The LOFT
The LOFT is recognized as the first nightclub in New York, and David Mancuso as the father of discotheques.
He is credited with introducing the disco sound to the New York DJ scene. Another of David Mancuso’s achievements was his attempt to change the negative perception many people had of the DJ profession in the 1970s, seeking to restore its dignity. Mancuso is included among the founders of the disco aesthetic not only because he managed to play slow tracks without emptying the dance floor.
The Loft’s primary objectives were pleasure, beauty, and human contact rather than social justice. With the success of the Loft, the eternal contradiction of dance music culture also began: while Mancuso preached integration and innocent optimism, he also organized exclusive parties that only members could attend. People had to know each other; the parties had a socializing spirit. There had to be a subliminal message in the music. No one was to have inhibitions or insecurities. There were no mirrors that could reflect your image while you danced wildly and uninhibitedly. There were no clocks in the 60-square-meter Loft, only colored balloons. While dancing at a party in the Western world often functions as a ritual of seduction, Mancuso demolished the ritual of sex as a driving force. 
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DANCE? FUN, PASSION, SHARING
Dance is not a tool to achieve sex, but the core energy of the venue. The dance floor is a space of communion, an exchange of passion; dancing is spontaneous, a combination of grace and electrifying, engaging power. The new musical matrix guides the dancers, infiltrating their bloodstream directly. A (MIRROR BALL) small mirrored sphere always reflects the energy of the room. That energy is never individualistic; rather, it is communal and encompasses collective political opportunities. Everything leads back to a common purpose, but no attempt is made to define it, as it would become like a religious sect. The LOFT is by necessity private and discreet, but it is not elitist. Invitations are distributed specifically to avoid forming the elites that instead find their place in ‘exclusive’ clubs.
What is the difference between clubbers and lofters?
CLUBBERS are driven by capricious and hedonistic fashion;
LOFTERS, thanks to their underground status, propose an alternative lifestyle that will survive that ephemeral present.
Francis Grasso: “The emerging ritual of dance was based on group hedonism, an ecstatic reclamation of freedom, fashionable yet functional clothing, and physical rather than verbal communication. I learned the importance of playing slow tracks in heterosexual venues. Admission was free, so people had to be encouraged to drink more. In the new gay venues, they knew how to party together. The pure and simple warmth and the fact of being there in such numbers made them drink. The energy level was phenomenal; if I had slowed the pace, they would have booed me.”
Many disc jockeys of that time were inspired by Mancuso: Nicky Siano, Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, and David Rodriguez are all “children of the Loft.” With the transformation of dance halls into discotheques, orchestral and band music was abandoned and replaced by DJs mixing records from their booths. Soon, the discotheque became not only a place to dance, but a genuine phenomenon of lifestyle, technology, and design, a place of spectacle where the people themselves were the show.
