Singapore (AFP)

In front of a dance floor streaked with strobe lights but practically empty, a DJ makes a set broadcast in streaming: since the boxes of Singapore closed due to coronavirus, clubbers dance at home.

As the pandemic spread, hot spots of the night closed their doors in turn, in London, New York, then Singapore, but inventive DJs started to offer performances online, to save the party spirit.

The world of the night, like whole sectors of the economy, is seriously threatened by the virus which forces some 3.6 billion people to live confined at home while governments impose measures of physical distancing.

After the Singapore authorities decided last week to close most of the entertainment venues, the Zouk club held a "cloud-clubbing" party, an online evening with the performances of six DJs to follow on an app.

DJ Nash D acknowledges that he found the event a bit odd at first.

"When we play for a packed club, we feel the energy coming and I like to give back this energy" with my music, said AFP the DJ whose real name is Dhanish Nair.

But he quickly got used to it and noted that the live comments from the clubbers who appeared on his computer helped him well: "The requested tracks guided me to go in a certain direction".

In addition to comments posted on the Bigo Live streaming app, clubbers also sent DJs virtual gifts that could then be redeemed for cash.

The three-hour event drew some 80,000 views in total, according to video game equipment maker Razer, co-host of the evening. And up to 3,200 people connected simultaneously via the app.

- Together, everyone at home -

In China, where the virus first appeared in late 2019, DJs and clubs started broadcasting events in early February when the epidemic peaked in the country.

Shanghai and Beijing nightclubs broadcast live DJ performances via Douyin, the Chinese version of the TikTok app, which allows fans to purchase virtual gifts convertible into payments for their favorite DJs.

Peking club One Third drew an online audience of more than a million people and fans paid out nearly two million yuan ($ 280,000) in prizes for the five-hour event, according to the iFeng website.

New York clubs and DJs have also organized virtual parties in New York, the epicenter of the epidemic in the United States.

"The Dance Cartel" thus launched "Social Disdance" evenings to "dance together, each on its own" three evenings a week.

Participants are invited to dance together via the Zoom videoconference application. Some wear costumes or install disco lights at home to get in the mood.

Evenings are free, but participants are encouraged to donate to DJs and organizers.

While the toll of the Covid-19 now exceeds 46,000 deaths worldwide and the pandemic is not showing signs of slowing down, online clubbing, a rare escape, should still develop.

In Singapore, authorities have tightened restrictions after a resurgence of contamination in the city-state where some 900 cases and three deaths have been recorded.

And, despite the constraints, some DJs and musicians are starting to adopt the idea of ​​streaming clubbing.

"Online, we have the impression that people are more authentic," notes Singaporean DJ LeNERD, whose real name is Patrick Lewis, who participated in Friday's event. Behind a screen, "they are more themselves and more honest".

© 2020 AFP