by Jim Provenzano
June 2003

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As downtown Sydney's skyscrapers light up by nightfall, they reveal a strange sight; flocks of moth-eating bats hovering over each illuminated building.

And like moths to a flame, fans flocked to Town Hall for the evening's ballroom dancing finals.

The terpsichorean sport's inclusion in the Games may result in smirks from more traditional jocks, but it only takes a few moments to see the athletic flair of ballroom dancers. The ornate Town Hall and its balcony offers the perfect setting to view swirling, tangoing, and fox-trotting male and female couples in dazzling costumes.

Canadian Steve Groleau may well be the "Billy Elliot" of Ottowa. When his parents would come home from dance lessons, he and his sister imitated them at home, often recalling routines better than their Mum and Dad.

Despite his obvious love of dance, the Quebecois struggled with finding an expressive outlet in the land where for boys ice hockey is practically mandatory. After getting a degree is psychology, he told his family that financial success was not his priority, and dancing was all he wanted to do.

After several years of partnering with a woman, he gradually came out, started a Ballroom school for adults, and began seriously considering a Games competition.

Meeting fellow Canadian Michael Donovan over a year ago secured their goals. "We're ready for all five dances, but we'll see how it goes."

Hopefully more Canadians will be interested in the event for Gay Games VII in Montreal. Forty other Ottawa residents competed in other sports.

"We've never competed together," said Donovan, "since we have nothing like this back home, so for me, it's a lot of preparation for one show. This is as close to being a real Olympian as we'll get, so it's a great experience."

DANCEHALL GALS
Barbara Zoloth competed in ballroom dancing in Sydney and has danced around the San Francisco Area for years. She started as a kid, in Florida.

"I'd always loved partners dancing, but I wanted to lead," she said. "It felt better. Dancing is a really interesting metaphor for life. I like to know where I'm going."

A year ago, she started dancing with partner Zoe Balfour, who runs a Friday night women's dance in Oakland. Zoloth and Balfour won a silver medal in modern B grade level D.

"We figured we have a good chance, but we didn't expect to get a medal." Balfour also competed in the Latin over-45 Women's category, and won another silver medal.

"We both wanted to compete, so we did together," said Zoloth. "We competed in smooth and modern. Zoe also competed in Latin with another partner."

In a brief minute and half, a swift array of skills have to be displayed, while watching out for the other competitors whirling around the dance floor.

"Most everybody goes through the routine more than once in a minute," she said. "It's defined by the walls, however many times you go around the room."

Zoloth said it's harder in the earlier rounds, because of the traffic. Courting the attention of judges, who walk around the dance floor, is expected, but shouldn't mar a pair's technique.

The trained eye can see more experienced dancers switching roles in the middle of a routine.

"That is specifically unique to same-sex dancing, something that we invented," said Zoloth. "The creativity - how to switch and make it look smooth in the middle of the dance - is what makes it different."

With so many dancers returning from Sydney enthused, another ballroom event is scheduled in San Jose July 2003. Over forty dancers from the Bay Area competed in Sydney, and many will compete there.

Of course, costumes play a festive part in the dance competitions. Zoloth wore simple tuxedo pants with a shirt and vest, while her partner Balfour donned "a few fancy dresses."

Along with the sheer pleasure of dancing, Zoloth agrees that it doe make a statement.

"I think it's a political event," she said. "It's very hard to go out into the straight dance world where your orientation doesn't matter."

BALLROOM BRITS
Bahamas-born UK resident Ian Poitier competed with his boyfriend, also from the UK. Many competitors compete with their partners. They were one of 18 British dance teams.

"It's hell if you do, and hell if you don't," Poitier laughed. "We rehearse so much, so it's easier if your partner is also your partner. Some people don't, and their lovers are out every night."

Poitier packs years of ballet and jazz training into his experience. "I retired eight years ago, and this is a new lease on life," he said. "We meet new people, outside of the bars and clubbing scenes, which is great."

How do they get all the required moves into a 90-second routine?

"That's the ingenuity of it," Poitier said. "You have to make it look choreographically interesting as well as show your stuff. The main things they judge are how you dance together. It's not about going out and being flashy."

GOWNING STREET
Not that a bit of flash didn't wow the fans.
German male competitor Thorsten Reulen and his partner got raves for their full-length black and blue skirts, which weren't exactly drag, so much as "a little bit science fiction-like."

Even in the progressive event with same-sex partners, they managed to ruffle a few feathers. "We were told of a rumor that we might not reach the finals if we wore them," said Reulen. "So we wore pants for semi-finals."

Their bold fashion statement looked fantastic, defying the irony that while women often wear pants and tuxedos, a pair of gowns on men can still be radical.

Or, as has been said, you can learn more wearing a skirt for a day than from wearing a suit for a lifetime.