Press pause on your soft jazz and trade it in for some “Silent Disco” at Shine Restaurant & Gathering Place this Friday.

Presented by both Shine Restaurant and Elm and Oak Records, this dance party promises to be anything but soft. According to Jill Emich, co-owner and event coordinator of Shine, Silent Discos are no new thing.

“They started at festivals where there were sound ordinances so you could still have the party go all night,” Emich said. “It was really popular at festivals first, and then people really started digging on it. Especially on the East Coast and the West Coast, it started happening in clubs.”

Berk Visual, also known as Raw Russ of Elm and Oak Records and the headliner at the event, said Silent Discos are different than normal DJ shows.

“It’s a whole experience. There will be two DJs playing at one time and the patrons are given the option to select which DJ to listen to on their headset. The second layer of that is that the headsets light up different colors based on who you’re listening to, so you can see by looking around the room who’s listening to who. It becomes a competition of sorts.”

It’s also pretty hilarious, according to Emich and Visual.

“You’ll have half the room dancing to one thing and the other half dancing to something completely different,” Visual said. “One DJ might be playing some more up-tempo stuff and the other one’s playing hip-hop, so you have some people head bobbing and other people rave dancing. Ultimately, it’s hilarious because if you take your headphones off, everyone’s dancing in silence. To an on-looker, it’s like, ‘What are those people doing?’”

“It’s fun to witness,” Emich said.

When asked what kind of crowd they were expecting, Emich said Shine was a perfect venue to draw an eclectic crowd.

“We get a really good cross-section of people here. We’re known for community gatherings and community-type events. Just the fact that we’re doing this with the guys from Elm and Oak next door, that this is our first collaboration together—I’m really excited about that.”

According to Visual, the mix of DJs will draw quite a unique crowd Friday night.

“There are six DJs on the event, and they’re all different,” he said. “There’s going to be hip-hop, electronic music, dance stuff….Typically on a DJ show you might not have that many. We’re hoping to pull from all six of those crowds. One of the [DJs] is actually the guy that does [Shine’s] yoga class, Mr. Gettdowne.”

Emich and Visual are hopeful that the Silent Disco can become a regular gig.

“This is the first time, you know, so we’re hoping people come out and have a good time. If this goes well, we’re certainly going to do more of it,” Emich said.

The dance party starts at 9 p.m., right after Shine’s Friday Urban Flow Yoga class. Tickets are $10 alone or $5 with the purchase of a pass to Urban Flow (also $5). This is a 21+ event.

Contact CU Independent Senior Staff Writer Sarah Elsea at Sarah.elsea@colorado.edu.