Aeroform Introduction

By special request, many clients and friends have asked what is the secret to having energy and staying balanced.  Here is a peak at AEROFORM, the simple exercise series that has allowed me to stay young and have amazing energy for over 20 years.  It's very accessible to people of all ages, and although the movements are somewhat soft style and simple in viewing they are very effective.

Call me today for a free consultation.  Plus, I'm giving free introductions through August first come first serve.

REVIEW + Ultimate Games Master Party Pix

See the 20 or so odd Pictures from the Mitzvah-Cinque the Multiple Mitzvah we did back on June 6th.

Photos curtesy of Max Flatow Photography

Dear Michael,

Thanks so much for coming up with the Games Master option for our B'nei Mitzvah on June 6th. While we knew we didn't want the full court DJ and Lights package that Lightning Shakes New York is known for, we wanted something to entertain the kids after our ceremony. Your experience, professionalism and enthusiasm helped make our special day (5 celebrants!) a big hit. I can't tell you how much having an experienced outside eye was to me during the planning process. I would heartily recommend your services to anyone looking for a great dj/entertainment service to make a special party really sail.

All the best,

Jill Cornell

REVIEW: Ultimate Games Master Dance Parties - Redefining the Possibilities for Kid's Parties

This letter just came in from our 5-22-10 client.

Michael


We just received the photos of Jack’s Bar Mitzvah from 5/22 and are all remembering how wonderful it was! Lucky Strike was a great place for a party, but you made it all truly special. In each photo, the children and adults are having a blast. Smiles everywhere! The music was great, your motivators were fun and lovely, and you were just wonderful! There was terrific energy in the room. My son’s friends are still thanking us for the great party.

We want to thank you for helping us plan and pull off a terrific Bar Mitzvah. Our 10 year old daughter, Katie says that she wants the exact same party and definitely wants you to be her DJ.
Thanks again for all your help

Lisa
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Matthew and Laura Gilbert's Party 6-19-10

Toby Rappaport, new sales director of Congregation Beth Elohim, formerly of BAM on last Saturday night's party, "I've never seen this many kids dancing at a mitzvah before."  This was at the very end of the night...see video:



That was Toby's first time seeing one of our parties. But he caught the essence of LSNY. That something extra that consistently creates the most fun for kids and adults.

Kid's Dance Parties tend to have a crazy unpredictability to them.  Early in the year parties are much easier to direct into great feeling parties.  Later in the year once kids have been to one every weekend, parties have the capacity to be out of control, and frantic. And it makes sense kids have been to so many parties they "know" the routine. 
 

 
That's where the Ultimate Games Master Parties offers a huge advantage. Because The UGM Dance Parties offers so most versatility, even kids who have been to 5 or 6 of our parties will always see something new that they haven't seen before, and have an opportunity to participate in a new skill or twist.  Because there are organized aspects to the party, the dance party never gets old or boring.  Even the best dance parties with raccous energy cannot go 3 hours straight.  They always need something to break them up.  The key is how do you break them up without losing interest or energy?  That's the key that we've learned over 19 years and what the UGM Dance Parties are all about.

Afternoon Parties can be Fantastic - if you have some simple tools

The Rockleigh in NJ is one of those massive, beautiful locations that offer an opportunity to have a great party.  We've done weddings and mitzvahs there.  The space is large and they go all out for you. 

The Rosen's chose it for their daughter Rebecca's mitzvah party last Saturday afternoon.  We were in the Bristol Room.  The Rockleigh has added LED lighting to enhance the festivities there changing the look.  They closed the curtains and it actually had the feel of an evening party.

They do not program the lights but when left even in one color has a very nice effect.

Purple was the theme and you can see above during the 1st dance it casts a nice hue. Rebecca definitely knew what she wanted with huge helium balloons anchoring down the centerpieces by pulling straight up in the air.  And purple everywhere.

LSNY provided the entertainment using our Ultimate Games Master Team skills and games during cocktails:  The Woggler continues to be the #1 game followed by the Duel game.  The kids had a great time during our 1st hour and jumped into the main party a few minutes early.



Many of the kids were well versed in the fine dancing of THRILLER as seen below:



Finally there was little partner hustling amidst the fine dining and games - nicely done:



Overall a few simple rules can help you with afternoon parties:

• The smaller the party the less amount of time you need overall to achieve a fantastic feeling event.  Think about decreasing the length of time for parties under 130 people.
• The larger the space in comparison to the amount of people you (Space Size +++   Guest Size + the more inertia your guests have to overcome to get a really fun/good feeling room.  
• Conversely if you have a lot of people in a tighter space (Space Size ++ Guest Size +++) the buzz of people intensifies the energy and excitement builds a little easier, opportunity to create a heightened experience happens more naturally.
• Marble dance floors take more out of your guests when dancing than wood, parquet or traditional composite dance floors which give you rebounding.  The level of energy is harder to maintain over a longer period of time. 

