Dance Night to Benefit Voices of Hope

By Doug Staggs
Dec. 15, 2016

Get your dancing shoes on folks!  On Friday, Tyler Proctor and the 1867 Bar are putting on the monthly event “Better Life Dance Night,” a benefit dance party in support of the Voices of Hope organization.  I caught up with Proctor to get the lowdown on this month’s event.  

“I just recognized a large crowd of people that want more opportunities to go dance downtown.  Once a month Old Pub holds Old Pub Soul Club and they are always really successful with that event,” he said.

He did point out that the same crowd doesn’t seem to frequent bars that typically have feature dancing.  He and a friend have DJ’d a few different events and decided to keep doing it for fun, but this time for a good cause.

This month’s particular cause is for the Voices of Hope.  Formerly the Rape/Spouse Abuse Crisis Center, Voices of Hope has been serving the Lincoln community for 40 years.  According to their website, their vision “is that all victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as their families and communities, receive responsive, empowering services and support that meet their needs, both individual and cultural, through advocacy and education aimed at eliminating recurrence, challenging oppressive social institutions, and reducing violence and oppression.”  

Starting as a campus/community group, the organization has grown into a nonprofit corporation in order to more exclusively focus on the issues of domestic violence, sexual assault and related forms of abuse.  Voice of Hope provides a variety of services from crisis intervention, 24-hour-a-day advocacy and case management, to providing presentations for public an professional awareness.

Proctor is excited and optimistic about the success of the event.

“1867 seems very inclined to help out the community and Kelsey has done amazing things in the short time the bar has been open, so this event is a perfect fit,” he said.

As for the event itself, Proctor is excited to give people the chance to get out and get down for a good cause.  This initial party they are planning to play a lot of new funk, older hip hop, and electronic indie.

“Later in the evening we may play more house or genres that are slightly more dance oriented, ” he said. “There’s also the potential in the future to do themed nights, but that has yet to be decided.”

Proctor was also conscious of other similar events happening in the community, and is going to try to organize future events for the middle of the month.  Right now he does not have other organizations in mind to support with the dance party, but he hopes that the success of this month’s event will encourage involvement from other groups in Lincoln.

Event Details:
Where: 1867 Bar (101 N. 14th St.)
When: Friday, Dec. 16, 9 p.m.-midnight
Who: DJs Tyler Proctor, LACES, Rose Gold
Why: Show in support of Voices of Hope
How much: $3 cover charge
Contact Info: