Children's party dances

[Pazz]

Hi all, I do a lot of children's parties which usually last for about 2 hours and I usually include games, party dances and chart songs. I have to say this forum is helping me out a lot especially with Mayhem's games ideas. I do a lot of my games with footballs and tennis balls and invent team games to keep everyone involved. I will certainly be including a few of the ideas on here in the coming months as I need to keep it fresh and new and have plenty of options to cater for all the age ranges (although I do try to keep the age above 5 year olds if I can).

I try and do as many party dances with the kids as possible and I have been doing ones like Superman, Agadoo and YMCA/In The Navy for a while now but I am looking to have more variety. I have come up with some ideas like learning the moves for Hands Up, Finger Song and Big Fish Little Fish. I was wondering can anyone suggest any CD and in particular DVD's out there I could purchase to learn these new moves ready for me to add these into the children's discos i do? Can any of you let me know what party dances work well at children's disco you cater for? My search so far has taken me to Rick and Nick who are famous at Haven Holiday Resorts (apparently) and some of videos on youtube.

If there are any suggestions out there from dj's who entertain kids with party dances - any info would be much appreciated. :)

Cheers
Craig

[JDB Entertainment]

Hi there,

I used to work at Pontins as a Bluecoat, some of the party dances we used to do on a regular basis were the following:

Purple People Eater
Finger Song
Big Fish Little Fish
Court of King Caractacus
Best Dance of all Time

As far as learning the dances the best thing I would suggest is watching the Youtube Videos and also if Rik & Nik do a DVD, which I am sure they do, then buy that.

Hope that Helps. :)

[StarZSoundS]

Hi all, I do a lot of children's parties which usually last for about 2 hours and I usually include games, party dances and chart songs. I have to say this forum is helping me out a lot especially with Mayhem's games ideas. I do a lot of my games with footballs and tennis balls and invent team games to keep everyone involved. I will certainly be including a few of the ideas on here in the coming months as I need to keep it fresh and new and have plenty of options to cater for all the age ranges (although I do try to keep the age above 5 year olds if I can).

I try and do as many party dances with the kids as possible and I have been doing ones like Superman, Agadoo and YMCA/In The Navy for a while now but I am looking to have more variety. I have come up with some ideas like learning the moves for Hands Up, Finger Song and Big Fish Little Fish. I was wondering can anyone suggest any CD and in particular DVD's out there I could purchase to learn these new moves ready for me to add these into the children's discos i do? Can any of you let me know what party dances work well at children's disco you cater for? My search so far has taken me to Rick and Nick who are famous at Haven Holiday Resorts (apparently) and some of videos on youtube.

If there are any suggestions out there from dj's who entertain kids with party dances - any info would be much appreciated. :)

Cheers
Craig



I think I have invented one.


To "Tell Me Ma ....Shamrock"

Tell the kids they are going to do some Irish Dancing.


For the verse have them kicking there legs out with their hands behind their backs....for the chorus have them in pairs linking arms and going round in circles...hoe-downstyle ;)

[Pazz]

Thanks for the replies so far on this I think I will buy Rik and Nik's dvd and get practicing the moves. Not too sure about the irish dancing though might just put a welsh slant on it and do some folk dancing instead!

Anybody else out there do any other children's party dances during their kids discos? I'm just after some other ideas too so I can see what other dJ's do to keep the little ones dancing?

[StarZSoundS]

Thanks for the replies so far on this I think I will buy Rik and Nik's dvd and get practicing the moves. Not too sure about the irish dancing though might just put a welsh slant on it and do some folk dancing instead!

Anybody else out there do any other children's party dances during their kids discos? I'm just after some other ideas too so I can see what other dJ's do to keep the little ones dancing?


There is a whole thread on it somewhere here.It ended with a a bit of a bunfight ..

The trouble is with a Kidz Party there is only so much you can do.If you have a good idea the DJ's on here want to trade it.....rather than just give it away.This did not sit well with some on the site.Personally I thought it was fair enough.


