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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2003)
36 J« *t out janiiafy a, g n fla _______________________________________________________________________________________ * DIVERSIONS ............... ▼ ................. Round dancing: Not just for squares T he queer partner dancing in this town just never ends. You’ve got your Rose- town Ramblers (square and country western) and you’ve got your Out Dancing (ballroom dance lessons and socials). And now you’ve got your Rounds About Portland. It’s kind of like square danc ing, but not really, and kind of like ballroom, but not really. And you, too, can leam round dancing this month from RoundsAbout, and your first two classes are even free because they know you’ll be skittish. Like various kinds of ballroom dance, “it’s done in couples around the floor,” explains char ter club member Bob Lamberson. “However, it is cued. In square dancing we have a caller; in round dancing we have a cuer.” Lamberson’s partner, Tim Berg, emphasizes that this takes some of the pressure off those new to dancing/'It doesn’t rely on the lead and follow like regu lar ballroom dancing,” he says. Lamberson continues: “It’s a little bit more fancy than regu lar ballroom dancing because there are different kinds of choreo graphed steps that one needs to leam. When a person is ball room dancing, you can just waltz, but when we do the waltz in round dancing, there’s fancy choreography that is cued to us. T hat’s why you take lessons to leam what these cues mean.” According to the couple, who have been dancing with the Rosetown Ramblers for quite some time, round dancing is another way to enjoy ballroom and square dancing— none of which you have to know in order to show up for round dance lessons. You start out learning the two-step with cues, then move on to the waltz. “Eventually you get into level six or seven, then you start doing tango, cha-cha-cha, things like that,” explains Lamberson, “but to begin with, the basic two-step.” Lamberson and Berg helped form the group, which is the only gay round dance association on the West Coast and only the second in the coun try. “I’ve been involved with dancing since I was a freshman in high school, and that’s been a few years ago," Lamberson jokes. He did round dancing in the past and finally con vinced a fellow Rose- town Rambler to teach a class. Now the couple dance with the Ram blers and with the Rounders. Music and dance pretty much dominate their lives: Berg also sings with the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, and Lam berson teaches piano and voice lessons when he’s not directing or performing music for the theater. “It’s great fun,” exclaims Lamberson, who also notes round dancing will be incor porated into the Rosetown Ramblers’ monthly dance socials. RoundsAbout Portland’s beginning two- step class starts Jan. 14 and continues for 20 weeks every Tuesday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Oak Grove Community Club, 14496 S.E. Cedar Ave. Call Carolyn at 503-892-3307 or Michael at 503-643-9163 for more information and to register. Oh, the games we play... B een waiting for a new party game to reveal itself? Well, kids, here it is. Gayopoly: The Versatile Boardgame comes complete with a two-sided board (“Because sometimes you want to play the top and sometimes you want to play the bottom!”), a slew of proper- ored dice, one sand timer, 600 Queer Cards, 76 Diva Detour Cards, 72 What ever Cards and 200 other cards ranging from your assigned employee and supervisor role to your title in your own queer community. The board includes hot spots San Fran cisco, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, South Beach, Key West, Houston and West Hollywood, where you can own gay monopolies while visiting all the local gay-owned businesses, possibly becoming the “Queen of the Universe.” Gayopoly covers everything from your game name (Ivana Munch, Jim Freak, lan D. Middel, Freeda Knight, Amanda Bee, Lou Cinda Booty) to how to get out of any of the board’s particu larly tight squeezes (for instance, pulling a Diva card that gives you a chance to sing yourself out of the closet). The company is kick-starting sales with a tour (only a gay board game would have its own tour) to clubs located in the game’s featured cities. (Portland, for some reason, is not one of these.) Slypuss is looking for local retailers to stock Gayopoly, but for now you can order one for $32.95 at www.gayopoly.com. All online orders include a free cordless toy microphone. OK, then, read the rules before you start, play nice and don’t forget— do not pass “You Go, G irl!” obvious through his actions and the things he says that his preference is men, not women.” It remains to be seen what “actions” this refers to, but there’s a warning bell in Quesada’s other quote: “It’s not a book solely for a gay readership. Who watches Will & Grace ? Every body l know. This is the same. If you like a good story and a good laugh, this is for you.” Read: a Will & Grace nonsexual, non physical gay character in the hands of a Howard Stem writer. It remains to be seen if this is progress; proceed with caution. Cumming to prime time: Mr. and Mr. N ash, starring Alan Cumming, is A B C ’s entry in gay programming Relearning our ABCs A B C hopes to catch up with N B C , H BO and Showtim e (note: not C B S , which canceled The Ellen Show) in regard to gay programming with M r. an d M r. N ash , which will star bi actor A lan C u m ming as h alf o f a male couple who own an interior design busi ness (of course!) but weekly find time to solve murder mysteries. ext month will see the debut The Hart to Hart- style of Marvel’s T he Raw hide show will incorporate rela K id: Slap L eath er , a tionship dynamics with crime-solving tactics and miniseries that marks the first-ever gay lead charac lighthearted humor. ter by a mainstream Produced by Steve comic book company. Martin and the award The Rawhide Kid him winning production self isn’t new—he debuted team of Carsey- with Marvel in 1955, Wemer-Mand- was put to rest after abach— the T V only 16 issues, then brains behind revived in 1960 for 19 The Cosby Show, years of Western gun- Roseanne and That slinging action. He was '70s Show — Mr. and Mr. Nash is a guest star slated to premiere in the fall. here and “This is a murder mystery. there and even These guys are going to be Sure he can blow, but will he? had a short smart and hopefully doing The Rawhide Kid debuts series in the some serious stereotype- in February. mid-’80s, but busting,” G L A A D entertain nothing that will match the fan ment media director Scott Seomin said to fare of coming out in this new Gay.com. “There are a lot of firsts in gay and millennium of comic themes. lesbian programming, and this is one of Ron Zimmerman, who oft pens them. The show is going to be pinned to for the Howard Stem Show, is chemistry between the leads. The relation writing the stories, and John ship will be shown, and it is necessary. If Severin, who worked on the original they’re not going to be a couple, then make Rawhide comics, is illustrating. them friends. Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada was quoted in an Associated Press article as saying, Compiled by L isa BRADSHAW “He doesn’t come out and say he’s gay, but it’s and M arie F leischm an n Slap leather with comic cowboy N ”jn
