''Dance Party USA'' is an American dance

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

that aired on cable's

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

from April 12, 1986, to June 27, 1992. It was originally a half-hour, but was expanded to an hour in 1987. The program was shot

live television Live television is a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. In a secondary meaning, it may refer to streaming television over the Internet when content or programming is played continuously (not on demand) ...

-to-

video tape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette ...

at Power House Recording Studio in Camden,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and produced at WGBS in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Its predecessor was ''

Dancin' On Air ''Dancin' On Air'' was a 1980s television dance music reality television, forerunner of the TV show ''Dance Party USA''. Both shows were produced and created by Michael Nise and his father Frank. The show started with US$100,000 from a small gr ...

'', a program on Philadelphia's

WPHL-TV WPHL-TV (channel 17) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group and has studios in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia; it maintains a ...

Hosts

*1985-1986:

Dave Raymond Dave Raymond (born August 12, 1972) is an American sportscaster. He is the primary television play-by-play announcer for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. He has also worked for the San Francisco Giants (2003), Baltimore Orioles (2005), ...

*1986-1989, 1992: Andy Gury, Annette Godfrey *1989-1991: Bobby Catalano, Heather "Princess" Day *1989-1990: Amy Brady, Alvin "Spicy" Ramirez, Cindy Stark, Romeo Levi Robinson King, Tyrone "Mr. Mitch" Mitchell *1989: Christy Springfield *1990: Aubrey Ayala, Kelly Berridge, Chris Bustard, Pete Conicelli, Joanna Mistretta, Matt Robbins, Desiree Wynder,

Noteworthy regulars

Kelly Ripa Kelly Ripa (; born October 2, 1970) is an American actress and talk show host. Since 2001, she has been the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show '' Live! with Kelly and Ryan'' in various formats. As an actress, Ripa's best known roles ...

, actress and host of ''

Live with Kelly and Ryan ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

'': Following a 3-year run as a dancer / segment host, in 1990 she landed what would be her most recognized acting role, Hayley Vaughn on

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

. *Jeffrey Glassman known as "Jazzy Jeff" went on to be a semi successful DJ in South Jersey. *Bobby Catalano was the man with the shades who would only remove his trademark sunglasses once a year on the Valentine's Day show. He was a very popular dancer and host. *Bruce Williams, who was known as "Beastie Bruce" because he wore a

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

chain as did the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

, had a rap collection that did well in the Philadelphia area. It was a break off of the Philadelphia rap group "

Tuff Crew Tuff Crew is a hip hop group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, dubbed "Philly's first Rap Supergroup". Members include Ice Dog, L. A. Kid, Tone Love, Monty G, and DJ Too Tuff. Career They released four albums. Their joint debut LP with The Krow ...

". *Dealin LaValley was a dancer on the show and went on to do ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' and national TV commercials. He now works as a celebrity makeup artist. *Heather Day was nicknamed "Princess" on the show because she was a fan of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and could be seen wearing dresses or other outfits like an eye-patch that reflected her devotion to the singer. She would meet the singer in 1994, two years after ''Dance Party USA'' ended its run. Today, Heather Day Slawek, a graduate of Temple University and mother of two children, owns a fitness studio which specializes in pole dancing

*

Heather Henderson Heather Henderson (born March 7, 1973) is a professional burlesque dancer, singer, model, filmmaker, producer, and podcast host who uses the stage name Baby Heather. She performs with Penn Jillette's No God Band and is an advocate for skeptic ...

known as Baby Heather on the show, is a professional

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

, singer, model, filmmaker, producer and host for Ardent Atheists and Skeptically Yours podcasts. She currently is a member of

Penn Jillette Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured ...

's No God Band and is a vocal activist for atheism and against psychics. *Alvin Ramirez, known as "Spicy" now going by AL-X Spicy (recording artist)

Controversy

On April 10, 2016, ''Philadelphia'' magazine published an article detailing a new feud between many of the people who were on ''Dance Party USA'' in their teens and the producer of the show.

References

External links

Dance Party USA and Dancin' On Air at Big Cartel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dance Party Usa 1986 American television series debuts 1992 American television series endings 1980s American variety television series 1990s American variety television series Dance television shows English-language television shows Television in Philadelphia USA Network original programming