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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2007)
! juStlOUt SLHÎLMBLR21. 2007 culture Testing for ^Gay, Bisexual, and Trans Guys W estover H eights __ b STEPHEN J SUTTON 40 CLINIC Offering general internal medicine and excelling in sexual health care Free Serving tbe community for 22 years Tk msdn.vs 5 6:30 I’M (drop in) Rapid HIV' Testing (same da) results) 2330 NW Flanders Suite 207 Oral testing (two wee* results) Hepatitis AB sa< < inations 503-226-6678 VOI E Fourth Plain • Vancouver WA • 360 397 8098 for info 6 Live Strong, ^et The Rosetown Ramblers attend a 1986 convention in San Francisco. Silver Squares Free Walk-In HIV Testing ... and more Anonymous and Needle-Free Results in one week or 20 minutes Gay and lesbian square dance club approaches age 25 by Rebecca Ragain ick Burdon remembers when Portland’s gay square dancing club, the Rosetown Ramblers, initiated new members with rit uals similar to what one might encounter during a gixxl-natured fraternity hazing. When rookies graduated from their dance class and wanted to join the group, they might have been required to dance with a roller skate on one foot to prove their worth. • Or maybe to dance with a pair of pantyhose tied around their waist so that the legs—which were weighted with a potato in each foot—dangled down toward their knees. “Try to dance and keep that from tangling!” says Burdon, chuckling anil pointing at a photo graph of someone trying to do exactly that. Burdon had just come out of the closet when he joined the Rosetown Ramblers in 1983, which was the club’s first year in existence. “I found a lot of sup port and liberation from being part of it,” ne recalls. Today, the 76-year-old returns that support by helping other gays and lesbians learn how to square dance. And these days, there’s no hazing at graduation. Monday Nights 5:30 to 7:30 Washington County Health Clinic - Beaverton 12550 SW 2nd (between Hall & Watson) For more information, call us at 503- or check out www.co.washington.or.us/hiv ¡Se Habla Español! SO MANY GUYS - Listen & Reply to Ads FREE! Portland 503.299.9911 971.404.2544 Vancouver, WA 360.433.6100 FREE code 4517 .WlNt$.1000 Square Dance Class: What to Expect For Details Visit MegaMates.com F or other crtret cell (888) MegaMates — — 24/7 Friendly Customer Cere 1(88B)MegaMates 18* ¿200 62007 pc LLC TALK IS CHEAP, fiCTIOn TALKS! Portland: 503-222-6USA Vancouver: 360-696-5254 Seattle: 206-753-2429 Everett: 425-405-2429 Tacoma 253-359-2429 LIVELINE CHAT, PERSONALS, FORUMS FIND YOUR FLAME! www.livematch.com Unlimited VIP Subscription AS LOW AS $1.77 per day! (8 weeks package $99.00) h Starting each fall, the Rosetown Ramblers hosts two 10-week square dancing courses for beginners. (Intermediate dancers are also welcome.) This year’s classes begin Oct. 10 and take place on Wednesday evenings through April. Come to class wearing comfortable clothes, because—unlike straight square dancing—there is no •formal dress code for gay and lesbian square dancing. Rick Hawes, a square dancer since 1984, quips: "We’ll dance nude or as gussied up as straight folks. Or even more so, like the 6-f<.K>t-tall drag queen in roller skates.” .Classes are open to singles anil couples. Traditional square dance terminology is maintained even in gay anil lesbian clubs, so new dancers will decide whether they want to learn the “hoy” or “girl” part. (It’s up to you; biology is irrelevant.) After mastering one position, many gay and lesbian dancers choose to learn the other. Square dance has a language of its own. The announcer is the “caller,” who explains how to do the different dance formations, or “calls,” which have names like Dosado and Promenade. Of course, when it comes to physical activities, hearing something explained is not necessarily the same as understanding how to do it. That’s where Burdon comes in. [Turing class, he and other experienced square dancers, or “angels,” join the beginners on the floor to help demonstrate the calls. Whenever possible, an angel will partner with a beginner so the new person can truly get the feel for the move. “They do better (dancing with an angel) than two people who don’t know what they’re doing dancing together,” explains Burdon. If you do make a mistake, try not to worry about it. According to Scott Philips, who joined Rosetown Ramblers 19 years ago, “The more you do, the easier it gets.” Wide World of Square Dancing Classes are just the beginning of the fun. The Rosetown Ramblers also offer a club night on the third Wednesday of every month and a dance every first Saturday. And then there’s the traveling. It might start with a day trip to Eugene to dance with the local club Spin Cycle Squares. Or maybe attending a full-weekend “fly-in" (a mini convention) in Seattle or Vancouver, British Columbia, sounds intriguing. Just be prepared to return to work on Monday thoroughly exhausted. “When you’re first learning, you dance till you drop,” says Burdon. “You don’t think you can miss a single dance.” Before long, you might find yourself flying across the country to attend the annual convention of the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs (IAGSDC). Like the Rosetown Ramblers, which was a char ter club of the international group, the 1AGSDC is turning 25 in 2008. The association boasts 49 member clubs, plus a few associate and affiliate organizations. Every year, approximately 1,000 dancers from these various clubs converge for a four-day conven tion filled with socializing, sightseeing and, of course, dancing.
