Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Move Ya Body: The Birth of House

Play trailer Move Ya Body: The Birth of House 2025 1h 32m Documentary Music Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
62% Tomatometer 13 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
It was the summer of 1979 and Disco had taken over the world. For the first time, Black, gay and female artists were dominating the charts. But a backlash was brewing. On a July night in 1979, nearly 50,000 White teenagers descended on Chicago's Comiskey Park for "Disco Demolition Night," where they destroyed records made by mostly Black artists. Many say that the birth of house music comes from this fateful evening. Mixing cinematic recreation, archival materials, and revelatory interviews with the pioneers of house music, MOVE YA BODY: THE BIRTH OF HOUSE tells this story in a new way, offering a celebration of the power the dance floor has to liberate us all, and an appreciation of the artists that kept the beat going all night long.

Critics Reviews

View More
Murtada Elfadl Variety Nov 18, 2025
After watching this entertaining and nostalgic documentary, audiences’ most likely recourse may be to find the nearest club and spend the rest of their night dancing. Go to Full Review Dwight Brown DwightBrownInk.com Feb 26, 2025
2.5/4
Why is this doc so depressing? It shouldn’t be. It should be a celebration. Go to Full Review Lovia Gyarkye The Hollywood Reporter Feb 8, 2025
While relatively standard in execution, Move Ya Body distinguishes itself in a music doc landscape laden with artist hagiographies. The film finds its groove when Bratton introduces thornier elements of the genre’s history. Go to Full Review Krithika MovieJawn Aug 22, 2025
The central question looms: Who started house music? While it’s difficult—and controversial—to identify a single originator, the film ensures the audience knows who must be part of the conversation. Go to Full Review Rachel Ho Exclaim! May 14, 2025
5/10
A stale retelling that lacks life and a sense of purpose. Go to Full Review DarkSkyLady DarkSkyLady Reviews Feb 11, 2025
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House is a splendid documentary about house music while building up to be so much more than it. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

View All

Elegance Bratton

Director

Lena Waithe

Self

Malik Shakur

Self

Vince Lawrence

Self

Elegance Bratton

Writer

Chester Algernal Gordon

Producer

More Like This

View All
Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party 100% % Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party Watchlist Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) 99% 98% Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Watchlist TRAILER for Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Punk the Capital: Building a Sound Movement 100% % Punk the Capital: Building a Sound Movement Watchlist Sirens 98% 87% Sirens Watchlist TRAILER for Sirens It's All Gonna Break % % It's All Gonna Break Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Move Ya Body: The Birth of House

View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis It was the summer of 1979 and Disco had taken over the world. For the first time, Black, gay and female artists were dominating the charts. But a backlash was brewing. On a July night in 1979, nearly 50,000 White teenagers descended on Chicago's Comiskey Park for "Disco Demolition Night," where they destroyed records made by mostly Black artists. Many say that the birth of house music comes from this fateful evening. Mixing cinematic recreation, archival materials, and revelatory interviews with the pioneers of house music, MOVE YA BODY: THE BIRTH OF HOUSE tells this story in a new way, offering a celebration of the power the dance floor has to liberate us all, and an appreciation of the artists that kept the beat going all night long.
Director
Elegance Bratton
Producer
Chester Algernal Gordon
Screenwriter
Elegance Bratton
Production Co
HiddenLight Productions, Impact Partners, Freedom Principle, One Story Up Productions, Los Angeles Media Fund (LAMF)
Genre
Documentary, Music
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 32m
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings