The DiscOasis Gets Rolling At Central Park’s Wollman Rink With Special Guest DJ Funk Flex

21 June, 2022Print

The DiscOasis Gets Rolling At Central Park’s Wollman Rink With Special Guest DJ Funk Flex

Roller Disco Paradise Opening Night Party

Brings Disco Home to its Birthplace & Celebrates

NYC’s Longtime Skating Scene

Saturday, June 18, 2022 (New York, NY) - The DiscOasis, the glittering, immersive, and theatrical new roller-disco experience at Wollman Rink, turned up the summer heat on Saturday with its grand opening festivities. Under the Manhattan skyline, skaters moved to infectious beats led by longtime New York City DJ and hip hop radio host Funk Flex. Attendees including Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Adrienne Warren (Tina), Anne Burrell (chef), Eric Rutherford (actor), Seth Zvi Rosenfeld (playwright), Alex Newell (Glee) and others joined a free-wheeling, one-of-a-kind celebration of New York’s classic disco scene and skating culture.

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Created and produced by Constellation Immersive in partnership with Live Nation and Los Angeles Media Fund, The DiscOasis is hosted by Wollman Rink and Wollman Park Partners — a joint venture between Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Related Companies and Equinox. Its principals are: Josh Harris and David Blitzer, Founders of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment; Jeff Blau, CEO of Related Companies; and Harvey Spevak, Executive Chairman and Managing Partner, Equinox Group.

The DiscOasis offers exciting evening skate sessions and programs featuring theatrical performances, an array of live DJs, a dance floor and special guests, with open skate sessions during the daytime. The sonic elements of the experience are curated by world-renowned hit producer and event GroovemasterNile Rodgers (CHIC, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna, Daft Punk, Duran Duran, Daddy Yankee). Located in idyllic Central Park, Wollman Rink has been reimagined as an oasis within an oasis — inviting guests to skate, dance, and let loose in a botanical paradise where music flows and magic grows.

Tickets are on sale at thediscoasis.com and WRAP (Wollman Rink Access Program) tickets will be offered on an ongoing basis. Skating sessions will be open Wednesday through Friday from 5:30-10pm and Saturday and Sunday 10:30am-10pm through October 1.

The DiscOasis offers interactive installations inspired by Groovemaster Nile Rodgers’ iconic catalog, with a dance floor, live roller-dance performances, food and beverage service, and more. Rodgers is curating a special playlist of skate-worthy, groove-inducing tracks for each night’s local DJ to spin fresh for skaters and dancers.

The fresh new series launched with a Wollman Rink press conference on May 10th where NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced, “New Yorkers are gonna get their groove back.” Billboard wrote, “The satin and unlaced skate days of 1980s roller rink culture will bloom again…” and NY Daily News said, “Lace up your skates and get ready to roll back the years.”

With a glittering roller-rink fantasia centerpiece by scenic designer David Korins(Tony Award-nominated for Hamilton, set designer for 2022 Academy Awards) and lighting design by award-winning David Weiner (Broadway’s The Great Society, Bonnaroo Festival), The DiscOasis will also feature nightly theatrical shows directed by Jaki Bradley (productions for Public Theater, Soho Rep, and Arena Stage, and currently directing an original series for FX), with choreography by Shernita Anderson (Beyoncé, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Janelle Monáe, appeared in hit Netflix series “The Get Down”).

The top-tier creative team includes producer Maddy Foster Bersin (Tony winnerfor The Inheritance; Tony-nominated for What the Constitution Means to Me) and costume designer Heather McDevitt Barton (productions at Signature Theater, Bushwick Starr, Joe’s Pub). The series’ general management is Wagner Johnson Productions and executive producers are Thao Nguyen, Jen Howton, Annie McGrath, and Constellation Immersive.

