99 Looks at Black Dance in Detroit, 1983 - 1996
Spot Lite Detroit
2905 Beaufait St.
Detroit
Saturday, May 9
Now up at Spot Lite through August, “99 Looks at Black Dance in Detroit, 1983 - 1996” pulls together a mixed-media effort from artist and curator Ben Hall. It also marks Spot Lite’s 5th anniversary as a third space that encompasses a coffee shop, bar, gallery and music venue all in one.
The source material for “99 Looks” pulls source material of still images of dancers from R.J. Watkins’ two afternoon dance shows “The Scene” and “The New Dance Show.” They used to air on WGPR, the nation’s first Black-owned television station.
This was like “Soul Train” for Detroit in the most Detroit-centric fashion. No bands; just the DJ Jesse the Body mixing together the hottest electro tracks of the era. At the time, it was cutting-edge music that pulled from the city’s techno and house history, as dozens of people danced their asses off. Anyone watching it was hearing these emerging tracks paired with slices of the latest fashion and hairstyles. It’s a truly Detroit affair and a beloved piece of the city’s musical history.
Hall’s role is part artist, part archivist, turning these screenshots pulled from YouTube vibes into a range of prints, paintings and other ephemera from the era. It comes with that grainy aesthetic of pausing a VHS and seeing what still life you captured. The nostalgic aesthetic weaves its way through each piece, like you’re stepping back onto the dance floor and feeling the static on your skin.
I’m not sure “99 Looks” would come across as well inside of a sterile, white-walled gallery. It’s meant to add to the movement that Spot Lite naturally embraces. In that regard, it’s astonishing how much it does make the room feel alive even in the wee hours of the gallery opening when folks are still fluttering in and everyone’s too shy to get on the dance floor just yet.
As Movement music festival approaches this Memorial Day Weekend (one of the largest electronic music festivals in the country), Hall’s “99 Looks” is a brilliant lookback at the style, the music and social history of what the dance floor has meant to Detroiters over the years and how two TV shows managed to beautifully broadcast out for the rest of the city to see.
