Theresa Nguyen said she just wants to make people dance.
The public health senior was first inspired to try a hand at DJing after seeing repeated videos of the United Kingdom DJ group Girls Don’t Sync on TikTok. In her sophomore year, while living in the Kappa Delta Sorority house, Nguyen purchased a deck and began to hone her craft.
“Theresa and I didn’t sleep,” Alexandria Primich, Nguyen’s sophomore roommate and biochemistry senior, said. “We would be night owls at the house. I’d come in after the PCL and it would be like, 2 a.m. and she’d be sitting at the table just practicing transitions.”
Nguyen said the equipment followed her to friends’ birthday parties and even on a spring break trip to Colorado. It wasn’t long until she was asked to play her first gig for the spirit organization Texas Infinites.
“It was totally out of the blue,” Nguyen said. “I had only been a DJ for two weeks. My (friend) was like, ‘Hey, you want to do this for 100 bucks?’ … I was super nervous. I remember shaking crazy, but it was fine … It was my favorite gig.”
Nguyen said being a female DJ comes with microaggressions. During sets, men will try to approach and touch the deck without consent.
“I’ve had a guy come up to me and just be like, ‘You should play this’ and he just kept showing me songs,” Nguyen said. “Some girl took him away, so it was (okay). But yeah, little things like that.”
On average, Nguyen said she plays at least two shows a month. Spirit organizations serve as her largest
clientele at the University, but she books traveling shows as well such as a tailgate at the University of Houston. Nguyen said she cultivates a vibe that will make people dance, rather than playing music for herself.
“I put myself in the shoes of the audience,” Nguyen said. “If I (were) there right now, what would I want to hear? That’s how I decide … Being a good DJ is pretty subjective. In my opinion, no one notices your transitions. I don’t necessarily focus on that. (I focus) more on the curation aspect.”
Cecelia Owens, government and psychology senior, said that people often send Nguyen direct messages hoping to book her for spirit organization events, campus bars such as Cain & Abels or venues on 6th Street. However, when she first started out, fraternities would often use her as an opener.
“She started at like, 9:30 or 10 p.m. when nobody was there, and it was just all of these girls that came to support our girl,” Owens said. “It was really funny because we just kind of made our own party watching her play.”
Nguyen said she hopes to continue to DJ and one day produce her own music. However, she said pursuing fame is not in the cards.
“I would rather be in the back where you can’t see me, and I’m just DJing,” Nguyen said. “Not in the center spotlight. When I DJ, I see it more as a service.”
