Before he was one half of the voice you hear talking about the 80s every week, Jason Pascoe was living the 80s out loud — on a Philadelphia soundstage, on national cable, dancing to the same songs everybody in the tri-state area had on their radio.

Jason Pascoe was a regular on Dance Party USA from 1986 to 1988 — the USA Network teen dance show that ran from 1986 to 1992 — and today he co-hosts Bobby and Jason’s Awesome 80s Podcast alongside his fellow Dance Party USA alum, Bobby Catalano. He didn’t just study the decade from the outside — he was one of the kids inside the studio, part of the show that a whole generation of East Coast teenagers rushed home to watch.

One of the regulars

Dance Party USA was built on its dancers. The show filmed in Philadelphia, with production offices in Camden, New Jersey, and it filled the floor with photogenic, high-energy teenagers who danced and lip-synced to the current hits. The regulars were the whole draw — viewers had favorites, learned their moves, and treated them like the local celebrities they became across the tri-state area.

Jason was one of those regulars, on the floor with Bobby Catalano from 1986 to 1988. For two Jersey kids, being on a nationally cablecast dance show wasn’t an abstract brush with fame — it was after-school life, and it’s exactly why the decade still lives in their bones.

Why it stuck

Plenty of people love the 80s. Very few actually danced their way through it on TV. That’s the difference Jason brings to everything he does now: this isn’t nostalgia learned from a documentary, it’s lived memory. He was in the room — the lights, the crowd, the lip-syncs, the songs — and that first-hand connection is the engine behind the podcast he co-hosts today.

Remember when being a regular on the local dance show made you a minor celebrity in your own hometown? For the tri-state kids who watched Dance Party USA, the dancers on that floor were the coolest people around.

From the floor to the mic

The bridge from Dance Party USA to the podcast isn’t a stretch — it’s the same instinct, decades apart. The show was built on real teenagers dancing to freestyle and the current hits on daily national cable, and its regulars became familiar faces across the tri-state area. Jason was part of that world, and the enthusiasm that put him in the studio as a kid is the same enthusiasm that now has him breaking down the decade’s music, movies, and TV every week. Where a lot of nostalgia is secondhand, his is lived — he was in the studio, under the lights, for the real thing.

Jason Pascoe now

Today Jason co-hosts Bobby and Jason’s Awesome 80s Podcast and this site, bobbyandjason.com, turning that firsthand 80s experience into a running celebration of the decade’s music, movies, TV, and pop culture. The studio became a microphone, and the same kid who lip-synced to the hits on cable now breaks them down for a new audience. Some people grow out of the 80s. Jason just kept the party going.

FAQ

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

Was Jason Pascoe on Dance Party USA?
Yes — he was one of the show’s regulars from 1986 to 1988, during its run on the USA Network.

What is Jason Pascoe doing now?
He co-hosts an 80s nostalgia podcast celebrating the decade’s music, movies, television, and pop culture.

How does Jason Pascoe know Bobby Catalano?
The two were both on Dance Party USA together — Bobby as a regular and later host, Jason as a regular — and they’ve teamed up again as podcast co-hosts.

Where is Dance Party USA from?
It was a Philadelphia–South Jersey production, filmed in Philly with offices in Camden, New Jersey, which is why it was such a big deal in the tri-state area Jason and Bobby come from.

Jason’s other half is just a click away — read our Bobby Catalano profile, or step back onto the floor with the Dance Party USA dancers.

Most TV shows are made by the people you never see. Dance Party USA was the opposite — the whole show was the people you saw. No script, no professional choreography, no Hollywood cast. Just a floor full of real teenagers, and the ones who came back every day became something the tri-state area had never quite seen before: famous kids from down the block.

The Dance Party USA dancers were regular teens, not professional performers — the show deliberately used everyday kids instead of trained dancers, actors, or writers, and its most consistent regulars became genuine local celebrities across the Philadelphia and tri-state area. That authenticity was the entire point. You didn’t watch polished pros; you watched kids who looked exactly like your friends, and you picked favorites.

