Should You DJ School Dances?
(And How to Succeed If You Do!)

by Chris Brower
Last Updated: February 19, 2024

While this website focuses primarily on DJing weddings, DJing school dances is another way to make money, fill up your DJ calendar, and promote your wedding DJ business.

After all, there are many events DJs can DJ other than weddings. If you work in an area with a lot of schools, school dances give you another great opportunity to get a lot of work.

DJing school dances is similar to DJing weddings in some ways: You’re playing music that hopefully appeals to the audience and gets them dancing and having a memorable time.

But in other ways, DJing school dances can be much different.

Let’s dig in to whether you should DJ school dances and how to succeed if you do.

How Is DJing School Dances Different From Weddings?

Here are some of the ways they’re different:

Much shorter time length. Most school dances are 2-4 hours tops. This is unlike weddings, which are typically longer.
Often lower pay. Because school dances are much shorter in time and typically much less work, it’s hard to make as much money doing them. Plus, schools aren’t exactly rolling in money or eager to pay thousands of dollars for a DJ.
Far less emceeing, if any. You likely won’t be asked to make many announcements during the school dance, except basic instructions or announcing a last song.
Far less coordination and work. Weddings typically involve special dances and other events (cake cutting, speeches, etc.), whereas school dances typically don’t. Often, your only job is to play music the entire time.
Much different audience. Obvious, right? When you DJ weddings, you’ll mostly DJ to adults, whereas school dances are kids and teens. You remember high school, right? People are often more nervous to dance and may not dance at all. It can be a much tougher crowd than a wedding of adults.

Positives of DJing School Dances

Here are some of the positives of DJing school dances:

The work itself can be fairly easy. Weddings are often all-day events, once you factor in setup and teardown time. It can mean a late night. School dances, on the other hand, are often very short (2-4 hours). It may be 7-9 p.m. or something short like that. So this can take of up less time of your day. Plus, you’ll mostly just be expected to play music rather than emceeing or leading a lot of events.
It could lead to regular work. For most weddings, you DJ for the couple and then you never DJ for them again. Maybe another family member will hire you or their friends, but you can’t count on regular work. With schools, if you make them happy, they may hire you each year or multiple times a year. Regular gigs can be hard to come by in the wedding DJ world, so this can be a nice perk!
You can help someone have their first time dancing one-on-one with another person. Dancing with a girl or boy for the first time can be a scary but memorable experience. It can be a big milestone for someone. I was very moved when I DJed a school dance and a student requested a song so her friend could dance with a boy for the first time. Happy I could help make that happen! Your dance party can help students make everlasting memories with their crushes and friends.

Negatives of DJing School Dances

Here are some of the negatives of DJing school dances:

The pay is typically much lower. You’re DJing far fewer hours, and schools aren’t eager to pay thousands for a DJ. Hence, the pay is typically low. Anytime you DJ a school dance instead of a wedding, you’re likely making less money.
It can be hard to get people to dance! School dances can be a challenge to get people to dance. Hey, we’ve all been there – 13 years old and feeling awkward cutting loose in front of our classmates. Many students will not dance at all and just run around with their friends or raid the snack table.
Students can be hard to deal with. I thought dealing with drunken wedding guests could be a challenge, but students can be harder. I’ve had long lines of people waiting to request a song (and returning over and over again). I’ve had students doing flips and jumping off the stage where I’m DJing (before the principal yelled at them to stop). Kids and teens can be a handful! This can make for a stressful time.
There are more restrictions on music. Typically, the music must be REALLY clean – not just no explicit lyrics but nothing remotely sexual/suggestive. Some schools may be extra strict on making sure the music is “appropriate.” Sometimes simply playing the clean, radio edit isn’t enough. More and more modern music either has explicit lyrics or sexual content, making it harder to play at school dances. The restrictions on music can be annoying.

Ready for the complete guide to becoming a wedding DJ? Here you go.

How to Get School DJ Gigs

Unlike weddings, you can more proactively try to get school DJ gigs.

With weddings, you typically set up your website and social media and wait for people to contact you. With school dances, you can actively reach out to all the schools in your area and pitch your services. I’ve done this and netted a lot of interest!

