Who said roller disco was dead?
The old-school dance parties are making a hit comeback this summer at the DeKalb Market’s Down & Derby Roller Disco, where fans in tube socks and neon tank tops are lacing up their four-wheelers for a roll down memory lane on a makeshift outdoor skating rink.
The disco’s founder Vince Masi said his parties prove the 70s-era phenomenon is stayin’ alive.
“I wanted to bring it back,” said Masi, a former Greenpoint resident who launched his disco at the market on Flatbush Avenue Extension at Willoughby Street in May. “It’s still a very do-it-yourself party and the DeKalb Market is a very DIY venue.”
Last month’s event drew hundreds of people who crowded a small plywood dance floor ringed by vendors selling food and beer.
The company rents out 300 pairs of quad skates on a first-come-first-serve basis, but encourages revelers to bring their own.
Masi started throwing roller disco parties at the former Studio B on Banker Street in Greenpoint in 2006, but stopped after the club shut down in 2009. He continued the trend in Los Angeles, Denver and other cities before returning to Brooklyn this year.
Down & Derby Roller Disco at the DeKalb Market [138 Willoughby St. at Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown, (412) 613–4707, www.downanddderby.org] June 15, July 20, Aug. 17 and Sept. 21 at 6 pm. $10 ($5 in advance).
Reach reporter Daniel Bush at dbush@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-8310. Follow him at twitter.com/dan_bush.