Real kids, not a cast

Here’s the thing that separated Dance Party USA from a slick network production: it had no cast in the traditional sense. The show didn’t hire actors, writers, or professional dancers. It filled the studio with ordinary teenagers and let them dance to the hits, and that unforced realness is exactly why it worked. The awkwardness, the confidence, the invented moves — all of it was real, because the kids were real.

That’s also why the regulars mattered so much. When there’s no script, the personalities are the show.

The regulars and their nicknames

The standout dancers earned on-camera nicknames and loyal followings — the kind of shorthand fame that meant viewers tuned in to see specific people. Names like Heather “Princess” Day, Alvin “Spicy” Ramirez, Tyrone “Mr. Mitch” Mitchell, and Romeo King became familiar to daily viewers, while fan favorite Heather Henderson was known to everyone simply as “Baby Heather.” These weren’t stage names handed out by producers — they were identities the audience latched onto.

Among those regulars were two Jersey kids named Bobby Catalano and Jason Pascoe. Bobby came up through the floor and rose to host the show from 1989 to 1991; Jason danced right alongside him. Decades later, the two turned those years into Bobby and Jason’s Awesome 80s Podcast — you can read Bobby’s full story here and Jason’s here.

Remember when being a Dance Party USA regular meant getting recognized at the mall in your own hometown? For the tri-state kids who watched, the dancers on that floor were the coolest people around — and they were reachable, local, real.

Local fame, real memories

The regulars got fan mail. They got stopped in public. In a region where the show was a genuine phenomenon, being one of its dancers was a real kind of stardom — smaller than Hollywood, but somehow more personal, because the fans were neighbors. That’s the magic Dance Party USA bottled: it made celebrities out of the kid next door, and it gave a whole generation the feeling that TV was something you could actually be part of.

And if the regulars are who you came for, WatchParty USA’s regulars archive keeps show-era profiles of the whole crew.

FAQ

Were the Dance Party USA dancers professionals?
No. The show deliberately used regular teenagers rather than professional dancers, actors, or writers — that everyday authenticity was central to its appeal.

How did dancers become regulars on the show?
Consistent dancers who kept coming back and connected with the audience became regulars, earning on-camera nicknames and their own followings among daily viewers.

Who were some famous Dance Party USA regulars?
Regulars included Heather “Princess” Day, Alvin “Spicy” Ramirez, Tyrone “Mr. Mitch” Mitchell, Romeo King, and “Baby Heather” Henderson, plus Bobby Catalano, who rose from regular to host.

Did the dancers become local celebrities?
Yes. In the Philadelphia and tri-state area where the show was hugely popular, the regular dancers were recognized in public and received fan mail — real, if regional, stardom.

Are any Dance Party USA dancers still active today?
Several stay connected to the show’s legacy. Former regulars Bobby Catalano and Jason Pascoe now co-host an 80s nostalgia podcast built on their years on the show.

The dancers made the show — now hear it from two of them in our Bobby Catalano profile, or go back to what Dance Party USA was.

If you were a teenager in the tri-state area in the late 80s, there was a good chance you rushed home, flipped on cable, and watched a studio full of kids your own age dance to the exact songs playing on your radio. That was Dance Party USA — and for a whole generation up and down the East Coast, it was appointment television before anyone used that phrase.

Dance Party USA was a daily teen dance show that aired on the USA Network from April 12, 1986 to June 27, 1992, filmed in Philadelphia, where a rotating cast of teenage regulars danced and lip-synced to the day’s biggest hits. It was the cable cousin of the older Philly dance program Dancin’ On Air, it minted local celebrities out of ordinary suburban kids, and it served as an early launchpad for future television stars.

