Magick

Saturday, October 26, 1985
The Concert Hall

“The GCDC dances at the Masonic Temple offered folks a ‘party palace’ atmosphere where you could dance to disco and current hits on the main level, new wave and alternative on the lower level, or sit and watch the main level dance floor from the balcony. The space was large compared to local clubs and there were lots of opportunities to cruise and meet new people—a hard feat considering Toronto’s gay scene wasn’t always noted for being friendly.”

- Bob Harrison Drue, GCDC DJ

GCDC dances offered attendees an experience that was quite different from dancing at local bars and clubs. Based on our research, there were three aspects of GCDC dances that differentiated the experience from what someone might get at a for-profit bar in the city. 

First: GCDC dances were unmatched in terms of their sheer size. The average attendance at GCDC dances at this time was 1,910 people per dance, according to the organisation's 1985 annual report. As Ron Merko explains, “the largest bar with a dance floor at that time would have been able to hold maybe 300 people, whereas the GCDC would pack thousands of people in the Masonic Temple.” 

Second: the fact that profits from GCDC dances went back to the community made attending these dances a very different experience from spending money at a private, for-profit bar. In 1985 alone, GCDC dances raised $42,143.66 in funds for the gay and lesbian community. Merko tells us that “there were some people that went to GCDC dances but wouldn’t ever go to bars.” Many of the people we spoke with about the GCDC suggest that the communal nature of GCDC events made them more attractive for activists who were critical of private, for-profit spaces. 

Third: GCDC events were organized in such a way that a diverse community of lesbian and gay participants would attend. The fact that GCDC dances were attended by both women and men was no small feat, and the venue itself allowed for creative approaches to attract multiple communities within the broader LGBTQ2+ collective. The physical makeup of the venue meant that two dance floors could invite different forms of musical participation. As Deb Parent recalls,  “the fact that GCDC dances only happened a few times a year made it a special event” that lesbians and gays in the city didn’t want to miss. She also suggests that the infrequent nature of the dances meant that it attracted different generations of lesbians and gays which was part of what made GCDC dances so special. She explains that, while some women might be able to go out to bars every weekend, “that was hard economically for many women to sustain as a regular practice.” Occasional GCDC events, she explains, were much more accessible. 

“At GCDC dances we were all there in the same place. The A-gays didn't feel like they were at a loser place and the movement people felt they were part of this larger gay scene. I remember having a sense that this was big, it was well put together--not part of a hidden world anymore. It was a regular kind of place where we were part of the community and this was a nice space we were in, so there was a sense of that and I was aware of that evolution from the '70s into a place that we could have something like GCDC in the '80s. And still maintain this community fundraising aspect to it, which was important."

- Ed Jackson, GCDC Participant