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