Big crowds at Dance Spectacular

With a bigger venue, more seats and a bigger dance space than last year, hundreds of dancers crowded the floor between competition events at the Same Sex Dance Spectacular last Saturday night. The Botany RSL Club might lack glittering chandeliers but there were sparkle and glamour aplenty in the sequined costumes and flashing smiles of the dancers.

Competitor numbers were down a little on last year, rendering one or two of the awards a little less meaningful, but there was no shortage of the enthusiasm and the support that is typical of our dance community. Plenty showed no objection to the standing-room-only situation and the applause and cheers were spontaneous and heartfelt throughout the night.

Jessie and Andi travelled from Byron Bay to compete. There’s nothing in Byron Bay, as you might imagine, Jessie said. The pair started dancing about 18 months ago because they wanted to go to the Outgames in Montr? and now intend to compete as often as they can.

Gary and Nicolas have been dancing together for several years and gained a stack of medals this time round. Like many of the couples they are dance partners only, not life partners. Gary says the competitions are quite nerve-racking but it’s fun when they are over. Nicolas agrees: Training is once a week when there is no competition but we have just trained together for about six weeks with some professional instruction to help polish our routines, he says. It’s quite demanding. The pair have been dance partners for only eight weeks but earlier competitions provided the skills and their dance teacher suggested they train together.

Jane and Sue are Sydneysiders, with years of experience between them, who paired up as dance partners about 18 months ago. We try to get to every same-sex dance comp in Australia, Jane says, but we didn’t make it to Melbourne this year. They will be there next year for the Asia Pacific Outgames. Their dancing skills are the result of 10 hours’ training each week and they look as fit as any athletes -“ apparently a satisfactory result for each of their life partners. Jane would encourage anyone to join the sport. It’s great for the body, great for the soul and great for the mind, she says.

It’s the most fun exercising that doesn’t feel as if you’re exercising. Sue says. It’s really the only sport where you are saying, -˜Look at me, I’m gay.’ You’re telling a gay story and at the same time being sexy as a partnership. Is that difficult? Sue says she feels the nerves. It’s like being actresses telling a story, we fool everybody. Judges have had to change their viewpoint because now we both lead and follow in the same dance, something they don’t have to contend with in mainstream competition.

Beth and Noella, medal winners from the Montr? Outgames, were there too, showing off their skills with amazing presence in demonstrations of ballroom and Latin. There were people from other cities apart from Sydney. Leanne Bampton from Dancing with the Stars was judging and other judges flew in from as far away as Cairns, Melbourne and New Zealand.

Just to show how accessible the sport is, Joey and Tom had been dancing for only a few weeks before competing. Tom says, This is a nice, relaxed event with everyone getting on with each other. We’re here to have fun.

They had fun but perhaps weren’t up to the Argentine tango. The slinky movements of that dance take a lot of practice to get right. There were plenty of dancers for a demonstration of the art, with more men in suits than you would see at any other gay and lesbian event.

Men were doing tango with other men in Argentina back at the beginning of the last century. They’d press their thighs together, close in with their chests, lay heads at intimate angles and rock seductively. Good dancers were then, as now, found attractive and whores were too expensive as partners for dance practice, so the local men took to practising together, perfecting the moves to impress the ladies later each evening. It was same-sex dancing with nothing homosexual about it at all. The Argentine tango has variously be repressed and lauded but now it’s back and the couples at the Same Sex Dance Spectacular showed their tango was never intended as practice for later. Or, indeed, for dancing with members of the opposite sex.

When the medals had been presented there was no suggestion that the party was over. Dance may be a sport but, when the training is done, there is a heap of fun to be had. No longer do same-sex dancers have to proclaim they are different from the straight world; these days they have enough confidence to identify with their sport as well as their community.

If you want to join in this growing sport, there are classes at DanceDance with Hot to Foxtrot every Sunday in Randwick. Call Virginia 0409 596 330, David 0418 586 674 or email [email protected].