Thousands gear up for the biggest White Party weekend yet.

by Jeff Katz

The ladies had their fun in the desert, and now it is the boys’ turn. So, grab your glitter and go-go boots because it is time for White Party Spring Break 2008, taking over Palm Springs April 17-20. And as if the event that is hailed as the country’s biggest gay party couldn’t get any larger, promoter Jeffrey Sanker has managed to up the ante once again—pulling from the past to make this year the biggest yet.

“It’s the 30th anniversary of disco music ... so we’re making the whole thing look like a big Studio 54, with lots of old-style disco lighting, along with some new things, too,” says Sanker of Saturday night’s namesake party, which this year has the theme of 30 years of dance music. Disco was of course a popular and favorite era for the gay community, but the anniversary and theme has special significance for Sanker, who used to work at the infamous New York nightclub. The whole evening is meant to take the men through a musical history lesson, with DJs Abel and Ralphi Rosario providing some of the soundtrack.

To that end, Sanker has also lined up a bevy of performers for the party who will be taking the stage to sing the decades’ biggest hits. “First we have Sylvester, well not the original Sylvester but Flava, who is actually portraying Sylvester in the new Harvey Milk movie. So there will be a performance by Sylvester [“You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”]. And then a performance by Jeanie Tracy [“Cha Cha Heels”], and then a performance by RuPaul [“Supermodel (You Better Work)”], and then ending the night with a big surprise performance,” Sanker says. “We’ve got something from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and then into the 2000s.

Of course the question everyone wants to know is just who is the big surprise performer. And while Sanker isn’t giving up any names, there are plenty of other musicians and performers poolside and inside to provide some music to dance to.

Broadway star and American Idol alum Frenchie Davis, along with Dirty Sexy Money’s Candis Cayne will be taking the stage during Saturday’s pool party, while Taylor Dayne hits the Sunday T-dance. And for the late night crowds, Flava will be back to perform during Saturday night’s after party, and Debbie Holiday will wrap it all up during Sunday night’s closing event.

Not enough music for you? A special Palm Springs edition of Upright Cabaret will be held on Friday night at the Viceroy Hotel. The show, not included in White Party weekend passes, will act as a benefit for the Trevor Project, and will feature special guest host Neil Patrick Harris.

But even with all the singing, dancing and divas hitting the various venues over the weekend, Sanker says the best part of the White Party doesn’t happen on a stage. “For me, its not about the talent. It’s about the weekend, the camaraderie and the spirit of White Party. Every year it is spectacular and every year it totally changes,” he says. And after 18 previous White Parties, what has been the biggest change according to Sanker: “My strength to get through the weekend. I need my sleep,” he says laughing. “Basically, it’s still a bunch of my friends getting together, dressing up in white. Now my friends just happen to add a few zeros to them—from 200 to 2,000 to 20,000.”

Another marked change this year is the addition of another party (because, really, eight just weren’t enough). If the desert heat is making you want to take your clothes off, well now you can at the White Party’s first official underwear party, Boxers or Briefs. The inaugural event hits the Wyndham Hotel Ballroom Friday night, with music by DJ Joe King and appearances by the men of Hot House Entertainment.

If it all seems a bit overwhelming, whether this is your first White Party or your 15th, Sanker says the best way to do the weekend is by leaving your anticipation at the door.

“The best thing is to be surprised and go with the flow,” Sanker says. “Get your sleep, drink a lot of water because people forget you’re in the desert and people get dehydrated, but just go in and enjoy yourself. And expect the unexpected.”

For more information on all the White Party Spring Break 2008 events, visit www.jeffreysanker.com.

Dance! Dance! Evolution

Three decades of dance music—that’s a lot of dance moves to brush up on. Lucky for you, we’ve got a crib sheet to keep your moves fresh for whatever the DJ throws at you.

by Jonathan Riggs

Ready to “Step Up 2” the White Party, are you, dear? When you’re not discussing world politics over cucumber sandwiches at high tea or in your room, quietly re-reading the complete works of the Brontës, there may come a time when you want to show off just “How She Move.”

In fact, the main event of this year is a dance party featuring hits from 1978-2008, which means you’re going to need to know how to do more than pop, lock or drop it like it’s hot!

Now, sparkledarlings, we can’t teach you how to shake dat ass, but we can give you a basic “Shut Up and Dance” primer so you won’t get served.

The Hustle
Saturday Night Fever made it famous, but somehow I have a feeling you already know how to do this one, you tramp.
Song: “The Hustle” by Van McCoy

The Thriller
Popular with waxen-faced superstars, inmates in the Philippines and Jenna Rink in 13 Going On 30.
Song: “Thriller” by Jacko.

The Humpty Dance
It’s your chance to do the hump, yo.
Song: “The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground

The Running Man
Run in place, pumping your arms. Look awesome.
Song: “Be My Lover” or anything else by La Bouche

The Roger Rabbit
Run in place, pumping your arms and twisting your steps backwards. Look awesome.
Song: “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham!

The Egyptian
Walk like one, bitch!
Song: “Walk Like An Egyptian” by the Bangles

The Hammer Dance
Combine the Running Man and Roger Rabbit, along with sideways footwork, billowing shiny pants and a repossessed mansion.
Song: “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer

Vogue
Frame your face with your hands. Adopt a Malawian child. Grow increasingly shrill, humorless and irrelevant.
Song: “Vogue” by Madge

The Jump Around
You came to get down? You came to get down? So get out your seats and jump around! You know, the way every drunk white person does whenever this song comes on.
Song: “Jump Around” by House of Pain

The Macarena
The dance that made the entire world go insane. You know how to do it; your grandmother knows how to do it; your unborn children know how to do it. AYY!
Song: “Macarena” by Los Del Rio

Krumping
Shake. Apply clown makeup. Shake some more.
Song: “Shake It Like a Salt Shaker” by the Ying Yang Twins

The Soulja Boy
Crank that! Um, there might be more to this—YouTube it!
Song: “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” by Soulja Boy or any Wilson Phillips

The Charleston
If someone starts doing this at the White Party, they’re either tweaked out of their mind or gay time travelers from the 1920s. Either way: shimmy like the stock market’s gonna fall!!
Song: Anything big band or Kid ‘N Play

The Pee Wee Herman
Everyone who came of age in the 1980s knows some variation of this strange pointing-to-the-crotch, pointing-to-the-butt, stepping-strangely-with-giant-white-shoes dance. Ha ha!
Song: “Tequila” by the Champs