Nearly 450 University students packed into a tent Friday night on the Parade Ground, bouncing to the rhythm of electronic beats and bass lines as flashing colored lights twirled around them.
But it was completely silent.
The event, which was sponsored by the Student Activities Board, was a “silent disco,” a dance party where live music can only be heard by guests through wireless headphones.
Randall Head, SAB music committee chair and mass communication sophomore, said instead of blasting music through a speaker system, sounds are broadcast via an FM-transmitter and the signal is picked up by wireless headphone receivers provided to the participants.
Without the headphones, the only sound that can be heard is the faint rumble of bass and the laughter of participants, making the event a unique and comical sight.
“It’s interesting to watch everyone flailing around,” laughed Dylan Purvis, art freshman. “It’s entertaining.”
Purvis, along with several of his friends, stayed around the outside rim of the tent, dancing and hula-hooping with light-up, flashing hoops to the beat.
“It’s funny to think about whether the people around you are listening to the same music,” said Taylor Simon, philosophy and economics freshman. “It’s fun without the volume.”
Head said the idea for the silent disco came from Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. A member of SAB attended the Tennessee-based festival last year and brought the idea back to Baton Rouge.
“I was apprehensive at first,” Head said. “I didn’t know how it would go over.”
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The group began planning the event in January with a total cost of about $11,000, according to Elaine Giles, SAB president and mass communication sophomore. Giles said the disco was funded by SAB’s budget, which comes from student fees.
Giles said the committee hired Silent Events, a rental company from Memphis, Tenn., to help produce the disco. Silent Events provided 500 pairs of headphones for the festivities, Giles said.
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Head said SAB hired two local musicians to disc-jockey the two-hour event. DJ Marsig and RMONIC performed at the event, each taking a one-hour time slot to play. The two mixed original dubstep tracks with popular electronic hits to create a high-energy playlist.
SAB also provided 1,700 glow sticks to guests, who covered their ankles, wrists, necks and heads with the vibrant bands. Others built balls out of glow sticks and threw them around the crowd.
“It’s so different,” Head said, as participants danced wildly in the background. “I don’t think this has been done in Louisiana before — definitely not in Baton Rouge and not at LSU.”
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Even though it proved to be a success, Head said SAB doesn’t know if the disco will become an annual event. He said the disco was an experiment, but he is optimistic the University will see another.
The group will e-mail a survey to all who participated and base future decisions on the survey results, Head said.
“They look silly, but they’re fun,” said John Adams, liberal arts graduate student. “LSU should have more — it builds a sense of community with the students.”
 
 
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contact Sydni Dunn at [email protected]