There’s an old idiom that advises that we all need to dance to the beat of our own drum.
That’s a sentiment that Mary Lloyd of Silent DJ Victoria has taken to heart. Her company offers an immersive musical experience in which participants don high-end headphones tuned to a combination of up to three different playlists of music.
That music can range from the serene and calming to wild dance music of many genres. The result is nothing less than magical.
“We did a New Year’s Eve silent disco in Esquimalt Town Square that was free to the public,” said Lloyd. “People were dancing to different music and some people thought it looked a little crazy and asked what was going on. But then, they’d pop on a headset and join right in.”
Lloyd has more than 500 sets of headphones and keeps finding new ways of using them to let people enjoy sound and movement.
She started in the Fall of 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic with 50 headphones.
“I was about to launch a dance rehab project called ‘Dance Your Abilities’ when the pandemic struck, and I had to pivot. People could still dance, separated from others, but sharing the sounds and the feelings in the music,” said Lloyd.
She offered twice weekly beach dances and those events evolved into events that, today, are limited only by imagination.
For example, Lloyd now hosts large indoor and outdoor DJ dances and rents the headphones to schools for special events. There are also more eclectic outdoor events featuring conscious ecstatic dance, mindfulness meditation, circling with others, and time in the wild.
She’s also hosted school dances, Sunset Silent Discos, nature walks and house parties.
“A lot of times I do fun party music. There can be three different devices attached, all playing their own playlists at the same time. People will have us come in and play all night long without fear of the music disturbing the neighbours,” said Lloyd. “People will also rent them for music festivals where there is a cutoff time for the music. When the cutoff comes around, they go to headsets. It’s a great way to respect the neighbours.”
It's also a great way to respect the serenity of the outdoors and wildlife when headsets are used for nature walk events.
“Moving while being so awed by nature is a beautiful experience. How incredible to be connected to other dancers and to the birds and otters and the lapping ocean,” said Mary Jane, a Beach Dance participant. “I was amazed and blessed by the energy that carried me.”
Another client offered a similar observation.
“I was free, dancing with the wind, the waves, connecting to the earth, rock and sky, filling my body and heart with music and beauty. I’m so very grateful,” said John Hibbs, retired physician-professor. “It was fantastic to experience letting go, and that I can be creative and self-expressing in public when I choose. And the blend of sound, wind, water and movement was perfect.”
The ’letting go’ phenomenon is something that at first came as a bit of a surprise to Lloyd, but it’s become one of the things she loves most about her events.
“People can get silly with these events. It’s what I love about Silent DJ. People can get silly and not worry about what people think of them. It’s finding that sense of release and freedom."
More information on Silent DJ events and opportunities can be found at silentdjvictoria.com.