You also might try a PM to Mr Mayhem(matey) who seems to have cornered the market and seems particularly helpful;)

[JDB Entertainment]

If you have a good idea the DJ's on here want to trade it.....rather than just give it away.This did not sit well with some on the site.Personally I thought it was fair enough.


Not everyone is like that!

Troll alert! :p

[StarZSoundS]

Not everyone is like that!

Troll alert! :p

There is a big difference between good kids party games(which are very scarce) and posting a vid or a clip of a song that you think will work for others......because there is 53,000,000 of them anyway.... :bang:

[Tonsk]

Trouble about Rik and Niks other songs, like Purple People Eater etc is that they take too long to learn.

It's ok if they are on hols and have a week or so to learn, but spending 5+ mins to teach a dance loses a lot of interest.

Simple things like Big Fish Little Fish which are easy to pick up are ok but longer ones lose their interest.

[DJ Jules]

Trouble about Rik and Niks other songs, like Purple People Eater etc is that they take too long to learn.

It's ok if they are on hols and have a week or so to learn, but spending 5+ mins to teach a dance loses a lot of interest.

Simple things like Big Fish Little Fish which are easy to pick up are ok but longer ones lose their interest.

Agreed - things like the finger song you can teach them in a few minutes though as they're relatively simple and easy to follow. You won't get the same reaction as you will from things like Big Fish, Macarena, etc, but you'll probably teach them something knew - it depends if you want an easy life?

Other songs which have been big this year in foreign holiday camps: "Cupid Shuffle" and "Chocolate (Choco Choco)". Don't ask me about the dances to them though. Mr Mayhem does a mean party dance to "Country Roads", but I suspect that's something he made himself?

Julian

[Pazz]

Thanks guys for the info. I decided I'm going to learn the dance moves to Hands Up - Black Lace (I Think!), Finger Song, Big Fish Little Fish and maybe The Court of Caracatucus to begin with then refresh the moves on Saturday Night and Macarena. I have considered learning the moves for cha cha slide but they usually all know this one and I don't think I would be able to continue with the disco after getting down on the floor for the part in the middle of the song!

I think adding the above dances to the ones I already do like the Superman, YMCA and Agadoo should be a good for variety to add to next year's discos. Maybe I can rope my fince into practicing the moves too and coming along to some parties... you never know!

[milo]

IMO (as a children’s entertainer who now does 5-9 bookings a week) your play list should include many songs to which the kids will already know the moves:

Fast food song
Finger song
Purple people eater
Cotton eye joe
5,6,7,8
Witch doctor (Alvin & chipmunks)
Macarena
Hoedown throwdown
Superman
Hokey cokey (cockney version not the crap American “hokey pokey” ones)
Popcorn
Asereje
Cha cha slide
Reach
Time warp
Follow the leader
HSM & Hannah Mon

To name but a few… you can find the moves to all of these on youtube and after a few parties you should pick up regional variations from the kids quite quickly.

Games:
Traffic lights - green go, red stop, spin at roundabouts and lie down and snore like your mum and dad when you get to a sleeping policeman.

Corners – four grown up helpers with different coloured balloon hats in each corner, you need a hat (or some type of container) with four beanbags the same colour as your corners. When the music stops the kids run to a corner and your pick a beanbag to get them out.

Jousting – make balloon hats for two kids and give them a big (1m x .2m) balloon each. Put a line down on the floor and have them gallop towards each other trying to knock the others hat of as passing – call up the “popular” girl to pose as the fair maiden.

Tails – get a small group sat in a circle and pick out two to go head to head (boys v girls?) give the two players a tail and tie their feet together (I have pillows from ikea with two sock holes rather than tying feet and special belts with detachable animal tails) then get them to try and take the others tail without falling over whilst the crowd cheer for their team)

Rockstar mum & dad – ask the kids who thinks their mum/dad is the coolest in the world then send them off to drag up 1 mum and 1 dad to help with a battle of the sexes. Play so what or rockstar and score the mum and dad on their rock star moves. The kids cheer for girls or boys then a panel of x factor judges decide the winner. The winner keeps the inflatable guitar for their kid.

