Video of the Week - Same Sex Ballroom Dancing!

Hi gang! Well, I have to admit.. I'm a little saddened that I have yet to receive any ballroom video's for my new Video of the week segment. So SEND THEM! We want to see you dance! I will however take this opportunity to introduce to you another aspect of ballroom that really isn't explored too much in my ballroom world. It has appeared recently in audition episodes of So You Think You Can Dance though... Same Sex Ballroom Dancing. (SSBR)

I'm actually very interested in this genre... I have found that there are quite a few competitions that feature SSBR and it is an event in the World Out Games too. Although... it is important to mention that just because it is Same Sex Ballroom, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a "Gay Only" kind of activity. Conversely regular "Male/Female" ballroom isn't necessarily a "Straight Only" kind of activity. I've always thought of dancing... no matter the style as a "people" activity... anyone can do it.. with anyone else... and regardless of gender or gender preference I love watching a good performance.

Now mostly when you look up "Same Sex Ballroom Dancing" in YouTube or some other kind of video hosting site...you will find mostly Men dancing with each other, however there is also a plethora of videos out there that showcase Women dancing with each other as well.

So.. that brings me to why I am fascinated by SSBR... well it's simple.. in the Latin in particular the dancers switch following and leading roles... which I find really cool and definitely adds a complexity to the choreography. For the Standard dancing I have found... it actually is easier for me to focus on the technique of the dancers..when in most cases they are dressed alike...

The two videos I am choosing to showcase this week are examples of these two styles... both happen to feature Male couples... I'll showcase the Female couples in another Video of the Week segment some time in the future...




Final Round Men's Standard Foxtrtot, World Same-Sex Dance Championship, Budapest, 21 0ctober 2006. In addition to the couples that are dressed alike.. I must admit that I LOVE the orange Tail suit with the float...way to think outside the box! (It even has stoning!)



Willem DeVries and Jacob Jason dance their victory dance, a Samba after winning the Gold Medal for USA at The World Out Games in Montreal. This is actually the couple that auditioned on So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 and made the judges a tad uncomfortable :-)

Speaking of... if the World Out Games has Ballroom as an event... why can't the Olympics???

Enjoy!