The format: your friends, on TV, dancing to your music

The premise was beautifully simple. Fill a studio with photogenic, high-energy teenagers, cue up the current chart hits, and let them dance. Regulars had signature moves, on-camera nicknames, and fans who tuned in specifically to see them. There were lip-sync performances, spotlight dances, and the kind of unforced, sweaty fun that a modern reality producer would kill to fake. The exact records that ruled the studio floor are in our Dance Party USA songs rundown.

It started as a half-hour show in 1986 and was expanded to a full hour in 1987 once the audience took hold. The production was rooted in the Philadelphia–South Jersey corridor — the studios were WPHL-TV (channel 17) and WGBS in Philadelphia, with production offices across the river in Camden, New Jersey. That geography is why the show hit hardest in the tri-state area: these weren’t distant Hollywood kids, they were the kids from the next town over.

The hosts: Dave Raymond, Andy Gury, and a young Bobby Catalano

The show’s first host was Dave Raymond, a name Philadelphia sports fans know for a completely different reason — Raymond was the original performer inside the Phillie Phanatic costume. Andy Gury took over the main hosting duties for much of the run (1986–89, and again in 1992).

Then, from 1989 to 1991, one of the show’s own regulars stepped up to host: Bobby Catalano — yes, the same Bobby who now co-hosts Bobby and Jason’s Awesome 80s Podcast and this very site. He came up through the studio as a regular — first on the air in 1985 — and ended up in front of the camera as one of its hosts. The full then-and-now is in our Bobby Catalano story. His friend and co-conspirator, Jason Pascoe, was there too, as one of the show’s regulars from 1986 to 1988. Jason’s Dance Party USA story gets its own telling too. Two Jersey kids who lived the show from the inside — which is exactly why the 80s still feels like home turf to them.

Remember when the biggest flex in your town wasn’t being on national TV — it was being on Dance Party USA and having kids recognize you at the mall? For the regulars, that local fame was very, very real.

The regulars and dancers everyone remembers get their own roll call in our Dance Party USA dancers rundown.

Why it mattered

Dance Party USA sat in a lineage that runs from American Bandstand through Soul Train and Solid Gold — the great American tradition of putting real dancers on TV and letting the music do the rest. We mapped that whole family tree in our guide to 80s teen dance shows. What made it special wasn’t polish; it was proximity. The dancers looked like your classmates because, in the tri-state area, they basically were. It also proved to be a genuine launchpad: some of its teenage regulars went on to real television careers, and you can follow those threads in our Dance Party USA cast: where are they now? rundown. It ran for six years, survived the shift from half-hour to hour, and left behind a very specific, very warm memory for everyone who grew up watching it.

And you don’t have to settle for reading about it: a 24/7 broadcast of classic Dance Party USA episodes streams free at WatchParty USA. Their archive also keeps a complete guide to the show if you want every detail in one place.

FAQ

When did Dance Party USA air?
It ran daily on the USA Network from April 12, 1986 to June 27, 1992.

Where was Dance Party USA filmed?
In Philadelphia, at the WPHL-TV (channel 17) and WGBS studios, with production offices in Camden, New Jersey.

Who hosted Dance Party USA?
Dave Raymond was the original host, followed by Andy Gury for much of the run. Bobby Catalano hosted from 1989 to 1991 after coming up as one of the show’s regulars.

How long was each episode?
It began as a half-hour show in 1986 and was expanded to a full hour in 1987 as its audience grew.

Is Dance Party USA related to Dancin’ On Air?
Yes — Dance Party USA followed the same format as the earlier Philadelphia show Dancin’ On Air, and for a time the two shared studio space, regulars, and even a weekly radio spot.

Is Dance Party USA on anywhere today?
There’s no official streaming home, but a devoted fan community keeps clips, episodes, and reunions alive online, and several former cast members — including Bobby and Jason — still celebrate the show today.

Dance Party USA is one corner of a whole decade of pop culture we love — start with our 80s pop culture icons guide, or find out where the Dance Party USA cast is now.

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.