Review: Dance on the Pier 2009
"Sun block or umbrella?" I pondered as I prepared to launch myself into the streets for the annual gay high holiday. Feeling optimistic, I chose sun block SPF 30, and good thing too: after a relentlessly gloomy June, the rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sun shone down on New York City for Gay Pride Day.
After celebrating the 40 years of progress that the GLBT community has made since the Stonewall Riots, whether at the march down Fifth Avenue or at any number of events throughout the city, thousands converged on Manhattan's Pier 54 for Heritage of Pride's Dance on the Pier 23. This afternoon-into-evening event was the climax of the week, and was pure party time: dancing was the main event here, not politicizing.
Seen in the crowd were hunky fashion designer Jack Mackenroth (Project Runway) and a very glittery Jesse Archer ("A Four Letter Word"), along with every single other muscle and beauty queen in the city.
The legendary pier was packed with a mix of khaki shorted couples, sparkly drag queens, hip shaking lesbians, smiling twinkie boys, and a swarming sea of shirtless muscle men. Why it was nearly impossible to push through the crowd without pressing up against some furry, sweaty wall of pecs, but somehow I managed!
The music was served up by a trio of talented DJs: Phillip Kimball and Jack Reina got the crowd moving for Round One with tracks including Abba's "I Hear the Visitors" (Manny Lehman mix) and "All We Need" by Discofunk.
Corey Craig threw down a more electro vibe for Round Two, swirling the dance floor with the Lady Gaga vs Journey "Don't Stop Just Dance" mash up, "Bad 2009 Electro Funk Mix" (We miss you Michael!) and one of the hot songs of summer, "When Love Takes Over" (David Guetta feat Kelly Rowland). When a few drops were felt (only a few!), he played a fierce mix of Annie Lennox's "Here Comes the Rain Again."
As dusk settled on the writhing crowd, the lights by Guy Smith came into their own. Synchronized flashes of color and strobes played along with the music; in addition, a stage full of fan dancers was bathed in black light, morphing their swirling fabrics into a psychedelic rainbow of motion. So retro--and so fabulous!
It was a well put-together event, and there was a refreshing lack of messiness on view. Only the occasional queen tripping over her own feet, no doubt due to exhaustion (um-hmm). The problem with Dance 23 was the entertainment. First up was Kat DeLuna, midway through Round Two. DeLuna had a solid dance hit with the reggaeton flavored "Whine Up" and was sexy in a spangly silver corset, but has no stage presence (at least not yet). She couldn't hold the crowd's attention, especially with dreadful stage patter like "Don't I look hot? Not your type I guess". Oh girl, please. Not during Pride.
The real letdown was the main performer. In past years, divas wowing the crowd at the dance have included Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and J. Lo. This year we got... Sabrina Johnson. Um....who? Okay, I actually knew who she was, but you could almost feel the air go out of the crowd.
She was lovely, and actually gave a wonderful performance of her 1991 club hit "Peace in the Valley," but when she hit the stage, there was a mass exodus to the exit. Those who stayed to the end were treated to a spectacular display of fireworks, colorfully mirrored in the waters of the Hudson River.
Overall, Dance on the Pier 23 was a bumping, thumping finale to another historic Gay Pride week in Gotham. All proceeds from the Dance on the Pier benefit New York City's LGBT Pride Week events and community organizations.