Next year's theme is the "iProm." Bring your iPod, plug it in to the command table and press shuffle. UD supplies the sound equip and he hires video and dancers.
Cost for prom entertainment = $6000
Overhead for UD = $2000
UD's Profit $4000 = priceless

and now we can all sell our arrangers and retire.

All great thoughts, and much appreciated.
To answer all - A "live" band would not have held these kids on the floor, unless they sounded like each top40 act they played. Most of the crowd was 15-18, remember.
The most valuable comodody that we bought with these DJs were their expertise in filling the floor. They used their own dancers as "bait" if you will, and worked the heck out of that crowd.
I actually thought of doing it myself next year, but here's what I'd need:

Hire 3 dancers - $300 ( that's cheap )
Rent 2 huge sunwoofers,crossovers, amps and mixer - pay for delivery and setup - $500
Spend HOURS buying, downloading, listening to the latest hits and censoring the dirty, inappropriate language out of it ...($$$$$)

Aw ... forget it - I don't even WANT to deal with all these kids from behind the controls. The mix-man was BEHIND the scenes, and a full time emmcee was ON THE FLOOR. ( not for me )

So - we got the best deal I can imagine, and they're commin' back next year !

me either