The modern day dance floor is quite the marvel. Traditionally, nearly every nightlife venue around the world has always had a dance floor, the ultimate communal area for shaking your shit. Now, it seems that bottle service is in high demand and furniture seems more fun to dance on. However, there are still venues out there that stick to the old-school belief that the dance floor is the key. Clubplanet, as your reliable nightlife source, has narrowed it down to the top dance floors where you should undoubtedly try your two-step.
Southside
1 Cleveland Place
New York, NY 10003
212-680-5601
Down the stairs, past the coat check and into the lengthy corridor, lined with leafy-green, bamboo branches, a modest, black and white checkered dance floor, under two equally modest disco balls, awaits. But don’t let its small size deter you; the close quarters allow for a rather intimate dance party of epic proportions. This old-school establishment features on-the-rise DJ acts (i.e. DJ Nick Cohen and DJ Mess Kid) and a crowd that lives to dance. It’s the basement party you’ve always hoped to host - times ten.
Hiro Ballroom
371 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-242-4300
Located at the base of the Maritime Hotel and bordering Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, Hiro is a massive, vaulted, dual-level nightclub with a spectacularly large dance floor. Cozy booths hug the dance floor on one side, while a bungalow overlooks the other. The impressively arced, wood ceiling and Asian rope-curtain motif make for a scene straight out of Kill Bill Vol. 1 - a la the ‘Showdown at House of Blue Leaves.’ At Hiro, energy is the thing. So, grab a vodka-Red Bull and invent a new move. We’d call ours the Crazy 88.
Webster Hall
125 East 11th Street
New York, NY 10003
212-353-1600
A New York City landmark for its architecture and history, Webster Hall has seen it all – and, consequently has it all. The venue features 4 floors filled with stages, dance floors and lounges, galore. Whether your style is dancing on stage, in the mix or on the table, there is something for everyone. And we really mean everyone, as Webster Hall is 18+. Our advice, dance the night away, but stay away from the main room (where all the kiddies who like to pretend they are of-age hang) or you are bound to commit some sort of statutory crime.
Cielo
18 Little West 12th Street
New York, NY 10014
212-645-5700
Cielo, a state-of-the-art space in New York City’s Meatpacking District built purposely for dancing, famously spins house music and house, alone. (Well, unless you count the Latin/Jazz/House mash-ups played at the venue’s reoccurring Roots party.) Cielo is for serious dancers, so bring your a-game. Have troubles with coordination? Let Cielo be your guide; the walls that surround you are timed to light up to the beats of music.
Le Royale
21 7th Avenue South
New York, NY 10001
212-463-0707
Le Royale is the Factory-ish brain-child of Centrofly’s David Baxley and DJ Terry Casey – so, it only makes sense that hard-core music aficionados and those that like to move to it frequent this place more than Lindsey Lohan hits the nose candy. The venue is small, but more than makes up for size in its intimate ambiance. As a more personal club, it’s a place where you can chat-up and rub-up the masses you dance with. So, enjoy the conversation. Get it – the ‘conversation.’ Wink!
Santo’s Party House
100 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10013
212-714-4646
Santo’s Party House, much like Webster Hall, does it all: stages, dance floors and lounges. But, we like Santo’s because of its tricked-out sound-system designed and integrated by TimbreTech Audio Services. Club sound icon, Jim Toth, designed this live system that enables Santo’s to run multiple DJ and live performances and events in one evening. (That means more dance options for the customers.) If you venture to go anywhere else to shake it, you may find yourself screaming, “F this! I’m going to Santo’s Party House.”
