| Video: 3-4 minute pre-dance "Shoe Game" Some questions are customized. MORE IDEAS BELOW IDEAS FOR WEDDINGS AND CORPORATE EVENTS Dance Off: Can work many ways, such as the bridesmaids vs. groomsmen. (For corporate events, groups from different departments could be formed, or leaders could be asked to pick guests to form their dance-off teams). Corporate Event Awards Presentations: Guests have ballots and vote for the person who did their favorite dance on the way up to receive their award. I can customize this in advance so that one or all of the recipients know the song I'll be playing and actually learn the dance moves as a surprise for the seated guests (for instance, we could train the recipient who is least likely to be expected to dance to actually do an impressive dance on the way up- a partner could join for a ballroom move, or a line-up of back up dancers could appear). Extra prize for imitating the DJ's dance (perhaps with help from employee volunteers): At any time during the event a drawing could be done and a guest given the opportunity to win a prize by learning a dance move. If you are going to be presenting gifts to each employee, they could be directed to pass by a line of dancers on the way up and be given a bonus gift card if they successfully imitate the dance move that the dancers do (I would train your volunteer dance line before the event to do 20 different special moves). Scavenger Hunts: If guests are wearing name tags and you’d like to encourage interaction, ask 3 participants to race to find 3 other guests with the letter “R” in their names and bring them to the dance floor and raise their hands together. Another version is to have guests find certain small objects and bring them to the stage. 15-minute version: If you don't mind a lot of talking and action during dinner, I will ask one representative from each table to bring his or her chair and the table number to the dance floor, line them up in a row, interview them one by one, and have them race out into the seated guests to return with certain objects, while removing one of the chairs each time with the final showdown between the final two table representatives determining the winning table. Slide Show Quiz: If there is a slide show playing in the background, design a quiz on things shown in it, such as names and locations. Treasure Hunts: Gift cards are hidden around the room. Married Couple Quiz: Married couples show how well they know each other: Paul has the husbands fill out answers to 5 questions, then brings the wives up and interviews them on the microphone. Each wife tells the audience what she thinks the husband wrote. Race: Who can stack the highest tower of plastic cups in one minute. (Prop needed: 2 bags of plastic cups) Silly Stunts: Two guests take turns smashing hard boiled eggs into the other's forehead until the raw egg comes up. Blindfolded groom guesses the legs of the bride from a row of volunteers (which always includes one guy) Blindfolded bride feels wallets in the back pockets of a row of guys to guess which is the groom's Memory: Paul plays samples of 10 songs, followed by a quiz on completing the lyrics. Race: Who can be the first to spell a 3-letter word using a box of pencils. (Props needed: 2 boxes of unsharpened pencils) Memory: Paul plays samples of 5 songs while showing the dance moves that go with them, and we see which participant can recall the moves when he plays the music again. (Needed: groups of 15-second sound clips from songs with dance moves associated with them) Race: Who can be the first to complete 15 full revolutions on a Hula Hoop. (Prop: 2 Hula Hoops) Memory: History. Paul recites a list of dates and an event associated with each date and then repeats the events out of order asking participants to shout out the dates.(Needed: a source for timelines, such as encyclopedias –also consider customized timelines related to the organization sponsoring the event). Race: Who can form the nicest row of “Tents” made out of napkins in 1 minute (Prop needed: 2 stacks of napkins) Memory: Geography. Paul recites a list of Capitols and corresponding locations very quickly (or not at all) Then gives a simple quiz, providing the name of the state or country to see who is first to name the capitol. Race: Tricky Moving of Things: (Many variations) Using nothing but a certain part of their body (or blindfolded, etc.), participants move an object from one location to a container set up across the room or across the stage. Memory: Faces and Names: Paul recites a list of names of famous people (or fellow employees) and then shows a series of photos to the participants for them to ID. BIG PROPS for large audiences: Inflatable items and large hula hoops can be combined to make easily- observable target games. Imagine creative inflatable objects, such as an over-sized beach ball, being rolled or tossed through a large hula hoop target, where the hula hoop could be suspended and swinging back and forth during the minute to win it. GUESSING GAMES: Large numbers can be written onto 8 x 12 “ Manila envelopes and displayed on a wall. One contains a big prize certificate, and the participants take turns calling numbers (with the crowd shouting out suggestions) to see who gets the big prize. TRIVIA GAME PUZZLE: Paul plays a series of samples of songs where the first letter of the last name of the artist is used to spell a word (for band names, the first word is used, skipping the “the”). Participants who know the most artists and song titles have the advantage. Audience members are welcome to have fun shouting out suggestions. Supplies: Paper and pen for each participant. Example: Rihanna, Estephan, Abba, Dexys, Young spells “READY” Paul might have played a minute of “Please Don’t Stop the Music” “Turn the Beat Around” “Dancing Queen” “Come on Eileen” “Every Time You Go Away” If nobody gets it, Paul gives clues such as the first name of the last artist being “Paul” -The fun part of this activity is that guest who like the songs being played dance in their seats and sing along, like at a piano bar. Be creative: Tell Paul what you’d like to spell and he will find the songs and audio samples. MYSTERY SENTENCE: Paul plays a series of songs where the song titles are used to form a sentence. Paul lets the participants use a list of “connecting words” and then judges the quality of the sentences. |