Forever our girl: How Paula Abdul became and remains a queer icon

When asked to name the one queer person who’s had the greatest influence in her life, Paula Abdul doesn’t hesitate: “Joe Tremaine, one of my first dance teachers.”

Tremaine has been teaching dance for decades and has worked with some of the industry’s most iconic names—from Gene Kelly to Louis Armstrong, Liza Minnelli to Diana Ross, Cher, and, of course, Abdul herself.

She is talking to me via Zoom from her Los Angeles home ahead of being honored at the 2024 Queerties Awards with the Straight Up Ally Award for her decades of contributions to the LGBTQ+ community. Her chihuahua Batman sits in her lap. (Batman occasionally places his tiny paw on the keyboard, accidentally muting the mic. Bad Batman!)

In the 1970s, Tremaine opened

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