CNN Money ran a story today about a new company called Fuzipop that puts together dance parties for children at major nightclubs around Manhattan.
Held once a month for children ages 6-12 and their parents, the three-hour dance parties typically cost $20 for a parent and child to get in, and $60 for a family of four. A 9-year-old child DJs the events (it's not clear whether he or she was trained at Brooklyn's baby DJ school), and professional dancers help keep kids entertained. The kids get down with glow sticks and guzzle juice boxes - seriously.
A CNN Money reporter recently attended one such party at the West Village's Pink Elephant on a Sunday afternoon, where just 12 hours earlier, the crowd was a lot less wholesome.
The scene she described sounds plain awful:
Inside, parents lined up the full cash bar as their kids leaped around the dance floor shouting out the words to "What Does the Fox Say."
The tables usually reserved for VIPs ordering pricey bottle service were littered with champagne glasses and juice boxes. The bartender, who's used to serving a liquored-up, over-21 crowd on Saturday nights, was surprised by how much the parents were imbibing. The most popular drink that afternoon was vodka.
Here's a video of the party, if you're having a hard time picturing it:
Fuzipop says on its website that its goal is to "inspire the next generation of DJs, music producers, artists, dancers and music business moguls. Growing up in New York City is a unique one-of-a-kind experience and city kids deserve an event of the same stature."
The idea behind the events may be to get children into music, but we have a feeling these parties are more for their parents. One mother at the April Fuzipop event told CNN Money that Fuzipop lets parents "live vicariously through our kids, and we can all blow off steam together."
That seems more like it.