Some kids in the 80s dreamed about being on TV. Bobby Catalano actually was — five days a week, dancing in front of a cable audience that stretched across the entire tri-state area. If you grew up watching Dance Party USA, you didn’t need a last name. He was just Bobby.

Bobby Catalano was a regular on Dance Party USA — first on the air in 1985 — who went on to host the show from 1989 to 1991, and today he co-hosts Bobby and Jason’s Awesome 80s Podcast — the same 80s-obsessed energy, now pointed at the whole decade instead of one dance floor. He came up through the studio the way the best regulars did: as one of the kids on the floor first, and behind the microphone second.

From the dance floor to the host chair

Dance Party USA ran on the USA Network from 1986 to 1992, filmed in Philadelphia with production offices in Camden, New Jersey — squarely in Bobby’s tri-state backyard. Bobby was first on the air in 1985, coming up through Philadelphia’s Dancin’ On Air before Dance Party USA went national — a regular, one of the core on-camera kids fans tuned in specifically to watch. Then, from 1989 to 1991, he moved up to hosting duties alongside co-host Heather “Princess” Day.

That’s a real arc: kid on the floor to host of the show. It’s the kind of thing that only happened to the regulars who had genuine on-camera presence, and it made Bobby one of the faces of the show during its peak years.

The lip-sync legend

The show’s format leaned hard on lip-sync performances, and Bobby’s are the ones fans still bring up decades later — the spotlight numbers where a regular got the floor to themselves and sold a hit song to the camera. Ask longtime viewers and you’ll hear about specific performances, sunglasses-and-all, that stuck in their memory the way only 80s TV can. That’s the mark of a real regular: people didn’t just watch the show, they watched him.

The phenomenon he was part of

It’s worth remembering just how big Dance Party USA was in its corner of the world. It aired daily on the USA Network for six years, built on freestyle music and a floor of real teenagers rather than professional performers — and in the Philadelphia and tri-state area, its regulars were genuine local celebrities, recognized in public and followed by fans. Being one of the show’s hosts during its peak meant Bobby was one of the faces a whole region tuned in to see, five days a week. That’s the foundation everything he does now is built on: not a fan looking back at the 80s, but someone who was actually on camera in the middle of them.

Bobby Catalano now

These days Bobby channels all of that 80s energy into Bobby and Jason’s Awesome 80s Podcast and this site, bobbyandjason.com, alongside his longtime friend and co-conspirator Jason Pascoe — who was right there on Dance Party USA with him. He’s the resident superfan who’s proudly, permanently stuck in the best parts of the decade.

The through-line is simple: the kid who danced his way onto tri-state TV never actually left the 80s. He just found a bigger stage to celebrate it from. (For a pure show-era angle on the shades and the lightning lip-syncs, WatchParty USA keeps a Bobby profile in its Dance Party USA archive.)

FAQ

Who is Bobby Catalano?
Bobby Catalano is a former Dance Party USA regular and host who now co-hosts Bobby and Jason’s Awesome 80s Podcast and runs bobbyandjason.com.

When was Bobby Catalano on Dance Party USA?
He was first on the air in 1985, became one of the show’s regulars, and served as one of its hosts from 1989 to 1991.

What is Bobby Catalano doing now?
He co-hosts an 80s nostalgia podcast with Jason Pascoe, celebrating the music, movies, TV, and pop culture of the decade.

Did Bobby Catalano host Dance Party USA?
Yes — after coming up as a dancer, he hosted from 1989 to 1991, alongside co-host Heather “Princess” Day.

Where is Bobby Catalano from?
He’s a tri-state-area guy — Dance Party USA was a Philadelphia–South Jersey production, and its biggest audience was right there in the region he called home.

Bobby’s story is one half of the act — meet his co-conspirator in our Jason Pascoe on Dance Party USA profile, or go back to the beginning with what Dance Party USA was.