone: from the crowd-favorite slides and steppers jams to some old school funk by Parliament, Funkadelic, and George Clinton.  After the funk lovers finished "tearing the roof off the sucker" and dancing to the "flashlight", I dropped AMG's 90s classic "The Booty Up" that had everyone from that era on the floor and bouncing to the bumpin' beat.  After that, I dove into some newer music from Waka Flocka, Wiz Khalifa, Jay-Z & Kanye, Ace Hood, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled and more for the younger crowd who huddled in the middle of the floor rapping to every word in the music.  I ended with a club set that included the Black Eyed Peas, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull and some rare old-school remixes.  It was definitely a crowd that came to party and I had a great time taking a DJ KEL-WIN! party to Merrillville, Indiana once again!