Keep On Dancing: 30 Years Of The Dance On The Pier

Janet, Whitney, Cher—they've all played NYC Pride's capstone event. But the real star is the community.
From: NewNowNext

 Sunday night, New York City Pride caps off with the legendary Dance on the Pier, a massive outdoor dance party where thousands of (usually shirtless) bodies groove to the beat and celebrate the unifying power of dance.

For thirty years, the Dance on the Pier has seen some of the biggest names in pop music take its stage, from Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson to Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande.

 Chris Fredrick, director of NYC Pride, remembers his first Dance on the Pier. It was 2005, years before he joined the organization, and the Pussycat Dolls were the headline performers.

“I just remember thinking how incredible it was that there was this large-scale dance event for gay men specifically,” he says. “I’ve seen marriage proposals at the Pier Dance, I’ve seen all types of stuff. It’s an event that holds a special place in my heart.”

The dance has always been more than just another circuit party—it began in 1986 as a protest of sorts set to music, at a time when LGBT people gathering to dance was itself an act of defiance. (It’s no coincidence the event takes place on the piers, a magnet for queer life in the 1960s and ’70s.)

That sense of defiance and community is especially true now, as we recover from the devastating attack on Orlando’s Pulse nightclub.

In a statement released shortly after the shooting, co-chairs Maryanne Roberto Fine and David Studinski assured the community the dance would go on, with headliner Fergie ready to give us another night to remember.

“The reason for this is simple,” they said. “We must never let those who wish to silence us win.”

 This year marks the event’s 30th anniversary—a moment for celebration, of course, but also one for reflection, as Dance on the Pier prepares for major changes.

The deterioration of Pier 54 forced the event to move to the indoor Pier 57 in 2012, and a year later it moved back under the stars to Pier 26, where it has remained. But with plans underway to develop the pier into a maritime estuarium, NYC Pride is once again on the hunt for a new home for its crowning event.

 “My motivation going forward is to create an event that is much larger than the Pier Dance, and to create an event that speaks to more parts of the community than the Pier Dance,” Fredrick explains.

“You have to think of a new generation that doesn’t necessarily need to be in one space all together at one time because they have apps, they have the Internet, they have a society that is somewhat accepting of LGBT issues—more so than 20 years ago. Whether that means it’s a multistage experience or a mulitday experience, everything is on the table going into 2017. That’s something that really excites me.”

 To Fredrick and his team, presenting an event this size always comes with unique challenges—but it’s also a unique opportunity to connect top-notch performers with the LGBT community.

Cyndy Lauper remember premiering “Sex Is in the Heel” at the Pier Dance in 2012, months before Kinky Boots opened on Broadway.

 “I absolutely loved debuting that song on the NYC Pride stage. I had the boys and the boots there with me,” she says. “I can’t believe that was four years ago already. Wow!

For Don Robinder, Whitney Houston’s appearance at the 1999 Dance on the Pier was “one of the single greatest moments in my life.”

 In those days, the headliner was a closely guarded secret, revealed only as they were about to walk onstage. There were rumors it was going to be Whitney, but there were always rumors like that.

“I’m with my friends walking in to the dance when I spied a colleague just past where the tickets were checked. He comes up, leans in and whispers in my ear, ’Whitney is confirmed.’ Of course I don’t believe him for a second, but we decide that if it was even remotely true, we should all be in front of the stage.”

“Right at 10pm, all the lights on the pier go dark and a voice comes over the speakers—’Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Whitney Houston!” recalls Robinder. “The lights come on and you hear the roar of 5,000-plus queens screaming uncontrollably. I still get goose flesh thinking about it.”

 Clad in Dolce and Gabbana, Houston broke into “It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay” and the entire pier sang along so loudly the Grammy winner could barely be heard.

“She gave up at the chorus refrains and just held her mic out into the audience,” recalls Robinder.

For others, Cher’s performance at the 2013 Dance on the Pier is one they’ll never forget.

 “The crowd and the energy and that moment right before she went onstage is something that I’ll never forget,” says Frederick. “That helped put us back on the map in terms of getting an artist that is super-high caliber. That was something that most people will never forget that attended.”

Cher certainly remembers her Pier Dance performance. “When I think back to that night at the pier I can still feel my nerves, anticipation and excitement,” she says.

“I hadn’t recorded any music in 11 years and knew the pier would be my make-or-break moment. I floated off the stage on air. I will keep that night and the pier in my heart forever.”

The 2016 Dance on the Pier takes place on Sunday, June 26, from 2-10pm at Pier 26. Get ticket information here.