Consider these elements when planning your next party and you'll be more likely to pick the best place and timing to have a tremendous event.  If you would like more clarification on any of the ideas here or in the other journals give me a call at 201 475-5769 or email me and I'll break it down for you.

Here's to more joyful events

Michael

A Mitzvah-Cinq and Bon Voyage Mitzvah in one Weekend?

Can you say unique weekend?  I can say it for sure.  Saturday night the Cohen-Baranek family packed 199 of their closest friends, family, relatives and children's best friends into the Water Club on the east side of Manhattan for an unforgettable beautiful night:   A farewell to NY mitzvah party.

It was 95 degrees outside and possibly hotter inside because the dance floor was on fire for most of the party.  We needed to keep a fire extinguisher on hand for this one, or as we say this was a "4 shirter".  See above picture and check out the video.

Adele was gracious, fun and appreciative of the spontenaiety and crazy dancing of her family and particularly her dad, who put a smile on her face every time they were on the floor together.  Her firends brought the energy as they usually do. The airbrush artists were a big hit sitting outside on the deck taking orders. 

On a scorching hot night in the city, this was the volcano erupting to spew forth nothing but joy for them to take with them on their way to their new home overseas. 

Mom gave me a huge hug and said, "It was great, fantastic you are going to get milliions of clients."  2 weeks later she called to say how incredible it was and how many people called to rave about it.  For us this is key, not just that people feel elated during and ending one of our events but that it carries on charged with the same kind of joy right at the fingertips of the mind to recall and live over.

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The Ultimate Games Master Team Party in Brooklyn

 

Sunday was a first for LSNY in 19 years. A combined 5 person mitzvah. Miranda, Leah, Noah, Emily and Miranda #2 all showed up at Temple Beth Elohim to do at least to my knowledge the first ever Mitzvah-Cinq - which is sort of like everything and the kitchen cinq if you will, as 250 guests watched history happen.  The most I've ever heard mitzvah-ing at one time was 2.  They topped it by 3!  The review is in a later post.

So what do you do for a Mitzvah-Cinq?  Well you have the Ultimate Games Master Team Party for the kids.  As you can imagine trying to make decisions with five family's worth of input can be treacherous terrain.  Sometimes it's hard enough with just one family.  Jill Cornell who led the group navigated this terrain with intrepid skill and deft touch. 

Making the final decision to move the party downstairs for the kids allowing the luncheon to take place for the adults was one of the smartest moves ever and made for an incredibly lively and entertaining day for everyone.  There were many adults downstairs playing B-Ball Elevated Bocce game along with the kids.


The kids made their way around the UGM Team Skills from The Woggler, to the UG BB Toss, to 7 Level Ninja DropStick, later some team competition Inflated Volleyball,  and of course The UGM version of Coke and Pepsi which is C&P extreme.

We want to thank all the families involved with making this monumental day happen. The UGM Team was thrilled to be there. Toward the end of the party we had teams competing with the hoops - Enjoy!

Is 4 Hours the New 5 Hour Party?

 The LSNY ALL Stars appear at our client's party back in 2008

One of the things that my clients and families know at the end of our time together if not during, is that I will go 100s of extra miles to make sure their experience is the best it can be.  I treat every party as if it were my personal family's events, or one better the last party they will ever attend.

In going the extra mile that means I'm going to share information that may not be the norm, popular or is not in the mainstream.  Some of my clients are quite savvy when it comes to parties and can see the value in these ideas.  For others it may be the first time they have ever heard it.  And if they are not comfortable with new ideas or knowing what who we are and what we do, they sometimes pull back a little.

I just had this experience on both sides of the fence with the proper length of parties question. 

Here's the inside scoop on the length of parties from our experience:  I've investigated and pulled it apart, and if you want the thesis on it I can give it to you, but the short of it is

***People can rock a 5 hour party much easier in the evening than in the afternoon.  But they don't necessarily prefer it.  This is my experience over 20 years of doing parties.

BUT almost everyone can ROCK a 4 hour party from beginning to end. whenever the party is.

***Another inside scoop - The majority of parties FEEL better to guests if the main reception of the party is shorter than 4 hours in duration.

Now of course there are a lot of factors that go into that besides just the clock ticks.  How exciting, lively and intense an experience is it for your guests?  What is the age range of the guests?  Are they movers and shakers or sitters and eaters?  Does the energy of your parties prove to be so unabashed that they become a vortex for others to join in?  Do they have wild and crazy streaks or are they more sedate and prefer to watch and talk?

