Why did house dancing leave the club? | Resident Advisor

Our latest film looks at a tradition as old as house music itself.

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In the early days of house music, dancers took their craft just as seriously as the DJs. What emerged became known as house dancing, a freeform style that elevates self-expression and personality as much as technique.

DJ Qu, who provided valuable insights to RA on this film, started house dancing around 1987. (He's one of a handful of dancers who went on to become successful DJs and producers, alongside the likes of Joey Anderson and Seven Davis Jr.) Attending clubs like Zanzibar and The Path in New Jersey and Kilimanjaro's, The Choice, Mars and Sound Factory in New York, he was drawn to "the way house dancers incorporated so many different dancing styles to house music, but did it in a way that was super graceful and complimented the music."

"It was a special time for music and dance," he says.

Long before the current global pandemic closed down most of the world's nightclubs, house dancing had (mostly) vanished from the club scene. In this film, we look at why that happened, and find out where house dancing ended up.

Music in order of appearance:

Willie Graff & Tuccillo -To The Music (DJ QU rmx) [Strength Music Recordings] 2018
DJ QU - Picazón [Strength Music Recordings] 2018
Black Corsairs - Thak’s Dub [Worldship] 1997
Teflon Dons - Inbetweener's Dilemma [Must Have Records] 2016
DJ QU - Liquid Beats [Strength Music Recordings] 2013
Teflon Dons - Damn Mosquitos! [My Love Is Underground] 2016
Teflon Dons - Zu Mountain (Dub) [Must Have Records] 2016
DJ QU - Step Back Up [Strength Music Recordings] 2011
Teflon Dons - Eve Of The Freak Styles [Worldship] 1996

Production credits:

Narrator: Turtle Bugg
Writer: Max Pearl
Script supervisor: Turtle Bugg
Camera: Patrick Elmore
Editors: Sophie Misrahi, Guy Clarke
Dubbing Mixer: Guy Clarke

Special thanks to DJ Qu, Caleaf Sellers & Tony Mcgregor, Krystine Walker

Extra footage:

Cutting Records
Diane Martel - House of Tres
underground dance fun
Satelliet Studio
Caleaf Sellers
Caprice87
Paul McKee
The Kennedy Centre
Carloscda40
Andres Torres
Thump
DJ SCOTTO - NASA/Shelter
Alphonso STEPZ Thomas
Summer Dance Forever
House Dance Forever
Koppi Mizrahi
MainStreamDance
Stringz313
Giova Breakill
ExNaStYx20
SAV SAV