Dance and Transgression

Same sex dancing is something I have never considered or, truthfully, ever heard of. My own reactions to watching several short videos of same sex couples dancing surprised me. One clip showed two similar looking men dancing in identical outfits, their movements balanced and interlinking, the titles of “leader” and “follower” being exchanged frequently and fluidly. The man who one minute was leading the direction of the dance and spinning his partner (in what could stereotypically be deemed the “male” position) would seconds later be lifted into the air striking a beautiful pose (the stereotypical “female” position). Although this set-up allows for a balanced, ever-changing routine, I cant help but feel the idea of changing roles and to an extent purposes in the dance doesn't allow for storytelling and characterisation but instead makes the dance less aesthetically pleasing (in my opinion) than a man/woman partnership. What I enjoy, and thus find easy to analyse in a dance, is the difference in size,stature, strength, costume style and appearance in a male/female partnership. Perhaps it is a notion my upbringing has engrained on me, but I enjoy the combining differences of the tall, strong man, smartly suited and able to lift up and show off his shapely, flexible female counterpart in her glamorous, elegant dress. I find performances such as this more enjoyable to watch, the dancing more entertaining and a storyline/characters more easily identified within the piece.

I hold no grudge or prejudice against same sex dancing couples or the ideas of sexuality that go hand in hand with them. However, as this week we considered the idea of transgression, the crossing of socially acceptable borders and boundaries, I know from personal observation that some of the older members of my family would consider same sex dancing as really rather shocking and perhaps to a certain extent 'wrong'. My grandparents in particular, having been raised in an God-fearing era/society in which homosexuality was somewhat publicly unacceptable would, I can safely say, find the notion unusual and would prove very vocal in their opinions. They have found it striking in the past when I have introduced them to homosexual friends of mine, as the values engrained in them as children seem too difficult and deeply rooted to forget even, I believe, if they really wanted to. To refer back to the dancing and my disinterest in it, I find that diversity is required in a partner dance, whereas couples of the same sex and general appearance offer qualities more stereotypical to a solo dance rather than an effective partner piece.