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Imagine it: Crystal Waters<\/u><\/a>, CeCe Peniston<\/u><\/a>, Robin S<\/u><\/a> \u2014 all on one stage, one night, honoring the house music legacy they carved out in the \u201990s. <\/p>\n It\u2019s the Mount Rushmore of dance legends. And on November 20, it\u2019s actually happening. \u201cI\u2019m still kind of pinching myself,\u201d Waters tells PAPER<\/em><\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The idea formed after years of watching Europe throw glossy \u201cdance classics\u201d concerts with full orchestras. They rarely featured the original American singers behind the hits, which always stuck with her. \u201cWe\u2019re all right here in America,\u201d she remembers thinking. \u201cSomebody needs to do this here, with all the original singers.\u201d So she finally went for it, pulling together the voices that built the foundation of house music<\/p>\n And because this is New York, she knew the night needed real nightlife DNA. That\u2019s where Susanne Bartsch came in, the same figure whose world Waters stepped into back in the early \u201990s when Manhattan nightlife felt like its own planet. \u201cThere was a club on every corner,\u201d she says. \u201cI used to do three shows a night.\u201d She remembers drag queens showing her how to do her makeup, baby powder on the dance floor, coded handkerchiefs and the kind of organized chaos only old New York could produce. \u201cThe police raided a club because all the drag queens had stolen Versace from the racks outside,\u201d she laughs. \u201cEveryone came in dressed to the nines, and you\u2019d just wonder, \u2018Where did they get all this from?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That spirit \u2014 sweaty, communal, unfiltered \u2014 is what she\u2019s trying to revive. And part of that revival is correcting the narrative. \u201cPeople have kind of forgotten, or never knew, that house music started here in America,\u201d she says. Europe may have taken it global, but New York birthed the scene that made her feel like she finally belonged. \u201cWhen I found the club scene\u2026 I felt like I\u2019d found my tribe.\u201d<\/p>\n Now she\u2019s bringing the tribe back together, backed by a 30-piece orchestra. \u201cWhen you hear an orchestra playing house at 126 BPM,\u201d she says, \u201cit\u2019s something else entirely.\u201d Below, we talk with Waters about her origins, New York memories, the streaming-era shift and why now was the moment to reunite the legends.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tell me about how the idea for this event happened. Why <\/strong>now<\/em><\/strong><\/em> for this night of house legends to come together?<\/strong><\/p>\n Europe has been doing events like this for years. They throw dance classics shows with huge orchestras, but they usually only bring over one or two Americans. Every time I\u2019d see that, I\u2019d think, \u201cWe\u2019re all right here in America. We\u2019re in New York. Somebody needs to do this here, with all the original singers.\u201d Because in Europe, they often get other people to sing our songs, and I wanted the real voices on stage.<\/p>\n So this year, I just said, \u201cYou know what? That\u2019s what I want to do.\u201d I approached my team, and everybody was on board. I\u2019m still kind of pinching myself that it\u2019s actually happening. I wanted to bring all the original singers together to perform the hits the way they were meant to be heard.<\/p>\n And honestly, part of it is that people have kind of forgotten \u2014 or never knew \u2014 that house music started here in America. I\u2019ve had Europeans ask me, \u201cSo, I know dance music started in Europe\u2026 how do you feel you fit in?\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cExcuse me? Wait a minute. It didn\u2019t start there. It started here.\u201d So this show is my way of reminding people where dance music truly came from and celebrating that history while we still can.<\/p>\n It really is like the Mount Rushmore of \u201990s house icons.<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, the \u201990s were the golden age of dance. Definitely.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What\u2019s with this debate about whether house music started here or in Europe? What\u2019s the truth?<\/strong><\/p>\n The truth is that it started in Chicago, in the \u201980s \u2014 underground, underground. By the time we got to the \u201990s, my song was one of the first to cross over to radio. That\u2019s when it started to go more mainstream, at least for a couple years here, before Europe kind of took it over and spun it in a whole lot of different directions.<\/p>\n There was even a story years ago that David Guetta had \u201ccreated\u201d house music, and he never corrected anybody. The whole house community was upset about that. It became a bit of a debate. So now that house music is back in the mainstream again, I just want to make sure people know the truth. Yeah, it\u2019s huge in Europe, but it didn\u2019t start there.<\/p>\n Tell me about that time in New York. You started making music in the \u201980s, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, I wrote my first songs in the late \u201980s, but I didn\u2019t get released until \u201991.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And Susanne Bartsch is hosting this show. She was such a big part of that whole downtown nightlife and club kid world in the \u201990s. How did this collaboration come together?<\/strong><\/p>\n When I had the idea for the event, we all agreed that I needed a promoter. Someone from that era who really knew the scene. Susanne was the obvious choice. She\u2019s a legendary nightlife promoter, and we felt she\u2019d be a perfect fit. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d ever actually met her before this project, but when we connected, it made total sense. She still has her \u201990s following and a built-in community, so it just felt right.<\/p>\n And tell me about the orchestra. It\u2019s house music, but with a live orchestra. How many members are involved?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a 30-piece orchestra, though the stage only allows for so many, and I was advised to start small. So that\u2019s my plan: start a little smaller, even with the venue. But I\u2019d love to do more events like this. There are so many songs we could still bring to life with this setup. I already have plans for the next one. I just need to get this one done first! <\/p>\n Do you have any deep-cut favorites from that era? Songs that aren\u2019t as obvious as the big hits?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, there\u2019s one by Amuka called \u201cAppreciate Me,\u201d which was one of my favorites. I\u2019m really happy I got to include her on this lineup. Duane Harden\u2019s \u201cYou Don\u2019t Know Me\u201d is another great one. I\u2019ve heard some of the orchestration on that already, and it sounds beautiful. There were also a few people I wanted to include who aren\u2019t with us anymore, so that pushed me to make this happen now \u2014 while we\u2019re all still here to do it together and get it recorded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It feels like the perfect time to make it happen. What was it like performing live in New York back then in the early \u201990s?<\/strong><\/p>\n Oh, it was wild. Back then, there was a club on every corner in Manhattan. I used to do three shows a night. Not just me, but 10 or 20 other acts too. It was basically 24 hours. You could go to a club at midnight and stay until noon. People would go grab breakfast and come back, or take a nap and then head back out. It was a different time.<\/p>\n People went out just to dance and be part of a community. There were no VIPs, no bottle service. I remember having a hard time just getting a beer in some places. There\u2019d be baby powder on the dance floor, handkerchiefs with different meanings in people\u2019s back pockets, towels for the sweat\u2026 it was its own culture.<\/p>\n You had drag queens, straight people, ball kids, fashion people \u2014 everybody mixing together. Back then, they used to push all the fashion racks up and down Fifth Avenue, and people would steal from them. I remember one night, the police raided a club because all the drag queens had stolen Versace from the racks outside. Everyone came in dressed to the nines, and you\u2019d just wonder, \u201cWhere did they get all this from?\u201d<\/p>\n Social media didn\u2019t exist back then, so those clubs were kind of the social media \u2014 where you\u2019d be seen, show your outfit, make connections.<\/strong><\/p>\n Exactly. And they had the houses. I remember learning about that when I first got up here. I had no idea at the time. This was when a lot of people were getting put out of their homes for being gay, so the houses were formed with a mother and a father who would take them in. It was a whole world, and a learning experience for me too.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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