Vinyl Nights is a roving, dance party, hosted by Miss Rebecca Lynn, where the 45s and LPs  that shaped New York City’s club culture in the 70s, 80s and 90s, always make it a night to remember. All night long. Dancers come from around the city to get up offa that thing. Vinyl Nights attracts a range of dancers from professional to passionate, aspiring to retired. What they share is the compulsion to dance. It doesn’t matter what you wear just as long as you are there. The dancers come for the music they love, the community of the dance floor. If you know the songs, the steps, you are welcome. These photos pay tribute to these dancers, many of whom have been creating the culture of New York City’s dance floors for decades.

Some have formal training like Bernard Dove, who danced at the Palladium, studied with Ned Williams, who taught Dunham Technique. Others like Roger Green and Raymond “Spex Boogie” Abbiw have appeared in music videos with top stars. There are bboys like Danny “Rockit” Nieves and one of the original bgirls, Peaches Rodriguez, who has gone on to be a stand up comic. Paul Rodriguez – nicknamed the Human Top – has been doing the Hustle for 40 years. There are dancers whose specialty is popping, locking, waacking, or house. Some were born in New York and some are new arrivals. 

As Marc, one of the regular dancers who is a veteran of Mobile Mondays and often comes to Vinyl Nights with his wife and children, said one night when asked what draws him to Vinyl Nights, “Its about the culture.” It is the compulsion to dance, to create that draws dancers to Vinyl Nights but also the opportunity to be part of a community, to share the dance and the music.

And without me you’d stumble, and without you I’d fall, without each other we would not be at all.