The men from BearDance have announced the headlining DJ for this year’s Big D BearDance. Back in March, they brought in the DJ team Blowoff featuring Bob Mould and Rich Morel to pack the house at Station 4. For 2012, the nonprofit group will host London’s (by way of Glasgow) DJ HiFi Sean. Also known as Sean Dickson, he’s initially famous for his work in the 90s alt-group The Soup Dragons mostly known for the single “I’m Free.”
I talked a bit with Ami Sadeh and Darren Graff of BearDance about how they come to their choice of DJs for each event. Read more about how the selection of HiFi Sean and details on March’s Big D BearDance after the jump.
A big concern for the guys at BearDance is to provide a welcoming and comfortable place in its events. Graff calls that an overriding principle for people to feel comfortable and for the bears to let loose. But also, it’s an opportunity to give something fresh to the Dallas dance scene.
“The mission we had when we created this was to expose the community to acts and DJs to Dallas,” Graff said. “These are act thats we wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to see here. And we’ve really prided ourselves on mixing up style we bring to BearDance.”
To the layman, DJs are just the guys spinning the music, but each have their own sound. Year to year, the dance event has offered a spectrum of dance music from the progressive sounds of Ted Eiel to the rock-laced dance mix of Blowoff. And Graff is quite fine with the deep house sounds of HiFi Sean.
“For us, his selection was a natural progression. I had the opportunity to see him play at Folsom and he played an amazing house set and has this amazing following. The decision was easy.”
Although each member of BD may submit a DJ for consideration, the ultimate goal is to have someone who will resonate with the party people. They saw that in Dickson.
“We wanted someone who can really connect with the dance floor,” Sadeh said. “Sean is great at adjusting his set on the go and make the dance floor fly.”
Big D Bear Dance returns to Station 4 on March 16. A smaller BearDance event is set for Jan. 13 at The Loft. The guys will be making that DJ announcement soon.
