Jungle dance sells out

Friday night was a night of firsts for Gonzaga's Bomb Squad. Before launching its first "Welcome to the Jungle" dance, the dancers did what no other club has done before: presale all 650 tickets.

The team hoped that by putting on the dance, it would cross the line that separated the performers from the audience. According to Bomb Squad coach Alicia Bowers, even though it was a fundraising event, the dance was more focused on students than money.

"One of the main reasons we wanted to do the dance was to connect with the students, other than just performing," Bowers said.

The process of coordinating the dance proved to be the greatest challenge, but rewards soon followed. After posting the event on Facebook, the Bomb Squad amassed a significant amount of publicity. They were contacted by radio station 104.7, and asked if they had a disc jockey.

"We told them yes, but they wanted to do it for free to help promote them," Bowers said. "We [used] them as half DJ so they were able to promote within us."

104.7 DJ Nick Hoenike, also known as DJ3D, shared the stage with Gonzaga senior Ethan Bannister, also known as DJ Mechanizm.

Rockstar also emailed asking to sponsor the event. The offer was accepted, and more than 300 cans of Rockstar were handed out at the dance.

The final touch included a performance from the Bomb Squad itself, making an appearance on the dance floor around 11:30 p.m. and performing for the first time as a new team.

"It went really well for a club's first dance," said Bomb Squad member Julian Franco. "We were the first club to have the most presale tickets before a dance."

 After the Highlighter Dance was shut down by security for a lack of control and overall safety, GSBA quickly combined forces with Campus Security to formulate a new set of guidelines to govern dances.

"We have this process and we're working on it, and we think we have it down this time," said Director of Clubs and Organizations Robby Bernicchi. "If it works, it works, then the next dance, say ‘OK, let's change this, this and this.' It's kind of in stages."

The collaboration among Bomb Squad, GSBA and Campus Security paid off. With 650 tickets presold, the dance went off without a hitch.

The initial plan included two lines, one for presale tickets and one for ticket sales, but it changed as the last ticket was sold minutes before the doors opened. Four lines were formed according to alphabetical order to make the process as efficient as possible.

Few issues arose from the new dance policies, one of which requires students to present ID cards at the door. Once their names were checked off the list, students were presented with wristbands to enter the dance.

"Some people tried to bring fake [tickets], but we caught them and stopped them at the door," Franco said.

In an email sent to the Bomb Squad team, Associate Director for Campus Security Brian Kenney said, "[they had] set the new standard for dances at Gonzaga."