The History of Dance Music

Disco:

From the infographic it is clear to see how disco originated from the Jazz genre to Funk. Disco is a musical style that emerged in the early 1970s from America's urban nightlife scene, where it originated in house parties and makeshift discothèques, reaching its peak popularity between the mid-1970s to and early 1980s. Its initial audiences in America were club-goers, both male and female, from the African American, Italian American, Latino and gay communities. Several dances styles were also developed during this time including 'the Bump and the Hustle'.



House: 

House originates from Chicago’s Southside in 1977, when a new kind of club opened. This new Chicago club called 'The Warehouse' gave House music its name. Frankie Knuckles, who opened The Warehouse, mixed old disco classics and new Eurobeat pop.
From the infographic we can see that House was the first direct descendant of disco. In comparison with disco, House was "deeper", "rawer", and more designed to make people dance.House music did not have its origins just in American music. The popularity of European music, specifically English electronic pop like Depeche Mode and Soft Cell and the earlier, more disco-based sounds of Giorgio Moroder, Klein & MBO, as well as Italian productions, they all gave rise to House music. Two clubs, the already mentioned Chicago’s Warehouse and New York’s Paradise Garage, which promoted European music, had at the same time broken the barriers of race and sexual preference (for House music was in part targeted at the gay community). Before The Warehouse opened, there had been clubs strictly designed to segregate race. However, The Warehouse did not make any difference between Blacks, Hispanics, or Whites; the main interest was simply music.
 



Techno:
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that was developed in Detroit, Michigan, during the mid to late 1980s. Many styles of techno now exist, but Detroit techno, a genre in its own right, is seen as the foundation upon which many other subgenres have been built.
The initial take on techno arose from the melding of various African American styles such as Chicago house, funk, electro, and electric jazz with Eurocentric synthesizer-based music. Added to this was an interest in futuristic and fictional themes that were relevant to life in American late capitalist society: most particularly the novel Future Shock by Alvin Toffler. Techno music pioneer Juan Atkins cites Toffler's phrase "techno rebels" as inspiring him to use the word "techno" to describe the musical style he helped to create.


EDM:







Dance Pop: