Quicksilver Country Dancers members demonstrate contra dancing, a folk-dancing tradition in which groups dance together with only one leader.
(Photo courtesy of Quicksilver Country Dancers)
Swing your partner Gay dance groups chuck gender roles for toe-tapping fun
Quicksilver Country Dancers Gender-free Contra Dance
Saturday, Feb. 3
8 p.m.
$9 adults; $5 children
Horizon School
1900 Dekalb Ave.
Beginners workshop at 7:30 p.m.
Additional events set for April 14, June 2 www.qcdancers.org
Hotlanta Squares Open House for winter dance classes
Monday, Feb. 5
7 p.m.
First Metropolitan Community Church
1379 Tullie Road www.hotlantasquares.org
Come Out Dancing Salsa, ballroom, and social dancing lessons each week
404-245-7977 www.comeoutdancing.com
Hoedowns Country & Western and line-dancing lessons each week
931 Monroe Drive
404-876-0001 www.hoedownsatlanta.com
For
many
gay
Atlantans,
dancing
is
what
you
do
after
a
few
drinks
at
your
favorite
nightclub
on
Saturday
night.
But
for
an
increasing
number
of
the
city’s
gay
residents,
dancing
is
a
social
outlet
in
its
own
right
—
as
well
as
a
great
way
to
exercise,
a
fun
and
demanding
sport,
and
even
an
avenue
for
friendly
competition.
A
centuries-old
form
of
folk-dancing
called
contra
dancing
is
the
newest
kid
on
Atlanta’s
gay
dance
block.
It’s
also
a
really
good
time,
according
to
Barbara
Katz,
who,
along
with
her
partner
Maggie
Cowan,
founded
the
Quicksilver
Country
Dancers,
a
new
group
that
holds
its
first
dance
of
the
year
on
Feb.
3.
To
explain
the
draw
of
gender-free
dance,
Katz
cites
her
own
experience
as
female
dance
enthusiast
whose
partner
also
happens
to
be
female.
“There’s
just
a
sense
of
welcome.
With
mainstream
dancing,
there’s
always
a
slight
rigidity
among
straight
dancers,
and
invariably,
when
I’m
dancing
with
my
partner,
someone
will
ask
who’s
dancing
the
lead,”
she
says.
“In
gender-free
dancing,
because
you
don’t
have
those
gender
cues,
you
have
to
pay
a
little
more
attention
to
position.
It’s
nice
to
be
in
the
majority
once
in
a
while,”
she
says.
Contra
dancing
traces
Celtic
and
Franco
roots
to
North
America.
Like
its
country
cousin,
square
dancing,
it
also
uses
a
caller,
a
master-of-ceremonies
who
verbally
choreographs
the
dancers’
cues
from
a
microphone
stand
while
backed
by
a
country
or
folk
music
band.
With
gender
roles
left
at
the
door,
dancers
use
a
simple
system
to
identify
who
leads.
“People
who
are
leading
will
wear
an
arm
band.
That
way,
people
will
know,
that’s
the
leader
in
the
group,”
Katz
says.
They
will
instruct
“banded”
dancers
to
dip,
swing,
do-si-do,
and
allemande,
with
their
“bare-armed”
partners.
QUICKSILVER
COUNTRY
DANCERS
is
the
newest
entry
in
Atlanta’s
growing
list
of
offerings
for
gay
dance
enthusiasts.
The
popularity
of
gay
dance
groups
is
spreading
into
urban
centers
throughout
the
U.S.,
according
to
dance
instructor
Shirley
Adams,
whose
Come
Out
Dancing
group
holds
several
classes
in
Atlanta
each
week.
Adams
says
she
normally
departs
for
dance
competitions
and
events
in
Europe
every
April,
but
will
remain
stateside
this
year
so
she
can
enjoy
gay
dance
events
in
Philadelphia,
New
York
and
Orlando.
“It’s
starting
in
the
states,”
she
says
enthusiastically.
“I
don’t
have
to
go
to
Paris
and
London
because
there’s
so
much
here.”
In
addition
to
frequent
special
events,
Come
Out
Dancing
lists
classes
each
week
in
locations
across
Atlanta
for
students
of
varying
skill
levels
in
a
multitude
of
dance
styles,
including
Waltz,
Foxtrot,
Salsa,
Tango,
East
Coast
&
Hustle,
among
others.
Gay
fans
of
country
dance
styles
have
a
particularly
long
list
of
choices
in
Atlanta.
Hoedowns,
the
popular
gay
Country
&
Western
bar
in
Midtown,
hosts
dance
lessons
for
beginner
and
intermediate
level
dancers
at
least
four
evenings
each
week
before
the
crowds
roll
in.
The
bar
also
regularly
opens
its
doors
to
other
dance
groups.
Southern
Line
Atlanta
meets
weekly
at
Hoedowns
and
teaches
progressive
line
dancing
classes
there
on
Fridays.
The
group’s
members
participate
in
a
variety
of
competitions
around
the
country.
The
Hotlanta
Squares,
a
group
for
gay
square
dance
enthusiasts,
hosts
frequent
lessons
and
dance
nights
at
the
First
Metropolitan
Community
Church
of
Atlanta,
and
members
compete
in
square
dancing
events.
Dance
lessons
require
“a
definite
commitment,”
acknowledges
Eduardo
Acevedo,
Hotlanta
Squares
web
master.
“The
benefits
of
dancing
are
that
it’s
great
exercise
and
a
positive
way
to
have
something
to
do
in
your
life.
It’s
a
wonderful
group
of
people.
You
can
make
friends
and
the
group
of
people
is
really
outstanding.”
Hotlanta
Squares
holds
an
open
house
for
winter
dance
lessons
on
Feb.
5.
In
May,
Atlanta
hosts
the
Peach
Stampede,
the
2007
convention
of
the
International
Association
of
Gay
&
Lesbian
Country
&
Western
Dance
Clubs.
LESS
FAMILIAR
TO
Southern
audiences
than
Country
&
Western
dancing,
contra
dancing
enjoys
more
widespread
popularity
in
New
England,
according
to
Katz,
who
says
that
Cowan,
who
lived
for
a
time
in
Connecticut,
learned
contra-dancing
there.
A
few
years
back,
the
couple
began
sharing
their
love
of
contra
dancing
by
hosting
periodic
dances
to
raise
funds
for
various
community
organizations.
As
the
dances
gained
notoriety,
Katz,
Cowan
and
others
opted
to
form
a
non-profit
group,
the
Quicksilver
...
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