In New York City, the side hustle is a right of passage- a bridge to a paid utility bill, new social circles or eventual career pivots. Landing a side job often traces back to one ubiquitous website: Craigslist.
Anyone who skimmed the New York City “gigs” and “talent” section between 2005–2021 might recall the headline.
“Get paid to go dancing. No stripping!”
House music veteran DJ Disciple, the man behind the ad, estimates he hired roughly one hundred and fifty dancers- also known as party motivators- during that time.
The philosophy was straightforward: Every packed dance floor started with an empty one.
“I decided to go on Craigslist and hire dancers because promoters always brought their own people” recalls Disciple.
“When the promoters left… their people left as well. But party motivators would keep the energy on the floor where people would leave in any other case.”
Blending in with the patrons, the dancers were first on the floor, holding steady until the last call. If the regular crowd thinned, they danced harder, smiled wider, and vibed higher.
The result was a party with no stops- no easy feat in the post-Giuliani era.
“I was able to get dancers to maintain the atmosphere- which meant more money was spent during the night. They would be my number one cheerleaders… and the gift from it was being able to be as musically creative as I would like to be.”
House music was on thin ice with the mainstream then- thanks to Rudy Giuliani’s reinstatement of NYC’s 1926 Cabaret Laws. Long-standing venues faced code restrictions- resulting in steep fines and closed doors.
Dancing in the early 2000s devolved into a gate-kept sport. This new licensed, pay-to-play reality- for venues- coupled with rising city rents- favored Top 40 music. It was a safe bet that sold drinks.
But Disciple’s efforts paid off. His ability to fuse house with just enough of Top 40 in the mix (if needed) resulted in happy regulars. This led to long-term residencies, most notably at the Lower East Side venue Le Souk.
Thousands of party motivator hopefuls applied over the years. For those who made the cut, the memories are fond.
“I saw the ad on Craigslist. I was a freelancer doing promotions with Cirque de Soleil and bartending… I also go-go danced in the West Village”, recalls alumni dancer Daniela Vergara.
“I was looking for another gig to supplement my income. I saw a house DJ that was looking for party dancers to work with… and I was like, “I’m the perfect person, I love house music!
Vergara, a long-time resident of New York was already familiar with the trajectory of house music in her home territory.
“I was born in New York, I lived in New York and I always danced in clubs when I was younger. I got an email back from DJ Disciple. He asked me to come to one of his residencies to see how I could motivate everyone and dance. When I did that it became a really good working relationship where I would help him out and dance the night away while he was spinning house”.
Although Vergara showed up for work with an appreciation for the genre, Disciple reveals that was not always the case with a handful of Craigslist hopefuls.
“When they responded they said ‘Oh no… I dance to hip hop I don’t dance to House music…’ They weren’t having it.”
Fortunately, this was not the case for Shauna Cummins.
“It was like church!” Cummins recalls “It was exciting because I had grown up with house music and rave culture in Chicago. That was my sanctuary, my people, that’s where I really thrived.
When I moved to New York in 2005 it was like Rock and Roll city. There were the cabaret laws and no dancing, and I was like, ‘Damn this is a bummer’.
Cummins arrived at the scene at a time when folded arms and bored stares trumped the more carefree club days of previous years.
“New York was all rock and roll and hipster. With DJ Disciple there was this secret world I could just lose myself in and have the best time.
It’s a very spiritual thing for me when you’re on the dance floor and you’re just connecting… it’s a trance… it’s a beautiful thing. It’s like I need it. You get used to it. Now I don’t have it and it’s like there is something missing from my life. DJ Disciple kind of gave that to me.. but it was also a job.”
While dancing for three hours to house music may sound like a dream gig- Disciple admits some just wanted the cash without doing the work.
“There were times I had to let dancers go because they just wanted the money- wanted to play the bar, to socialize- it made it hard for the other dancers I hired to work as well. It wasn’t fair to the other dancers. In the end, I had to do what was best for the party.
I never hired two new dancers at the same time… because if their energy was off- then I was losing that energy.”
Disciple often booked more dancers than he needed, especially if it was raining. As with most Craigslist adventures, there were always a few that didn’t show up.
When asked if he ever had a situation where everyone showed up in the rain?
“Never!”
Still, for the vast majority of dancers, DJ Disciple’s gigs are to this day an era to write home about.
“When I first met DJ Disciple I thought he had a great personality and positive energy”, recalls a former dancer by the name of Shar.
“All of his events are filled with so much love for dance and music. Everyone from different nationalities, cultures, and dance backgrounds comes together and has a night to create memories that will last a lifetime. DJ Disciple is an iconic DJ and he deserves all the blessings!”
House music is back -bigger then ever. Disciple’s newest residency finds him working earlier hours at Martha’s Country Bakery in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn.
This summer he will hit the book fairs with his new memoir co-written with journalist Henry Kronk “The Beat, The Scene, The Sound: A DJs Journey through The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of House Music in New York City.” (Rowman and Littlefield). The debut novel drops on June 15th, 2023.
As the genre’s comeback springs to life-in a story told through Disciple’s eyes-one can only sum up the result in three familiar words.
Craigslist Success Story.
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