Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty, Usher — what better way to spend your Saturday night than raging to these icons?

From 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., around 40 to 50 people danced their nights away in Levin Ballroom at GrooveBoston: Proximity, a rave hosted by Brandeis Student Events. For a $5 entrance fee, students could enjoy EDM music DJed by real DJs.

The rave started on a rather slow note, with only around 40 people at the 11 p.m. mark — small cliques huddled in various corners scattered throughout the ballroom, making the room itself seem larger than usual.

Despite the stiff middle-school-dance vibe, in the very middle, a larger group hyped up the general crowd by dancing more vigorously while others stood around awkwardly, occasionally swaying nonchalantly to the music.

Although there was a lack of energy from students in the beginning, the first DJ to perform — Chris Hanover, clad in sunglasses and a white hoodie — seemed excited and determined to amp up the crowd with his little dance moves and head bobbing.

He played mostly original remixes to pop and rap hits such as Drake’s “Fake Love,” Aminé’s “Caroline,” and also electronic dance music hits: Flume’s, “Say It” and the Chainsmokers’ “Only We Know.” DJ Chris’ set was lively; however, it seemed less like a rave — the theatrics and lights were not as strong during the first half of the event compared to those of the act following.

Also during this first hour, GrooveBoston set up on the side of the ballroom a small photo opportunity with lights and cameras along a backdrop with the “Proximity” logo in bright colors repeatedly splayed across.

A few students took group photos with their friends, but snapchatting seemed to be the most popular method of preserving memories of the night; rave-goers jumping up and down enthusiastically sang into the front cameras of their phones frequently with their friends.

The first half of Proximity remained slow and rather empty, with only handfuls of people slowly trickling in, and some leaving (probably due to the multitude of parties that night for fraternity and sorority rush week).

Toward the last hour, the ambience changed drastically. The increased amount of dancing translated into a preference for the second DJ over the previous one. Not only did the ballroom become more crowded, there was also more dancing and better energy. His style definitely differed from the previous one’s; the lights were more intense and the music more bass heavy. During strong bass drops, smoke intensely blew out of canisters from the sides of the stage.

This DJ interacted with the crowd; every so often, he would shout, “Everybody get those hands up!” or “If you know this song, sing along!”

His set also included interesting graphics and visuals to accompany the songs: the screen behind him featured images ranging from otherworldly robots to photoshopped cut-outs of Bob Ross with googly eyes and fire blasting out of his mouth.

He played throwback music, as well, such as Backstreet Boys, Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl,” Smash Mouth’s “All Star” and more. A notable feat was transitioning “Hotline Bling” to Soulja Boy’s “Crank That,” a crowd pleaser for sure.

Toward the end of the night, it became apparent that people were, in fact, having fun and letting loose, regardless of the small crowd. The DJs provided enjoyable music, and with the combination of good friends, gave the students in attendance at the GrooveBoston Proximity event a fun Saturday night, even with somewhat small turnout.