Posted by Nick Catucci on 08/20/2012 at 5:45 PM Photos

The Popdust Files: Afrojack, avicii, calvin harris, david guetta, deadmau5, edm, kaskade, paris hilton, steve aoki, swedish house mafia, tiesto

Superstar DJs seem to have it easy: Think of David Guetta, splitting time between his private jet and his villa, or Skrillex, effortlessly building a beautiful relationship with Ellie Goulding even as he takes Kanye West’s career to the next level. But life in the upper echelon of the EDM scene presents its own challenges: Namely, just what do you do on stage, once the track’s queued up, the  knobs are turned just so, and a sea of delirious hedonists need to see that you’re as into the music as they are? There’s no hiding behind guitars, drum kits, or scarf-festooned mic stands, and the light shows and pyrotechnics favored by the likes of Swedish House Mafia (before they quit touring) only add to the excitement that the performers must then attempt to match. So what have EDM’s stars done? Thrown up their hands—literally. Every DJ seems to point skyward at key points in their sets. But they have more than just one hand up their sleeve when it comes to showing how deep they are into the groove: Scroll through the photos below to discover what they do when they’re really, really feeling it.

One hand to God…

 

TWO HANDS, pulling down heaven …

Of course, if you’ve got a trio of DJs, two dudes can split the work while the third one rests.