Yet even after these questions are answered, nearly every party I've done in the last 20 years (over 1500) has FELT better and been palpably more exhilarating afterward when the main reception was shorter than 4 hours. I've passed this along to industry vendors and whether they say it publicly is one thing, they all agree behind the scenes, as one vendor stated, "they all leave after dessert anyway."

I share this information with clients in the pre-booking process for them to consider for themselves.  I'm not pushing them away from a 5 hour party or that we can't do them well , because can go 6 or 7 hours if need be with vibrant energy.  My goal is to inform and serve them in getting the most INCREDIBLE FEELING event, so that they and their guests walk out of there elated, euphoric and retain a long lasting  memory of this event as one of the best ever.

A client I had done 2 previous parties for (both of which were 5 hours) was doing her last child's mitzvah with us.  I assumed it would be another 5 hour affair, because both previous parties were unbelievable.  She told me she was shortening it.  She said she had been talking with friends, "Yeah 5 hour parties don't seem to be the way to go anymore."  She was already hip to the pulse of change.  More on this in a moment.

The other potential client that I shared the information with came back to me after being ready to go forward and stalling to say, "We were really taken aback by suggesting having less than a 4 hour party. Everyone else we told this to rolled their eyes at us." 

Michael Sage on a Foto Favor from LSNY Entertainment

Last week we did a 3 hour party that was OFF THE HOOK!  There was no fluff, lulls or hiccups. We gave away more business cards at that event than the 3 previous ones together.  Why?  Because it moved so well everyone was refreshed!

Back to the story, the first client whose party was 4 and 1/2 hours with an hour and 15 minute cocktail for the adults had a transcendent experience at her party as did her guests.  See http://lsny.blogspot.com/2010/05/review-kramer-mitzvah-at-mountain-ridge.html,  Her main room was 3 hours and 15 minutes - 3 and 1/2 hours for the kids.  The results were electrifying.  Now her first two were amazing parties and they had 4 hours in the main room.  This one was 1/2 hour shorter for the kids and 45 minutes shorter for the adults.  And my whole team noticed the difference.

Back to the other client:  We lost the party to someone else who agreed with the client and told them "everyone does 5 hour parties" - suggesting a weakness or deceptive ullterior motive on our part to suggest a shorter event.  

Granted a shorter party by 1/2 hour or 1 hour is less working time for us, but the intense fun we have at our parties, shortening it a little may be welcomed relief for clients. But folks a wedding or mitzvah is a LONG day for guests too.  If it's a morning ceremony for a mitzvah, people are up like a workday, 6, 7 or 8am getting everyone ready to go. They get to the ceremony at 9 or 10am.  The ceremony is an hour or two (depending on how much the rabbi or officeint enjoys speaking) and then you move on to the reception at 12 noon and 5 hours later it's potentially a 9, 10 or 11 hour day for them.

This is where ending at 4pm or 4:30pm is so psychologically appealing and more stress-less.  They can let go more and give more because there's not another hour to the party.

I've seen it 100s of times at both lengths of parties just in the last few years.  Even evening parties benefit from the shorter duration.  Talk about lifting off!  Oh my goodness the energy is sustained throughout.  The party is full, tighter and no dull moments.  It's quick moving and pulsing with energy, something is always about to happen in just the right timing.

This is what my May client tapped into.  This is what many of my clients have experienced even those that chose a 5 hour party, but extended the cocktails so that the main room was 3.5 hours instead of 4 hours after an hour cocktail.

I know the allure of having a 5 hour party, suggesting more is more.  You haven't seen relatives and friends in a while.  You want to get around to everyone.  It's a magnificent thing.  But it's very ambitious to imagine that in 5 hours we can get to everyone in a quality way that we had imagined.

We find ways in the party itself to make that connection with your guests in an indelible way that often is more memorable than the conversation you could have.  And it's a connection through music, dance, touch, smiling, vibrancy, fun and embrace. 

Getting this kind of connection is what it seems we are all seeking.  I can guarantee you that in the right hands 4 hours or 4.5 hours will feel like a beautiful eternity that you never want to end, instead of one of those 5 hour marathons that you find others or yourself leaving after dessert is served, ironically arouind the 4th hour.

5 hour parties can be magnificient with incredible partying guests, but for the majority of people, 4.5 hours, 4 hours even 3.5 hours can be a surprisingly spectacular life-changing event.

Cheers and Happy Events to you.
Michael



what is the best length for a party? should a party be 4 hours or 5 hours?  How do you decide the length of a party?  Does my party have to be 5 hours?