Sydney Castillo
Staff Writer

Loud music, DJ’s spinning, and people wildly dancing are all anyone sees upon entering the new NRG night club.

NRG, pronounced energy, recently opened in Danville and is designed for students, ages 16 to 20, to go dance the night away.

Darrin Derita opened the club hoping it would become a popular teen hang out.

“I threw my daughter a ‘sweet 16’ party and more people came than expected, which inspired me to open a place for kids to hang out,” said Derita. “I want to make it a safe environment for students to come have a good time. There aren’t any other places like this in the area.”

On the outside NRG looks like a plain building, but once inside, the club comes alive.

A lot of money was put into making the inside of the club look amazing and stand out from other places, said Derita.

Students agree that the teen club looks great on the inside, but still doesn’t have the feel of a club because of its lack of patrons.

“The inside of the club is really cool, but when I was there, there weren’t really many other people,” said junior Jonathan Massimino.

Other students, such as senior Kirsten Reeves, feel that NRG’s lack of crowds detracts from the entire experience.

“There weren’t many people there, so it wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be,” said Reeves.

But on the club’s grand opening weekend Oct. 28-29, the club was hopping as throngs of teens filled the dance floor. NRG staged a few “soft” openings before Halloween weekend.

People can enjoy the club Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. DJ Crank, DJ Voni, and Trackstar keep people dancing by spinning Top 40 hits and R&B style music.“The DJ’s played good music, definitely kept the crowd going,” said senior Jen Price. “I probably wouldn’t go again unless there were a lot of people going to an event there.”

Derita said he hasn’t attracted the people expected. Still, he hopes to make NRG more popular by having three major events per month.

“Hopefully these events will become more popular and help get the word about the club out,” said Derita.

These events usually have themes. People dress according to the theme. Having a good costume can earn you a prize.

On regular nights NRG guests wear dressy or casual clothes. But there is a dress code, which includes no plain white T-shirts, baggy clothes, gang attire, or team jerseys.
NRG also has a strict no drug and alcohol policy. To help ensure students’ safety, bouncers are on hand to make sure there are no fights or loitering outside the club.

Students must have a valid ID for entry. Cost is $10.

NRG is also willing to do fundraisers for local schools.

“It would be a good way for schools to earn money and it would also promote the club,” said Derita.

The club is focusing on more ways to promote and attract more students.

To learn more about events for NRG, look for the NRG Danville page on Facebook.