avivapress's blog

By Maria Esteves - March 18, 2004

MAESTRO is a historical documentary film based on the underground dance music scene in New York City during the late 1960's through the 1980's. It was a precursor to the disco phenomenon which resulted into movie blockbusters such as "Saturday Night Fever" in 1977, and "54" in 1998.

The documentary begins with the history of same sex dancing after the Stonewall riots in 1969. Same sex dancing gave a whole new meaning to freedom of expression through the art of dancing. A freedom that was unaffected by race, ethnicity or social class on the dance floor. It attracted people from all walks of life to underground venues like the "Sanctuary", the "Loft" (of which I became a devout patron during 1975-1980), the "Gallery" and the "Paradise Garage". The film included the invention of high-powered sound systems by club sound design engineer Richard Long (1933-1986); the creation of the 12-inch vinyl record by SalSoul for remixing music narrated by Tom Moulton. Interviews with legendary maestro's Francis Grasso (1948-2001) "Sanctuary", David Mancuso "Loft", Nicky Siano "Gallery", Danny Krivit "Body&SOUL" and many others. The documentary concludes with an exclusive interview with maestro Francois "K" Kevorkian discussing the AIDS epidemic that plagued patrons of the underground dance music culture during 1980's. MAESTRO is indeed a souvenir to treasure; a tribute to a historical era that will be remembered forever!

MAESTRO directed/produced/written by Josell Ramos | USA | 2004 | English | 90 mins., premiered at the Quad Cinema, New York, March 12-25, 2004. Two disc DVD is available online at Amazon and retail stores. For more information, please visit: http://www.maestro-documentary.com.

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