Meet the DJ

Robin Kershaw

From honing his craft in local bars to setting up a successful business with a reputation for custom entertainment of the highest order, DJ and wedding host Robin Kershaw has learned first-hand the importance of hard work, the benefits of teamwork, and why client satisfaction is top priority!

Working with his clients to ensure that their events are as special and unique as possible, UK wedding entertainment provider Dancefloor Couture maintains a reputation for awesome tailored events that meet the every need of its customers. Having grown up in Preston (Lancashire, UK) – a working-class mill town in the North West of England – Robin Kershaw, the man behind the magic, has quite a story to tell: from DJing local bars to venturing into the wedding business to creating his own circle of DJs and hosts renowned for delivering professional, bespoke services.

Robin was just 15 when he set out as a mobile DJ, working a variety of events, following his passion for music, and developing his personable style in front of crowds across the region. However, not content with staying put for long, he eventually took a role with a prominent North West entertainment agency, gaining an impressive knowledge of entertainment values and event organization. During his employment there as an entertainment booker he soon amassed a long list of useful contacts, while working directly with venues allowed him to take the best bookings himself, breaking into a prestigious corporate circuit.

Around this time, Robin was also DJing for young crowds during the week embracing the thriving dance scene in cool bars across the area. Loving all things funky and anything with a vocal, Robin would play a variety of styles, pleasing his audiences with dance classics and four-to-the-floor funky house! But how do things differ now he’s primarily involved in wedding entertainment?

“I guess now that I’m focussed on the wedding market I have to have a different attitude to music,” he tells us. “When you’re DJing bars and clubs, yes it is about the audience, but there is also freedom there to play what you want, to impress the crowd with new tunes they might not know yet and show off your own preference and style. With weddings you have to be more varied in terms of genres and your set depends more on the client’s choice than your own.”

This eventual move into weddings came while Robin was still working at the entertainment agency, which was where he met future Dancefloor Couture partner Mark Walsh. After originally trying to recruit Mark for a booking, the two DJs – who both lived locally – found common ground in their attitude towards professionalism and exclusivity when it came to events. The next step was for Robin and his new business partner to create a wedding events service that delivered on this vision – and, subsequently, Dancefloor Couture was born.

“We started out as a duo providing music entertainment, but eventually started working separately due to our increase in bookings,” explains Robin. “It wasn’t long before we had to hire more DJs to meet the demand, and we started to branch out further, providing both DJ entertainment and lighting/effects – including starlit dance-floors, monogram projection and uplighting. At the time, our main aim was simply to deliver a memorable night of entertainment in an unforgettable environment!”

It wasn’t until one client asked if Robin could also introduce the speeches for them that the possibility of providing an all-day hosting service was realized. So, yet again, Dancefloor Couture took another leap forward with the introduction of its ‘Wedding Hosts’ service. These days, Robin offers an all-day professional service that provides an altogether different approach to weddings, fulfilling his original vision for what Dancefloor Couture could be.

“I guess what makes us different is that we place an emphasis on personalization, maintaining a close relationship with the client,” says Robin. “When it comes down to it, this is where the future of the company lies – and it makes sense when you consider the high demand for such tailored services within the modern wedding industry. Couples want to provide a memorable day for their guests, but they also want their day to be the best! They want bespoke (custom) entertainment and a professional host, especially one who is going to connect with them and their guests on a personal level for the whole day.”

As you can imagine, Robin prides himself on his attention to detail, his meticulousness. He says that when he’s on-site he’s always focussed, professional and at the service of his clients, whatever it is they might require. It’s this commitment to ensuring an unforgettable event for the client or bride that really seems to drive him – and almost certainly makes Dancefloor Couture stand out from its competitors.

Another thing that seems integral to Robin’s success as a DJ and service provider is his vast network of contacts, which has grown steadily since his days as an entertainment booker. But while he has maintained a close working relationship with fellow DJ and Dancefloor Couture wedding host Adam Boasman since a young age, Robin has in fact created his own circle through Dancefloor Couture, where the team of DJs, hosts and technicians displays real camaraderie and professionalism.

As you’d expect of a DJ with plenty of industry contacts from a wide range of professional backgrounds, Robin is still booked for gigs across the UK and beyond. He’s also delivered talks on wedding entertainment and DJing at UK exhibitions, such as the annual BPM DJing and electronic music production event. While Robin was DJing a recent corporate charity event, Gary Barlow – X-Factor UK judge and member of pop group Take That – showed up for a free performance, taking to the stage with a band to sing songs for a stunned audience! Even for Robin, someone used to working high-profile corporate gigs, this was a pretty surreal experience, and an indication of the sort of level he is currently working at.

Having fulfilled a variety of entertainment roles throughout his career, Robin must have some useful advice for all of those up and coming DJs out there? What sort of attitude should young aspiring DJs or those just starting out have when it comes to breaking into the industry?

“My advice would be that life doesn’t just hand you things on a plate, you have to get out there and grab them,” he says. “Even when you’re starting out it’s possible to earn good money, but you need to make the contacts and should always be prepared to work for free. If you go to the right venues, talk with people and show them your willingness to listen and learn, you’ll soon earn your place. Hang around the right stage door and you might just get paid to play on stage – at the end of the day, it’s all about commitment.”

If you’d like to get in contact with Robin or find out more about Dancefloor Couture, follow the links below.

Website: www.dancefloorcouture.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dancefloorcouturelancashire
Twitter: www.twitter.com/dfloorcouture