Email the school with information about your services (what you provide – music, lights, etc.), your experience (if you’ve previously DJed school dances, definitely mention those!), and share that you’re eager to provide a fun, clean night of entertainment. If you went to that school or even another school in the area, definitely mention that! Schools love to hire people from their community, especially alumni.

Remember, you’re a random person asking to be allowed to DJ at their school – make sure you seem as polite and family friendly as possible.

While you could email schools at anytime, emailing before the school year has begun (aka, in the summer) will likely net you more interest. After all, once the school year has started, many schools have already arranged for their school dance entertainment for the whole year.

Here’s an email template that has worked for me (as in, I got hired!):

Hi,
My name is [your name]. I’m a [year, such as 2005] graduate of [name the school if it’s in the area], and have been DJing around the [your city] area since [the year you started], doing over [list a number of events if it’s, say, over 100] events. While I primarily DJ weddings, I’ve done several school dances and other events for high schoolers and middle schoolers, including ones at [if you’ve DJed at other schools, list those here].
I have lots of experience tailoring my song selection for a younger audience, making sure the songs are appropriate and the students are always having fun. As you’re figuring out your plans for the school year, please keep me in mind if you’re looking for a DJ. I’m happy to talk sometime to tell you more about my services.
Sincerely,
[Your name]

How Much Should You Charge?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this. Many DJs charge $200-$1,000 for school dances. It can be hard to get more than $300 or $400. Schools just don’t have huge budgets, and school dances are often just 2-4 hours long.

Of course, if you offer additional services like photo booths or video screens or other things, you may be able to charge more and get it.

Tips for Song Selection

Current vs. Older Music

When I first DJed a school dance, I assumed I could only play very current music. After all, everyone was around 14 years old, and I assumed they would only want to dance to new songs.

Boy, was I wrong!

This quickly became apparent when they were requesting "Bohemian Rhapsody"* by Queen and "Thriller" by Michael Jackson and others. (For context, this school dance was in 2014.)

While I still think you'll have greater success playing more current songs, students seem happy to dance to some classics.

In general, a lot of the most popular wedding reception songs can do well at school dances.

Keep It VERY Clean

As stated earlier, you'll most likely be expected to play extremely clean, family friendly music. That doesn't mean you can only play the Chicken Dance or something from KIDZ BOP, but songs about sex or with profanity probably won't fly.

Another lesson - playing the clean version of a song doesn't mean students won't yell out the profane words. For example, I thought it'd be okay to play a very clean, radio edit of "Starships" by Nicki Minaj, but students still yelled out "motherf*****" several times (even though the recording didn't have that audible anymore). Whoops! Lesson learned. If you can, avoid playing anything that has any explicit language, even if you're playing the clean version.

Group/Line Dances Do Great

Group/line dances do great at weddings, and they especially do at school dances! Students often love these songs.

Any songs with choreographed dances can be very popular.

Some examples include:

"Cupid Shuffle" by Cupid
"Cha Cha Slide" by DJ Casper
"Old Town Road (remix)" by Lil Nas X (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus)
"The Git Up" by Bianco Brown
"Y.M.C.A." by Village People

Don't Forget Slow Songs

School dances are often the first time students slow dance with a boy or girl. Hence, you should play a few slow dances so students get this chance. You could make someone's night and help them have a great memory from their school days.

Bring Glow Sticks

People love glow sticks, especially kids! Bring enough glow sticks for everyone, if not more, so people can take multiple (they probably will anyway).

This can help create a party atmosphere, and students can have fun being creative with the glow sticks (making huge necklaces and other things).

Consider Leading Games

If you want to further liven up the school dance - and especially if you're not having much luck getting dancing to happen - consider leading games. Kids often love a chance to compete and show off their skills.

For any games, it's best to coordinate with the school ahead of time to make sure they approve.

Some game ideas:

Dance off - Have everyone form a circle, and then people can take turns showing off their best dance moves.
Musical chairs - Place a set number of chairs (such as 10) and then invite a number of people that's one more (in this case, 11 people) and have them walk in a circle around the chairs while you play a song. When you unexpectedly stop the song, they all have to hurriedly find a chair. The one person who couldn't snag a chair in time loses. Then take the remaining people, remove one chair, and keep the game going, until there's a single winner left.
Limbo - Students have to go under the limbo pole without touching it. If they touch it or knock it off, they're out. Keep lowering the pole until there is only one person who can go under it without touching or knocking it off.