club photography and flashing lights

I'm a club photographer. Doing it professionally is fairly new for me but I do have experience. I've been having problems taking pictures in one particular club that I will be shooting at every week. The problem is that it's completely dark (no house lights on, ever) the only light sources are the LED lights that trail all over the room very fast and large strobe lights positioned in every corner.
It's so dark that I am forced to use auto focus because I can't see the subject with my eyes (view finder is totally dark). The focus does a good job finding the subject that I want but refuses to release the shutter because of the flashing lights.
My little trick that I resort to is to let it auto focus, then, with my other hand I switch the lens switch to manual and hope the subject doesn't move too much or that I'm fast enough. I've actually gotten fairly fast at it and am having some luck.
I guess the problem is that it is quite a carnival trick and by the end of the night all my fingers are sore. I feel like there should be an easier way. I feel like i'm missing something. Is there a trick that I've over looked? Tips? Tricks?
I appreciate your feedback. Thank you in advance.

Are you using flash? What focal lenght?

I used to do this kind of shooting in another life long before auto focus. I was using a 35mm lens, a strong flash that gave me about f8 for an aperture and just tried to guess the distance between me and the subjects. With the f8, I was able to get enough depth of field to get the shots. Now if you are trying to use téléphoto (70-200), I don't think I can help.

Good luck.

As you stated, it is so dark you can not see anything out of the viewfinder; therefore, i am surprised you are getting the AF to lock onto the subject... but, it does not sound that it is locking on, hence you not being able to release the shutter. It's jsut a guess, but it does sound like your AF is not locking onto the subject. What AF mode are you in? Are you using your AF illumination light?

Alot of club photographers I know use something like this off camera. But depending on what photos you are trying to get will determine what you need to use. AF illumination will help greatly and as mentioned so will fast Lenses. Are you able to provide some images of what you are getting and information in regards to what it is you are after.

I am using a flash with a gary fong diffuser pointed up and to the side. I generally use lenses that range around 17-35.
Bumping down the aperture is an interesting idea. I always leave me aperture wide open for the extra light. I will try this. thank you.

ok, the illuminator seems to be the missing link. I'm researching now. I just got this camera around christmas and I'm still discovering features. thank you for putting me on the right path.

What camera are you using? As most have built in AF Illuminators.

What is the AF-assist illuminator?

The built-in AF assist illuminator enables the camera to focus even when the subject is poorly lit. To use the illuminator, the camera must be in single-servo AF with an AF-Nikkor lens attached, and the center focus area must be selected or closest subject priority in effect. If these conditions are met and the subject is poorly lit, the illuminator will light automatically to assist the autofocus operation when the shutter-release button is pressed halfway.
For the AF-assist illuminator to function correctly, the lens must have a focal length of between 24 and 200 mm and the subject must be in range of the illuminator.

I'm using the d800. just upgraded from the d300. I'm sure the 300 had it also but I never had this problem with that camera so I never had to even think about it.

Like I said, I knew it had to be an easy answer that I was overlooking. Thank you for your input.

Just another thing some speedlights and accessories can disable the cameras AF Illuminator and will use that accessories built in AF I, I am not sure if yours does or doesn't.