The Dance Party USA Archive

The dancers, the regulars, and the history of the USA Network's Dance Party USA, plus the one thing Facebook groups can't give you: the footage itself, playing 24/7.

Dance Party USA ran on the USA Network through the late 1980s and into the '90s, a Philadelphia-born teen dance show that turned its everyday regulars into small-screen celebrities. This archive collects who they were on the show and points you to where the episodes still play.

Start here

• Dance Party USA, The Complete GuideHistory, hosts, format, and cast of the whole show.
• The Full Cast RosterEvery host and the best-known regulars, in one place.
• The Regulars of Dance Party USAThe regulars who were the real stars, and where they are now.

The people

• Kelly RipaThe teenage regular who became a daytime-TV star.
• Bobby Catalano, The Man Behind The ShadesThe sunglasses, the lip-syncs, regular turned co-host.
• The Princess, Heather DayCo-host of the show's early-'90s peak.
• Lillian NarodowskiPermed hair, tube tops, and Madonna lip-syncs.
• Jason PascoeA regular who still turns up alongside Bobby today.

The dance floor

• The DancersEveryday teens who became small-screen stars.
• Couples & PairingsThe chemistry the camera kept coming back to.
• The MusicThe pop, freestyle, and lip-syncs of the floor.

History & trivia

• Where Was It Filmed?The Philadelphia studio behind the show.
• Dance Party USA in 1986The first year: the launch, the shared set, the 7 PM strip.
• Dance Party USA in 1987The golden year: the expansion, the peak of the run.
• Dance Party USA in 1988Theme days, boardwalk remotes, and the turn.
• Dance Party USA in 1989The year the hosts changed.
• Dance Party USA in 1990Kelly Ripa's crossover year.
• Dance Party USA in 1992The final season.
• The Night Nine Inch Nails Played Dance Party USAThe 1989 booking that started as a joke and resurfaced in 2012.

Dancin' On Air

• Dancin' On Air, The Complete GuideThe Philly original that launched Madonna's first TV spot.
• Dance Party USA vs. Dancin' On AirSame creators, two shows, the lineage explained.

Beyond the dance floor

• The Dance Shows of the 80sSolid Gold, Club MTV, American Bandstand, Puttin' on the Hits, and where Dance Party USA fits in the genre.
• The 80s TV LibrarySaturday mornings, the after-school cartoons, and the making-of stories behind the shows of the decade.

Still talking about it

Two of the show's regulars, Bobby Catalano and Jason Pascoe, host the Awesome 80s Podcast, covering the music, movies, TV, and memories of the decade.

Everything in this archive plays somewhere, and the somewhere is the room.