Incredibly, this interview with Rudolf on Nickelodeon's Livewire show has recently surfaced, thanks to the diligent efforts of Chuck2006x. Thanks Chuck! We're certain many of these kids went on to run many of the world's greatest clubs, inspired by Rudolf's straightforward and generous instruction.
Essential Danceteria viewing!
Now normally we have better things to do, but friends of ours have pointed out that the famous collection of articles in Wikipedia contains an enormous error that shakes the foundations of User Generated Content. If you search for Danceteria, you get a "disambiguation page" that creates - ambiguity, of course! It states that there are two forms of Danceteria. One form of Danceteria means Danceteria. And the other is the generic name for 
"nightclub," particularly outside the United States. As it turns out, this is wrong information, and an affront to all truth-seeking peoples. Here, then, is the real story of this legendary name, in the words of Rudolf, original and still reigning impresario of cultural extremism.
Says Rudolf (from his current hideaway in a Brazillian jungle):
"We were building the after-hours place on 37st, and we needed a name...fast! because we had 3 weeks between the closing of "Armageddon" ( a suitable name for a shithole we took over that made no business EVER - it had 25 people on opening night! ) and the re-opening under a new concept. I was walking in front of Dubrow's with 2 other guys ( I have no idea who they were ) and we
commented about the fabulous neon, and then, one of the (unknown) guys said "Fuck this cafeteria, I want a danceteria!"
And I said "That's it! That's the name of our club ! Danceteria!"
Nobody in that group was impressed, though and we kept looking for names. The other candidates were, believe it or not: Il Duce, Dux, The Bunker, Axis, Nexus, Exile...and many many more! Later, that night, I just could not forget the Danceteria word, and I called Jessica, the trendiest girl downtown that moment (where is she?) and asked her about this name, and she totally loved it! That was all I needed to know! If Jessica loved it, ALL the trendies would love it too! I called a few more, and got the same positive reaction. The Legend was created (not born!) to change the World forever! ...and its mission is still far from completed, but Destiny is on our side !
And note, if you will, the distinctive cafeteria script! As to which came first:
In any case, Danceteria NY came first, and the word was invented in NY, and then travelled later to Brazil, where it became till nowadays a generic word for discotheques. There never was a club called Danceteria in Brazil. The word is also a generic in some other South American countries.
So, need further proof? Rudolf was raised from a fabulous toddler in Buenos Aires, and spent his wonder years in Rio, where he opened a legendary chain of disco laundromats. No Danceteria in either place. We believe this article is the first coverage of Danceteria in Brazil. If any of you Brazillian trendies have better copies, please send them in! Now, when we get a minute, we will fix that pesky ambiguity that has confused so many of the faithful, on the fun and invaluable but occasionally notoriously error-prone Wikiteria.
Which lucky bidder will win this authentic drink ticket on eBay? Even at the starting bid of $9.99, we have been inspired to call up our printer and get him to work. He'll be printing five million drink tickets, all of which we plan to sell on eBay. With the proceeds we'll open Congo Bill lounges on the Virgin Galactic spaceliners setting sail in 2008. And we will accept...these drink tickets!
...was right here. Did you make it to the legendary Tango party under the stars, with the stars? No?
Stay
in touch and we'll let you know where Wuthering Heights and her adventurous friend Congo Bill will be appearing next.
Danceteria, the legendary New York City nighclub, is one of the original valhallas of pop remix culture. Since the eighties, and for over twenty years, Danceteria's
multi-storied environment, unique cutup graphics, wide-ranging bookings, seminal dancefloor, mashed-up events, and kaleidoscopically original crowd took post-modern over the top into a truly mind-altering, life-changing religion of remix.
Just in case you hadn't noticed, remix culture is now everywhere, from mashups superimposing one piece of music on another, to music videos slammed into game graphics, to fashion, film, and graphic design that cuts and pastes images and forms from any culture or any period in an ever-changing stream of audiovisual exuberance. In fact, Remix Culture perfectly describes the experience of the original Danceteria, which in its multi-storied, multi-environment building on 21st Street in Manhattan presented wild and inexplicable combinations of disparate art, music, fashion, video, dance, parties and people, a self-defined “supermarket of style” that mesmerized guests while simultaneously attracting those who would define popular culture for decades to come.
And through it all, the point is always “fun.” Serious fun.
