[flv:https://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/wp/docs-null/2010/07/gayballroom.mp4 https://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/wp/docs-null/2010/07/ballroomboar.jpg 650 400]
Well this is just fantastic. Steve Valentine and Robert Tristan, LA-based ballroom dancers, are heading to Cologne at the end of the month to compete at the 2010 Gay Games, where they’re looking to repeat their success at Follies and La Fiesta de Montréal, Canada’s same-sex ballroom dancing championship, which they won.
“Though similar to standard ballroom, gay ballroom requires a physicality that brings unique challenges—a basic one being who will lead,” notes Raha Lewis in the LA Times Magazine. “It’s not unheard of for couples to switch off in the dominant position. Even Valentine and Tristan agree watching same-sex ballroom can take some processing. ‘The first 10 minutes is strange, but after that, you just watch the dancing,’ Tristan says. In all ballroom dance, there is undeniable sexual tension, even among platonic pairs. ‘On the dance floor, it’s like making love,’ Valentine says. ‘We work with each other’s bodies continuously.'”
Not in that way, perv. While they’re both gay, they’ve never dated each other. Or anything else, they insist.
How about we take this to the next level?
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But whatever would Nigel Lythgoe say?
TampaZeke
Um, GAY ballroom dancing?
As opposed to WHAT?
Hilarious
I can’t tell who’s leading.
Baxter
Most gay ballroom dancers I’ve met find the idea of dancing with someone of the same sex to be insulting to the art and refuse to do it.
sam
Ummm i love seeing guys dance together. And girls. It can be beautiful… but these guys are terrible… stilted and pedestrian and just…. no….
Ethan
Umm…wow thats kinda uncomfortable watching. To frilly for my tastes..Why do they have to be so outlandish? I’m all for same sex ballroom dancing, but come on boys butch it up a bit!
Ruddigore
Modern ballroom dancing is a stilted caricature of dancing in tacky costumes. Watch Dancing With The Stars, then go back and watch Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to see what dancing is supposed to be.
As for men dancing together, THIS is how it should be done (and, yes, they are brothers):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-mkR-KoPts&feature=related
Also, notice that they switch off lead during the dance.
Andrew
@Ruddigore: Ruddigore – thank you for the link to a great demonstration – those two brothers were fantastic. I do not know a lot about dance but I enjoy watching. In my humble opinion the tango is the best dance for two men to engage in. It looks natural and not forced.