Alexander Paris (pictured)
Artist and witch, Bushwick
What brought you to the rink?
I had a performance at the Armory. Afterward, I smoked a joint with a friend and then got paranoid, so I got off the train and went to Central Park. I heard “I Feel Love,” by Donna Summer, and I looked up and saw a neon sign with big disco balls, and it said “DiscOasis.” I remembered that my friend messaged me earlier asking if I could come. Then the Queens remix of Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” started playing, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I got a ticket and skates even though it was $60.
Was it worth the price?
Once I got inside, I was like, Oh God, I can’t even afford a locker. I begged the people working, and they let me hide my stuff somewhere. But I don’t regret it. I nailed my performance and got an email from artist Karen Finley that was like, “You’re a dreamboat and a star.” So I wanted to treat myself.
And you’re also a witch?
I come from a long line of witches. My mom was a witch. My grandma was a Vodou priestess. I don’t cast spells, but I’m a master manifester. When I dream of something happening, it ends up working out.
Ashley Newenle
Sales associate, Hell’s Kitchen
Jeremy Ecock
Engineer, Old Bridge, New Jersey
Linda Rappaport
Real-estate broker, Floral Park
Did you come by yourself?
I was supposed to go with a group that ended up canceling. I said, “You know what? I’m just going to go,” and drove right to Central Park in this crazy outfit. Do I sound like a loser? Or do I sound gutsy, like a New York woman who would go by herself anywhere?
Troy Landry
DiscOasis performer, Prospect–Lefferts Gardens
Caroline Pace
Production secretary, Park Slope
What made you want to come tonight?
I love disco. I literally have a disco-ball tattoo that I got in Amsterdam. There are a lot of reasons and memories attached to it, which, now that I’m thinking about it, that’s what disco balls do: They reflect light in so many different ways.
Izaesha Norman
Paraprofessional, Crown Heights
Chasi Annexy
Freelance photographer, Brooklyn Heights
Ashley Cruz
Chiropractor, Park Slope
How was your night?
I’m here for a birthday. First we had a few drinks to loosen up. Then we started skating and we fell and fell. My friends made a Reel that’s basically a compilation of all of us falling.
Jason Acosta
DiscOasis performer, Bushwick
Sydney Blaylock
DiscOasis performer, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Jillian Lucero
Creative-production coordinator, East Harlem
Where’d you get your outfit?
Mostly from Buffalo Exchange. My headwrap is actually a tankini top. I found the bell-bottoms in the Pride section, and they’re technically assless. I was like, Can’t do that, so I wore black leggings over them and then added a wraparound skirt to give it more glitzy glam.
Sarah Corbett
Human-resources partner, Brooklyn Heights
Lynna Davis
DiscOasis performer, Hell’s Kitchen
What brought you to the rink?
Nile invited me. We were in a band when we were teenagers. When I saw signs for DiscOasis in Los Angeles, I called him and said, “We don’t have any rinks in Manhattan. What are you doing in L.A.?”
Jocelyn Marie Goode
Roller-skate-museum founder, East Harlem
Nicholas Brown
Fitness instructor, Harlem
Daniela Leguisamo
Social-media marketer, Jackson Heights
Onni “Oxenfree” Adams
DiscOasis performer, East New York
Do you have a signature move?
I do this thing called an Oxenfree Matrix. It’s like a backbend all the way back, like in The Matrix, and then I come back up. It’s the move people know me for — basically playing limbo on skates.
Sebeey Chi
DiscOasis performer, Washington Heights
Ashley Newenle
Sales associate, Hell’s Kitchen
Jeremy Ecock
Engineer, Old Bridge, New Jersey
Linda Rappaport
Real-estate broker, Floral Park
Did you come by yourself?
I was supposed to go with a group that ended up canceling. I said, “You know what? I’m just going to go,” and drove right to Central Park in this crazy outfit. Do I sound like a loser? Or do I sound gutsy, like a New York woman who would go by herself anywhere?
Troy Landry
DiscOasis performer, Prospect–Lefferts Gardens
Caroline Pace
Production secretary, Park Slope
What made you want to come tonight?
I love disco. I literally have a disco-ball tattoo that I got in Amsterdam. There are a lot of reasons and memories attached to it, which, now that I’m thinking about it, that’s what disco balls do: They reflect light in so many different ways.
Izaesha Norman
Paraprofessional, Crown Heights
Chasi Annexy
Freelance photographer, Brooklyn Heights
Ashley Cruz
Chiropractor, Park Slope
How was your night?
I’m here for a birthday. First we had a few drinks to loosen up. Then we started skating and we fell and fell. My friends made a Reel that’s basically a compilation of all of us falling.
Jason Acosta
DiscOasis performer, Bushwick
Sydney Blaylock
DiscOasis performer, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Jillian Lucero
Creative-production coordinator, East Harlem
Where’d you get your outfit?
Mostly from Buffalo Exchange. My headwrap is actually a tankini top. I found the bell-bottoms in the Pride section, and they’re technically assless. I was like, Can’t do that, so I wore black leggings over them and then added a wraparound skirt to give it more glitzy glam.
Sarah Corbett
Human-resources partner, Brooklyn Heights
Lynna Davis
DiscOasis performer, Hell’s Kitchen
What brought you to the rink?
Nile invited me. We were in a band when we were teenagers. When I saw signs for DiscOasis in Los Angeles, I called him and said, “We don’t have any rinks in Manhattan. What are you doing in L.A.?”
Jocelyn Marie Goode
Roller-skate-museum founder, East Harlem
Nicholas Brown
Fitness instructor, Harlem
Daniela Leguisamo
Social-media marketer, Jackson Heights
Onni “Oxenfree” Adams
DiscOasis performer, East New York
Do you have a signature move?
I do this thing called an Oxenfree Matrix. It’s like a backbend all the way back, like in The Matrix, and then I come back up. It’s the move people know me for — basically playing limbo on skates.
Sebeey Chi
DiscOasis performer, Washington Heights
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- The Look Book Goes to the U.S. Open
- The Look Book Goes to East Hampton Library’s Authors Night
