The music for this year’s Winter Formal was provided by SOS Entertainment. This was the first time that SOS had been hired for an Aragon dance.
Derek Sage, CEO and founder of SOS Entertainment, says, “We actually don’t call ourselves a DJ company—we’re a production company. One big misconception people have is that anyone can DJ a school dance. While it is true that anyone can grab an iPod and anyone can play music, what we can deliver is so much more than what a normal DJ can offer.”
With so many choices of DJs, freshman class president Mary Fitzgerald explains that SOS Entertainment was ultimately chosen because of Sage’s song choices. “He played for us at a leadership retreat and put on the best songs, which is why we chose him for Formal,” says Fitzgerald.
Senior class president Kevin Dwyer adds, “I personally really enjoyed the music he put on, as it was all current songs. Also, he changed the music quite frequently, so I didn’t have time to complain about a bad song. Most importantly, he seemed like he was having fun, and it’s nice to know that your DJ’s up there enjoying himself.”
Like Fitzgerald and Dwyer, Aragon students also view music choice as one of the most important aspects of a good DJ. “It’s all about the music,” says sophomore Vijay Joshi, adding, “A good DJ needs to have a variety of songs and be able to differentiate between something that will be accepted and something that will not.”
While song choice is definitely important, not all Aragon students consider it the only aspect of a good DJ. Freshman Arianna Kan explains, “The music has to be good—something you can feel—but a good DJ also needs to show a good sense of humor without talking too much.”
For some students, crowd interaction and a sense of humor set a DJ apart from an iPod, but other students do not entirely agree. Junior Paige San Felipe states, “I hate it when DJs talk. A DJ’s job is to play music, and that’s what he should focus on, instead of putting his effort into shouting over the music.”
Saturday’s dance was disc jockeyed by one of SOS Entertainment’s DJs and a lights specialist. The performance was met with a variety of opinions from dance attendees. “He played pretty good dance-y songs and not too many slow songs. I liked that he played Taylor Swift,” says sophomore Elena Enioukova.
Junior Nicole Sanchez disagrees, commenting, “The music was kind of odd—the selections for slow dances were weird and the transitions between songs were uncomfortable. It didn’t flow.”
There were a few technical difficulties that caused pauses in the music. “We were all wondering why the heck it stopped,” comments junior Arriana Ferraez. Dwyer explains, “The song request clipboard was placed on the DJ’s keyboard, and the computer started switching around the music, and the song started playing backwards. They continued to have a few more problems.”
Students were also impressed with the decor that Leadership created. Sophomore Stevin Diba says, “The decorations were pretty impressive. I liked that they had decorations that matched the theme.”
Sanchez adds, “They were lots better than last year. It was obvious that Leadership really put a lot of effort in.” Ferraez says, “On the tables they had these lights that were really cool—they changed colors. It all added up to a good dance.”
When asked if SOS Entertainment should be hired for prom, Sanchez replies, “Maybe not. I liked last year’s DJ at prom a lot.”
However, freshman Cassandra Weiss says, “If he resolved his tech issues, I think we should have him back.” Enioukova agrees, stating, “I think overall he did a good job, besides from the tech issues.”
Since hiring SOS Entertainment was significantly more expensive than past dances, Dwyer says, “It’s possible that we may use them for Formal or Homecoming next year, but they won’t be back this year.”
