(Photo: Marley Weaver-Gabel)
By: Marley Weaver-Gabel, Editor-In-Chief
On October 28, ghouls, ghosts, and goblins paraded into the National Western Complex center for a night of Halloween themed festivities and head-banging electronic music at the first ever Supernatural Festival. Global Dance organized the sinister Halloween event.
Global Dance is a national electronic dance music (EDM) event producer working across the country, hosting events ranging in smaller shows and large festivals like Decadence NYE and Electric Daisy Chain. For the past 20 years, Global Dance had coordinated the well-known Hallowfreak’n’ween to deliver wicked vibes. This year, Global Dance transitioned and rebranded with the Supernatural Festival 2017.
Inside the complex, eight stages hosted over 54 DJ’s ranging from artists like Alesso and Infected Mushroom, to smaller up and coming performers like Xander and DJ E.
Through the spooky decorations of flying ghosts and spider webs, rave-goers could find the Phantom Academy stage where Regis’ very own DJ E started out the night with a bouncy, dance-filled set!
Jamming to an MC Hammer remix, DJ E answered a couple of questions before his set. DJ E commented that he was most excited “for people dance.” And boy did they. For a full hour of hoppy drops and twisted beats, DJ E and his mentor, Walt White threw down their best to get the crowd up and moving!
You may know Ethan Beaudoin, junior at Regis University, from his impressive mixes at many of our sporting events. Ethan has been DJing for close to four years. He is a student of Walter White at the Global DJ Academy where he has been mentored through the programs and stages of developing and creating a fluid DJ set.
As part of the program, Ethan got backstage access to the Global Dance Festival over the summer and even got to meet artists like Louis the Child and Deorro. Mentor Walter White also DJ’s at Colorado Rapid games, which Ethan has gotten to attend. Through his connections, Ethan has learned more about the EDM industry and continues to train as a young DJ with vast potential.
Before Walter White founded the Global DJ Academy, he was a professional speed skater and cyclist. When he lost recognition for athleticism, he developed a new interest in electronic music. For a while, he worked the behind the scenes at raves because he was well versed in the programs and technology. He often was called “The Wolf of Raves” and was known for his ability to fix equipment. White started making his own music and found that there was no community to learn how to create electronic music. His journey inspired the Global DJ Academy because “no one deserves to have to struggle as I did.” Now, the academy serves around 200 students with six instructors.
Ethan is passionately producing music and taking each lesson in stride. His performance at Supernatural 2017 was a landmark moment in his career. Based on his energetic performance, it is clear that DJ E is only at the beginning of his career as an EDM artist. Keep your eyes open for his next event as it will be sure to delight!