A portion of the proceeds from The DiscOasis benefits the We Are Family Foundation, which creates and supports programs that promote cultural diversity and empower youth who are changing the world with bold ideas. The Foundation takes its name from the 1979 disco hit “We Are Family,” sung by Sister Sledge and written/produced by “Groovemaster” Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.

An earlier iteration of The DiscOasis was presented in Los Angeles, where its sold-out run was a 2021 highlight event. The Los Angeles Times wrote, “The party of the summer is a secret roller-skating disco at an LA botanical garden,” and Fast Company named Constellation Immersive one of its Top 10 Most Innovative Live Events Companies "for reviving the roller disco and just in time."

New Yorkers have been avid roller skaters for more than a century — in parks, on streets, and at the city’s roller rinks — with skating clubs and regular events continuing today. Roller skating’s dynamic heyday was the disco era, with its accompanying infectious, danceable tracks and diverse gatherings at legendary 70s & early 80s dance clubs like Studio 54, Paradise Garage, Funhouse, Xenon, and many others. The DiscOasis continues this legacy as a contemporary bastion of self-expression and inclusivity — with a classic and new soundtrack carrying the torch. Bringing disco back home to NYC is being embraced all the way up to the Mayor’s office. “NYC is ready for a roller skating revival and to welcome The DiscOasis in Central Park! This is exactly the kind of energy everyone loves and needs right now, and the Office of Nightlife is here to support and encourage socializing on every NYC dance floor," said Ariel Palitz, Executive Director of the Office of Nightlife at the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment.

Nile Rodgers said, “I’m a lifelong New Yorker and, for me, Central Park was always the place where big things happened — from watching Sly & the Family Stone and Diana Ross, to sharing the first moon landing and the inaugural Earth Day. Since The DiscOasis is all about celebrating New York culture, there’s no other place for it to be.”

Constellation Immersive’s CEO Thao Nguyen said, “The DiscOasis was created as a movement to celebrate community, inclusivity, and positivity. We’re tapping New York City’s rich history — both as the birthplace of disco and its longtime connection to the urban roller-skating experience — providing an ideal and unique opportunity to gather again. We’re fortunate to have this opportunity to bring this unique immersive experience to iconic Central Park thanks to our wonderful partners, Nile Rodgers, Wollman Park Partners, Live Nation and Los Angeles Media Fund."

NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said, “We're happy to partner with Wollman Park Partners to bring DiscOasis roller skating to Central Park's Wollman Rink this summer! The WRAP Program will make this fun immersive experience available to all New Yorkers at an affordable rate, building on WPP's commitment to access and inclusion."

The DiscOasis is proud to partner with Wollman Rink and Wollman Park Partners to bring this immersive experience to an iconic New York venue. Part of Wollman Park Partners’ core mission is making openness and accessible programming a key feature of the rink, which The DsicOasis is happy to support. Stefanie Tomlin, Vice President, Wollman Park Partners and General Manager, Wollman Rink said, "On behalf of Wollman Park Partners, we are thrilled to host The DiscOasis at Wollman Rink this summer. In line with Wollman Park Partners’ mission of creating a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive space filled with activities that will bolster NYC’s economic recovery, The DiscOasis could not be a more perfect partner and headliner for Wollman Rink’s summer programming.” This entire experience would not be possible without the coordination and support of the New York City Parks Department. Wollman Rink is also thrilled to introduce Melba’s at Wollman Rinklocated at The Overlook to bring Harlem hospitality to Central Park for the first time, rounding out an exciting summer at the Rink.

