A packed dance floor at a GCDC dance event, c. 1980s.

The Gay Community Dance Committee

Toronto’s Gay Community Dance Committee (GCDC) was a volunteer-run, coalition-building organization that raised funds for various LGBTQ2+ community groups by hosting hugely popular community-run dances and dividing the profits among participating groups. In the 1980s, GCDC dances funded AIDS activism, lesbian mothers’ custody battles, youth organizations, the burgeoning Canadian gay and lesbian archives, and much more.