Filmmaker Kate Imbach has created an award-winning documentary about the revival of square dancing that’s taking place at gay clubs in New York and California. While traditional dancing has specific gender roles, this new version welcomes every/anyone to join, particularly if they don’t have a partner. Entitled “Partners“, the film shows how a rich community is formed through the acceptance of others.
The rigid gender requirements of dancing in straight clubs can have sad consequences. Straight people without partners, single or widowed, cannot participate. …any single person, gay, straight or otherwise, can show up without a partner and find one when they arrive. At their clubs, gays and lesbians who know all too well what it’s like to be excluded feel part of a community. This inclusiveness comes full circle; straight people who feel excluded from the traditional clubs also feel welcome. Gay square dancing clubs offer everyone, no matter what their orientation, a place to be exactly who they want to be.
submitted via Laughing Squid Tips