ABOUT NILE RODGERS

Nile Rodgers is truly exceptional. He’s a multiple GRAMMY-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist who’s been inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. As the co-founder of CHIC, Rodgers pioneered a musical language that generated chart-topping hits like “Le Freak,” (the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records) and sparked the advent of hip-hop with “Good Times.” Nile transcends all styles of music and has made amongst the most important and successful albums in the careers of Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna, Duran Duran and Daft Punk amongst a legacy that is responsible for over 500 million record sales. Currently, Nile helms the critically acclaimed Apple Music 1’s “Deep Hidden Meaning Radio with Nile Rodgers” and is the Co-founder and Chairman of the We Are Family Foundation, since 2002. His unforgettable live performances with CHIC cover his entire discography and have been included in “festival best performances” at both Glastonbury and Coachella resulting in a BBC Music Awards nomination for “Best Live Performance”, and the LA Times stating, “Nile Rodgers influence stretches all over Coachella, beaming the sound of a better future.”

ABOUT CONSTELLATION IMMERSIVE

Constellation Immersive is an experience-based producing studio specializing in original content. We collaborate with world class talent and iconic brands to create inspiring spaces at the convergence of pop culture, storytelling, design, and technology. Constellation Immersive is an affiliate of leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA); Crossroads Live, a global theatrical entertainment company; Baroda Ventures, a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm; and 30WEST, an investment company specializing in entertainment. Its mission: To create and innovate live storytelling that inspires and transforms.

ABOUT WE ARE FAMILY FOUNDATION

We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) is a not-for-profit organization co-founded by legendary musician Nile Rodgers and is dedicated to the visions of a global family by creating programs that promote cultural diversity while nurturing and mentoring the vision, talents and ideas of young people who are positively changing the world. Find more information about WAFF, its programs and global community at wearefamilyfoundation.org and @wearefamilyfdtn.

ABOUT LIVE NATION

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprising global market leaders Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com

ABOUT LOS ANGELES MEDIA FUND

LAMF LLC (d/b/a Los Angeles Media Fund) (LAMF) was founded by Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman in 2014 with a mandate to finance and produce feature films and scripted television. In that time, LAMF has produced 14 features and diversified its business to include unscripted content, Broadway and athlete management. LAMF recently released a feature documentary on Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho: The Happiest Man in the World, on FIFA+, and is currently in production on a ten-part docu-series for Hulu on the Los Angeles Lakers with Antoine Fuqua directing. LAMF is also co-producing a feature documentary, The Color of Cola, directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Stanley Nelson and Jacqueline Olive. LAMF is in pre-production on a feature called Magazine Dreams to star Jonathan Majors. LAMF plans to go into production this year on Rob Peace, based on an adaptation by Chiwetel Ejiofor (who will also star) of the New York Times bestselling novel, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. LAMF’s subsidiary, Very Tall Productions, developed and produced the first season of Red Table Talk featuring Jada Pinkett Smith and family. Another subsidiary of LAMF’s, InventTV, has produced numerous unscripted shows and regularly works with Oprah Winfrey to produce her interview specials. In 2019, LAMF won a Tony Award for the revival of the Broadway musical, Oklahoma! LAMF owns a sports agency called Beyond Athlete Management (see: www.beyond.am), which represents over 80 athletes playing in the NFL, the NBA, and in Europe.

ABOUT WOLLMAN PARK PARTNERS

Wollman Park Partners (WPP) is a coalition of New Yorkers representing decades of experience across multiple sectors; including sports and entertainment; finance; health and wellness; diversity, equity, and inclusion; real estate; culinary; non-profit; youth development and sustainability. The companies and organizations that make up WPP include Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Related Companies, Equinox and community partnerships include Ice Hockey in Harlem, Figure Skating in Harlem, Great Performances, Melba’s Restaurant, YMCA of Greater New York, The Boys’ Club of New York and Green City Force. With this expertise, and a deep passion for New York City, WPP offers an energized, year-round experience of Wollman Rink NYC to both New Yorkers and visitors, with an emphasis on creating a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive space that promotes equitable economic opportunity and recovery in our City.

THE DISCOASIS ON THE WEB:

#DiscOasis #TheDiscOasis

For more information on The DiscOasis, please contact:

Shore Fire Media

Rebecca Shapiro

Shannon Cosgrove

MC Miskell