Patrick D. Pagnano "Empire Roller Disco"

Empire Roller Disco highlights Pagnano's series that memorializes the disco era in Brooklyn. Patrick D. Pagnano photographed the famous Empire Roller Disco at its peak in the 1980s. A Brooklyn landmark, Empire was known for being the location that pioneered roller disco and such dance styles such as the Brooklyn Bounce. Pagnano's photographs encapsulate the significance that Empire Roller Disco had not only in disco culture, but in the culture and people of Crown Heights, then a neighborhood that had recently experienced riots and whose demographics were rapidly shifting. The exuberance of his subjects dancing in style demonstrate the ability of a space to change the narrative and experiences of its community.