The New Dance Show: Detroit's delightfully lo-fi house and techno time capsule

In a world engulfed by streaming, mobile media and various online content, the magic of local TV programing has become a relic of the past. Before Netflix, Youtube and even satellite TV, local TV channels provided a manageable domain for local communities to advertise and create shows that could reflect their interests.

In Detroit, a city where music and community interests have always gone hand-in-hand, a program titled The New Dance Show aired four days a week from 6 PM - 7 PM between 1988 - 1995. Appearing on the local station WGPR-TV 62, the first TV station that was owned and operated entirely by African Americans in the US, the broadcast featured a company of loud, lively dancers dressed in sexy and swanky attire showing the camera their best dance moves to the sound of the most cutting-edge tracks of the time.

The low-budget program has often been compared to the seminal TV show Soul Train. Despite this, the two shows have no shared history. The New Dance Show is the predecessor to another legendary Detroit production on WGPR-TV called The Scene. Formatted similarly, The New Dance Show picked up the pieces after The Scene went off-air in 1987: the dawn of a critical period in Detroit’s musical revolution.

Hosted by the charismatic RJ Watkins with his slick catchphrase “keep it movin', keep it groovin'”, the show enlisted the help of beautiful, talented youngsters. An appearance on the show would turn them into local celebrities overnight.

Grabbing the public's attention with its courageous dance floor and unique mixes featuring the likes of Kraftwerk, Frankie Knuckles, Juan Atkins, 2 Live Crew, CeCe Penniston and numerous classic Motor City tracks, the show played a vital and often overlooked role in paving the way to an unprecedented era of glorious house and slamming techno.

In addition to this, The New Dance Show served as a special source of inspiration for artists like Hercules and The Love Affair as well as Detroit natives Osborne, Mayer Hawthorne and Black Milk - all of whom have paid tribute to the show in their own unique fashion.

Remarkable moves were put forth by the show's groove specialists: Terina, Weird Al, Miss Energy, Jezel, Iceberg, Brownie, China Doll, In the Mix Betty, Shaniqua, Yvonne, Ree Ree, Ms. T, Jesse The Body, Pam Thomas and the rest of the dance club. In all of its lo-fi glory, their talents have since been immortalized in a golden YouTube archive.

If you're looking for a source of inspiration to help switch up those stale looking dance moves you always find yourself using… you’ve come come to the right place.

Mixmag spent hours with this nonstop-party footage and selected a handful of favorites. Check them out below.

Before Juan Atkins became the venerable techno machine that he is today, he and his collaborator Richard Davis were Cybotron. Described by The Wire as a "groundbreaking…first-generation piece of pure machine music", this hit track helped Juan Atkins shape and maneuver his artistry in the perfect direction.

The loop of the track was originally inspired by Kraftwerk's 'Hall of Mirrors'.

Speaking of Kraftwerk...

Right before the credits roll for the end of the show, this three-minute dance-line segment for Kraftwerk's 'Numbers' is arguably one of the greatest displays of dancing ever captured on film.

The judges' scores are in: 10/10

More commonly known today as simply 'Percolator' this track from 1992 has been reimagined by countless artists, including: Major Lazer, Eats Everything, Gant Man, Claude VonStroke and Derrick Carter (the list goes on).

Here (2:40), we have the Detroit crew getting down to the timeless original track with their very own version of the dance that accompanied it.

Other recognizable tracks in the speedy mix are Robotman's 'Do Da Doo' and Armando's '100% Dissing You'.

Miss Thing: "My name is on the list."

Bouncer: "What list?"

Miss Thing: "The DJ's list."

Bouncer: "Miss Thing... there is no guest-list tonight!"

We've all been there. This party is full and the sounds of Lil Louis, the godfather of house music, inflate the room in this extraordinary clip from 1992.

Lil Louis' track 'Club Lonely' is followed up by Sir Mix-A-Lot's 'Baby Got Back' (Remix). A less obvious choice, but still great nonetheless.

This sparse nature of this jammin' and primitive 1988 drum-machine track at the start of this video perfectly blends into the pumping display of scratchy Miami bass rap and intergalactic funk. Fantastic stuff.

The show plunges deeper into some '80s nostalgia that might be better off staying hidden, but the first seven minutes is a treasure of the highest quality.

This mix has it all! Techno, acid, house, hip-hop and some top-notch coordinated dances from The New Dance Show dance crew. Released in 1988, 'Bounce Your Body to the Box' (3:50) was Kevin Saunderson's debut single. It is safe to say that this video is some of the first documented evidence of people tearing up the dance floor to the now legendary techno artist.

Other notable tracks in the mix are 'Definition of a Track' (From Back To Basic) by Precious and 'We Got Our Own Thang' by Heavy D & The Boyz.

It would be remiss to not share with you some of the incredibly entertaining commercials that appeared on WGPR-TV 62 between segments of The New Dance Show.

Sit down and enjoy, you've probably gotten your fair share of dancing in by now.

Cameron is Mixmag's US Editorial Intern. Follow him on Twitter here