On Saturday, Sept. 14, the Inter-Residence Council held its tenth annual silent disco. From 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. the next day in the ballrooms at Talley Student Union, attendees could put on a pair of headphones and jam to any of three different DJ sets, all played live by NC State students.
The event was free to all students with an NC State ID, and glow sticks and finger lights were even handed out at the door. Music selection ranged from hip-hop to R&B to throwback pop. Listeners could flip a switch on their headsets to change which DJ they were listening to at any time, and this also changed the color of the lights on the outside of their headset, letting others know what channel they were on.
IRC Vice President of Programming Isabella Forst, a fourth-year studying technology, engineering and design (TED) education, said the IRC received six applications for DJs this year, which was exciting because in previous years, they didn’t have the luxury of choosing who they wanted.
“We looked for a little bit of variety, but I think more than that we looked for experience DJing at events, because we wanted to make sure that they were going to be comfortable DJing a five-hour set in front of 1,000 people,” Forst said. “We looked for experience and also a little bit of musical diversity.”
On the blue channel was Charlie Walker, a third-year studying communication who DJs for WKNC under the name DJ Charlie M.A.C.; on the red channel was Casey Turlington, a fourth-year studying TED education who has DJed for several IRC events in the past, including last year’s Pack Disco; and on the green channel was Leeann Diaz, a fourth-year studying psychology who DJs for WKNC under the name DJ Psyched.
Variety was definitely not lacking at Pack Disco. It was often difficult to choose which channel to tune into, as Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” played alongside The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” and Rihanna’s “BBHMM.” However, there were moments when the crowd would collectively decide on one channel, such as when the Cupid Shuffle came on and a sea of blue headsets began to line dance in unison.
“There was no competition; we were rooting each other on,” Diaz said. “At different times, each of us took over the floor, respected each other, let the others have it sometimes. I think it was a really cooperative atmosphere, and I really appreciated how united everyone felt in the room.”
When the IRC silent disco premiered in 2010, it broke the record for largest silent disco in the U.S. with over 550 attendees. This year, Forst said there were a total of 781 attendees, and in future years, she hopes to push that number up to 1,000.
Last year, the IRC introduced Rita’s Italian Ice to the event, which Forst said she thinks helps the disco feel more relaxed. With nearly 800 bodies moshing, line dancing and forming a conga line around the ballroom, the atmosphere could be overwhelming, but being able to take the headphones off and grab some Italian ice and a cup of water went a long way to refreshing attendees’ stamina. An area behind the ballroom was also cordoned off so dancers could leave the space in order to go to the bathroom without being kicked out of the event.
“It was really fun,” Walker said. “The energy was really cool. I think all three DJs had an equal share of the crowd, like there were times when everyone was green, everyone was red, everyone was blue, and I think that was really cool.”
Notable moments included an “Old Town Road” conga line, an impromptu dance battle to “Milkshake” and a crowd of phone-lighters all held up like stars during “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This year’s Pack Disco was a raging success, and next year promises to be even greater.