Blink murder – in a dark room everyone sits in a circle one person is the murderer and another (sent out of the room while the murderer is picked) is the detective. The murderer kills people by blinking at them (dead people scream and fall to the floor in the centre). The detective has to find the murderer before everyone dies. Play haunted soundtrack in the background (instrumental exorcist theme or similar).

Mummy game – teams wrap a grown up in toilet roll to the benny hill tune “yackety sax.

I have loads more that I have invented myself, but remember there is no one size fits all – pick your activities & dances carefully once you have met the kids.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Good post Milo, thanks for sharing.

[StarZSoundS]

Mummy game – teams wrap a grown up in toilet roll to the benny hill tune “yackety sax.




Milo........Walk Like An Egyptian...The Bangles......works better for me!!


Darrens right...good post.I've put a few suggestions in another post somewhere on here;)

[milo]

Milo........Walk Like An Egyptian...The Bangles......works better for me!!


Darrens right...good post.I've put a few suggestions in another post somewhere on here;)

Glad you like it - hope it helps someone out...

I definitely prefer yakety sax though, I get a roll or two myself and do a clown style run around the outside of the room wrapping everyone up - I always wear a headset so the speed of the track combined with my screaming down the mic and the comedy of my clown run make it really funny. Be careful with this game as I have had an eco family complain about wastage... make sure you take away for recycling rather than binning.:)

[Pazz]

Hi Milo I want to say a big thanks for your post it has been really helpful and it is very much appreciated. You are definitely right about the songs you listed I do play most of those ones and a lot of the kids usually do know the moves but I'm definitely going to practice them too.

The games seem really fun aswell and I saw the mummy game mentioned in another thread and I am definitley going to include this one and I am going to familiarise myself with some others and try and add some into my children's party setup.

I was after lots of suggestions as I felt I needed more scope and choice as my parties seemed to be going stale. You have certainly giving me great ideas and renewed my appetite for these type of parties.
This has definitely been the most helpful thread and posts I have read since joining the forum so thanks to Milo and all of you. It is really good to have fellow dj's and entertainers who are kind enough to share their knowledge and experiences.

Many Thanks to you all. :) :) :)

[StarZSoundS]

Pazz


Google.....Wet Head.....This is a must have for us now!!

[paull]

Thanks guys, I am doing an Xmas party for the local Brownies and there are some great ideas on here.

[milo]

Thanks guys, I am doing an Xmas party for the local Brownies and there are some great ideas on here.


If it’s all girls then the dancing will usually work really well and if they’re Rainbows, Brownies or Guides they will be used to structured activities and games so it should be a doddle. I also have a “Pinky Punky” (Timmy Mallet) for the word association or yes no game – That’s a fun one I forgot to mention.

Take a look at the scout and guide websites as I believe they both have forums where leaders share game ideas etc.

Good Luck!

[Twinspin]

They do a cd with the party songs on it at Haven holidays ive got the disc either that one.... or Rik & Nik The Party Kick CD.

http://www.rikandnikofficialfanclub.co.uk/process.php?PHPSESSID=ad35891f33d52e5aef7e71c8b1d2 4541&pname=ShowAlbumDetailsProcess-Start&CategoryID=CategoryID&AlbumID=2


big fish little fish
best dance of all time
finger song
people people eater
revolution in paradise
superman
chocolatee
Mexican Wave



all these songs it says are played at the major holiday parks, haven, pontins, butlins etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0cpBmJ6g1s

[pineapple]

lucky for us we goto haven holidays every year and we know all the party dances and I know we are sad but great fun for everyone and evern got every cd going :D

Now we need some children/kids discos lol

We everning join in and show the kids how to do the dances as well :D