Take your partners

Take your partners

JJs Dance will hold its eighth annual same-sex dance championship on August 30 for couples who love to ballroom dance as well as those who just like to watch.

Tickets are $25 which allow you to either take part as an entrant or just watch in awe from the sidelines until the competition finishes and the general dance party begins.

Club president Maree O’Halloran says that the hugely popular event is really open for anyone with a passion for dance.

There would be people who have been practising for weeks in the lead-up to this, O’Halloran assures.

There are couples who take it very seriously but that doesn’t mean that people who are new to dancing should feel left out. There are special rounds on the night where new dancers can register to dance with a more experienced person. We want them to join in on the night. Everyone can have a go, it’s not as hard as you think.

After the official competition, prizes will be given for best ballroom and Latin couples, which will be followed by an all-inclusive dance party for one and all.

We get a really mixed crowd, particularly with the spectators, O’Halloran said.

There are gay and lesbian people but there are usually a lot of straight friends there offering support. It really took off after the ballroom event at the Sydney Gay Games and we try to recreate that same atmosphere of inclusiveness and energy each year.

The most enjoyable part of the night and of the sport though is the fact that it is same-sex couples. It allows you to dance with your partner and make a very public statement about your relationship and commitment to each other. Even more so than other GLBT sports, it really does make a public declaration of being together, which I think can be quite a liberating thing for the couples involved.

info: The same-sex dance championship will be held on August 30 from 5.30pm at the Petersham Town Hall. Tickets are now on sale for $25. Email [email protected] to book tickets or group tables.

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