Dancefloors

Smuggled booze, awkward dancing, clumsy kissing and the burning stare of a watchful teacher are experiences that may spring to mind when you think of secondary school dances in the UK. However, if you were a pupil in mid-1980s Chicago, you might find house music heroes such as Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy rocking up on a weekly basis to turn your school gymnasium into scenes of sweat-drenched jacking pandemonium.In her new book, Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dancefloor, Emma Warren describes such a scene as…

In spite of its origins in Black and queer working-class communities, dance music has long been co-opted and whitewashed. As evidence, see producer Kaytranada being the first Black artist to win best dance/electronic album at the Grammys as late as 2021, or the recent surprise at Drake and Beyoncé putting out work rooted in house music, in spite of its origins in Black and queer working-class communities. “I have a word for it,” offers internationally renowned DJ and producer Honey Dijon, with a wry but assertive laugh:…