Vince Lawrence Puts Chicago In Sundance Spotlight

Vince Lawrence started opening a lot of doors in 1984. That was the year when the self-described “nerdy Black kid” and his friend Jesse Saunders hunkered down in a Chicago bedroom and recorded the single On and On, which became the first commercially released House Music track in history. It essentially kicked off a genre that would turn legions of non-white, non-hetero social outcasts into cool kids. Lawrence channeled this experience to help make the 2025 documentary, Move Ya Body: The Birth of House, premiering at Sundance on Sunday.

Move Ya Body combines interviews, archives and more than fifty songs to chronicle the first decade of House Music. According to Sundance Institute Senior Programmer Shari Frilot, the result is a “definitive history of a cultural revolution rarely told.” Directed by Elegance Bratton (The Inspection), the film appears on Rolling Stone’s 20 Most Anticipated Movies of Sundance 2025 and Newsweek’s 9 Must-Watch Documentaries at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

BUILDING THE HOUSE
By definition, House is an electronic dance form with a four-on-the-floor beat that evolved from late-1970s disco. On and On starts with a simple bass line that grows into a hypnotic groove with tasteful percussion and lacey synthesizer. From its original home on the South Side of Chicago, House Music has become the preferred sound in clubs and pop songs around the world, hatching subgenres like Acid House, Deep House and EDM along the way.

The growth is partly due to its effect as “a great unifier,” says Lawrence. “House Music knows no race, religion, sexual orientation or social economic status,” he explains. “It’s a dance floor where everybody’s welcome. You can have a bunch of class and no money or a bunch of money and no class, and, you know what, House Music welcomes you.” 

In that same spirit, Move Ya Body gives hope to people facing the kinds of obstacles that Lawrence and his friends climbed on the way up. “House Music came from a bunch of lower and middleclass mostly Black kids,” he says. “The film is about believing in yourself even when nobody else does. In a time when we’re talking about dismantling DEI programs, it might resonate more than just the fact that House Music came from Chicago,” he says. 

The obstacles included the infamous Disco Demolition at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in 1979, when fans received free admission if they donated a disco record to destroy between games of a Chicago White Sox doubleheader. 

Lawrence, who was working as an usher at the stadium that day, witnessed people demolishing albums by all kinds of African-American artists whether or not they were considered disco. “Disco Demolition and the ‘Disco Sucks’ movement felt widely anti-Black, anti-Latino and anti-Gay,” he says. “That was the first time I had that kind of ideology thrown in my face.”

AN AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY
Move Ya Body shows how the early House pioneers worked through this kind of institutional racism to become the main characters in their own American success story. Set in Chicago, the undeniable birthplace of House Music, Lawrence describes it as a “a love song to Chicago — good, bad or indifferent.”

After cutting On and On, Lawrence went from nerd to handsome young man with dreadlocks and became a notable figure in Chicago’s music scene. Now clean shaven at 61, he retains the look, wit and charm of someone who could fit right into the VIP section of any club. He continues making music while enjoying additional success as an entrepreneur, filmmaker, studio owner, husband, father and co-executive producer of Move Ya Body (along with Siobhan Sinnerton, Johnny Webb, Geoff Martz and Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams). He jokes about still being a “nerdy Black kid,” but occasionally finds it necessary to tap into the resilient spirit of his youth. 

“I’m used to people not believing in me,” he says. “Nobody believed that I was a director until I won three Tellys (2023’s Legacy: From Horns to House nabbed Silvers for directing, history, and social impact) and some people may not have considered that I could be effective  as an executive producer, but here I am. Everyone doesn’t have to live in one creative box. People grow, and we owe it to ourselves to be accepting based on the quality of our effort.”

Among those who did believe in him was former New York Senator and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In 2022, she and Lawrence met to discuss ideas at the Toronto International Film Festival. “She felt like television was a new way to teach things that are being taken out of the educational system in America,” he recalls. “She’s great.”

BEHIND THE SCENES
Other likeminded collaborators included Elegance Bratton, the “hyper intelligent” Move Ya Body director who supplied the attitude, knowledge and philosophy Lawrence knew the film required. 

“Elegance came of age in New York clubs in the 80s, so he was very familiar with the music and he was very familiar with my actual influences,” says Lawrence. “We talked about the anti-establishment sensibility that House shares with Punk Rock.  He had a sense about the tone and he told me why he thought the film could be important.”

Bratton also offered what Lawrence knew was an essential ingredient for success. “I wanted to hire a Black director and as much experienced Black crew we could source locally because this is a Black story told through the lens of the Black experience ” he says. “The whole story’s about giving people a chance.” 

A bit exclusive, no doubt; but to describe Move Ya Body as an African-American thing misses the point of the movie and House Music itself. According to Lawrence, the film will bring joy to all audiences. “You will be elevated, you will be uplifted, you will be happy and dancing,” he says. “There will be dancing in the theatre during this film because you can always count on House Music to set you free.”