Exclusive | I danced with the Serpent Inside Elrows hedonistic stop in NYC at Pacha

If there’s one thing Catholic school taught me, it’s to think twice before dancing with the Serpent.But if there’s another thing the dance music world has taught me, it’s that when Elrow at Brooklyn’s newly-opened Pacha extends the invitation for that exact thing, you say yes and dress for the occasion (the stranger, the better, by the way).To quote the company’s former international director, Ramesh Satguru, “Elrow is an Everyman’s brand.You could take your mum to Elrow.

In fact, I’ve taken my mum to Elrow.Because it’s where theatre meets clubbing, the story is there in the nightclub, and it’s giving you something that no one else can provide.”As a longtime connoisseur of house music, that description spoke to me.

As a mother, it spoke to me even more.Elrow makes room for every kind of person, whether you’re a die-hard raver, skeptical first-timer or someone who still has to pack a screaming toddler’s lunch at 6 a.m.

the next morning.I wasn’t suprised when I began my research and learned the world-famous “experience brand” was born long before house music even entered the mainstream.Its roots trace back more than 150 years to a neighborhood café in Fraga, Spain, which evolved through generations into cinemas, nightclubs, festivals — and, in 2010 — the global entertainment phenomenon it is today.

Elrow.But reducing Elrow to a traveling music festival drastically undersells the experience.Elrow is performance art disguised as nightlife.Like Cirque du Soleil meets rave.

A psychedelic amusement park where maximalism isn’t just an aesthetic.It’s the whole freaking religion. This year, the party took over Pacha, the buzzy new East Williamsburg venue with the unmistakable twin-cherry logo that now occupies the former site of the begotten-not-made Brooklyn Mirage.

With its sprawling LED screen, newly installed state-of-the-art sound system, and 30,000-square-foot open-air dance floor, the space feels purpose-built for these...