Bright lights, paint take over UCF Arena

Even those students who have been to countless concerts, comedy shows and sporting events at the UCF Arena had probably never seen it transformed into a giant dance floor.

Dayglow 3D brought Miami club style to UCF on Friday, as promised by KnightLyfe Entertainment in conjunction with Committee Entertainment of Tallahassee.

"It was an amazing experience … crazier than I had expected," said Bruna Zanelato, 20, from Orlando. "It seems that each time Dayglow comes around, it gets better and better because more people are finding out about it."

Thousands of people — students and the general public — were dressed in white from head to toe, in a kind-of Dayglow uniform.

That is, until the clock projected onto a screen counted down to midnight.

Then, the crowd went wild and the paint began to splatter.

Dancers, performers and acrobats kept the energy up on stage as the DJs played their sets.

Headliners David Solano and Funkagenda, were definitely crowd pleasers. Certain songs got the entire arena jumping up and down and cheering.

"I thought it was really good," said Shirley Lora, a junior psychology major. "[There was] a lot of energy and a lot of people. It was pretty crowded and the music was very good."

Lora had never been to Dayglow before and has just gotten into the house music scene, she said.

Zanelato, however, has been to Dayglow before and has worked as a promoter in the past.

"I love house music," she said. "I liked the music, but it was very repetitive. Maybe next time they can add another act or two."

Even those who are not big fans of house music could join into the energy of the event. You could dance with friends or a stranger, but as long as someone participated, it was hard to not have fun.

"I was very happy with it, everything went well," said Mikey Stylez, CEO of KnightLyfe Entertainment. "We sold out and were at capacity."

The night was thoughtfully organized as well, with mulch on the floor to help prevent slipping or injuries from the paint, no sales of paint until midnight to keep everyone in anticipation, and the 3-D glasses doubled as eye protection from flying paint.

The 3-D aspect received mixed reactions. Some didn't feel that they added anything spectacular to the show, while others like Zanelato thought it added a lot to the light show.

Stylez said Knightlyfe will be having a meeting in the next couple of weeks to see what they will be bringing next.

Also, the company just finished building a new website that will be more professional and easier to navigate through for music and the latest news for the shows, he said.

"We are pretty much trying to bring a festival to UCF — something like Ultra Festival with very big acts as far as house music goes, a couple stages — something really worth doing," Stylez said.

Dayglow and other house music acts will most likely be returning to UCF bigger and better, showing Miami they are not the only city that likes a good party.