Disco Dance Classes

Disco was a genre of music that turned into a whole culture filled with fun and cultural context. It was popular during the 1970's in America and originated in clubs for African Americans, gays, and other communities in New York and Philadelphia starting in the late 60's. It was a bit of a cultural statement against the rock music movement. It also became popular among women. It was not long before it captured several other groups and became noteworthy of the era. In the mid 70's there were whole clubs dedicated to disco only. It was the original beginning of the dance music genre that continues steadily into today but with other styles.

Disco music stars at the height of popularity included The Jacksons, Bee Gees, and Donna Summer. It even wormed its way into film and other music genres. The disco sound is quite unique and inclusive. It is Jazz, classical, calypso, rock, Latin, funk, soul, and technical elements all mixed together. The music is in 4/4 time. The dancing that went on in clubs was fairly versatile. It was of a 'hang loose' attitude and included Bump, Penguin, Boogaloo, Watergate, and Robot. In the mid 70's the Hustle was the most popular of all the dances. Variations of the Hustle like the Brooklyn Hustle, New York Hustle, and Latin Hustle developed.

When disco was at its hottest, nightclubs would host competitions and offer free lessons early on in the evening. Some larger cities offered dance classes at dance studios to instruct in how to participate in this form of dance. The dances were standardized by Karen Lustgarten in San Francisco in 1973. She wrote a book that broke down the moves and dances and codified them as freestyle, partner, and line dances. The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list for several months and was translated into several languages.

Disco dancing became popular around the world after it began to fall out of favor in the US. By 1979 there was an all out riot against it. Hatred of the form and culture was manifest in all out warfare staged in the Disco Demolition Night in July 1979. Out of the US, the term stuck and even today these dance clubs are called discotheque or similar names. The craze continued well into the 80's out of the United States to huge popularity and cultural influence.