Danceteria — New York City From 1980 to 1986, Danceteria redefined downtown nightlife—a four-story playground where art, music, and mayhem collided. Equal parts gallery, disco, and underground theater, it launched Madonna, hosted Basquiat and Warhol, and turned clubbing into performance art. With punk upstairs, drag in the basement, and new wave in between, Danceteria was more than a nightclub—it was the nerve center of a cultural revolution.