Same-sex Couple on So You Think You Can Dance

The show "So You Think You Can Dance" recently aired a same-sex couple ballroom dancing.



As a guy who enjoys social partner dancing both as a follow and lead and with both men and women, these judges need to be educated! Sure I understand that conventionally, the male leads and the female follows but that does not mean it should always remain that way. Wouldn't it be great if one could choose to lead or follow regardless of their sex? There are dance venues where one can be free to choose and it's one of the major reasons I dance at Sundance Saloon.

The judges seem uncomfortable with the idea of a same-sex dance couple and with switching roles, but that's just because they're not used to it. As one of the dancers said, it adds another dimension to the dance because one must be skilled at both lead and follow roles. With some people I dance with, we also switch between lead and follow in the middle of a dance because it's more improvisational, playful, and fun.

When I first started partner dancing with a woman, it felt really awkward to be occupying someone else's personal space, but I got used to that. The same is true with dancing with someone of the same sex. One gets used to it by doing it. So my response to Nigel is "I'd like to see you dance with a guy because you might enjoy that too". Bravo to the two guys who had the courage to go on the show. I think it helps bring the issue out of the closet so that the general public can get used to it. At the same time, the judge's uneducated comments need to be challenged. (See more same-sex dance video.)