Dancing With the Stars thrusts same-sex dancing into the spotlight

Cheryl Burke (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)

Dancing With the Stars just released their season 9 lineup of contestants. Get ready to see the following people strutting their stuff on the dance floor this fall:

Donny Osmond – singer
Mya - singer and actress
Michael Irvin – former Dallas Cowboy
Melissa Joan Hart - Actress ('Sabrina the Teenage Witch')
Kelly Osbourne – singer, daughter of Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne
Debi Mazar – actress (Entourage)
Chuck Liddell - Light heavyweight champion
Natalie Coughlin - Olympic gold medalist in swimming
Joanna Krupa - Swimsuit model
Aaron Carter – singer
Tom DeLay - Former House majority leader
Kathy Ireland - Model
Ashley Hamilton - Actor, son of former DWS contestant George Hamilton;
Mark Dacascos - Actor, host of 'Iron Chef America'
Louie Vito - Pro snowboarder
Macy Gray - Grammy-winning singer

Dancing With the Stars has been so successful that it’s going into its 9th season and even spawned a competition in San Francisco called Dancing With the Drag Stars. The Drag stars competition finished its first season on August 8th, 2009 at Cheryl Burke Dance in San Francisco, and was considered a huge success by the same-sex dance community.

"Dancing with the Drag Stars was an idea that we had to showcase a new and unique aspect of ballroom dance to the city of San Francisco," said Cheryl Burke. "It raised valuable awareness to same-sex couples dancing which really is an up and coming part of the dance community.  We're already discussing ways to expand upon the event."

Donna Sachet and Patrik Gallineaux co-hosted the live Drag Stars competition which was filled to capacity during its finale on August 8th. The judging panel consisted of local San Francisco celebrities Cheryl Burke, Sister Roma, Heklina, Greg the Gay Sportscaster from Energy 92.7, and Steve Wozniak - Apple co-founder and "Dancing with the Stars" alumni. Competitors in the final included Paju Munro dancing with Michael Eric Koptke, Suppositori Spelling dancing with Jeff Chandler, Charisma Glitterati dancing with Jeremy Babagay, Suzan Revah dancing with Heintje Soriano, and winners of the mirrored ball trophy, Garza and Jesús Ortiz.

Garza, who hosts the frequent House of Garza drag shows at Cafe Flore in the Castro, had an extra challenge in the competition. "My first partner, Ricardo could not make it to the finals," Garza said, "so I had to start all over again with Jesús. It was hard to start over with a new partner, but he was so great to work with, and I learned so much from each of them."

Dancing With the Drag Stars Patrik Gallineaux, Charisma Glitteratti, Robert Tristan Szelei, Garza,
SisterRoma, Miss Vee, Honey Mahogany, Jeremy Blake. (Photo by Francis Ruolo).

Ortiz said that working with Garza was easy. “It was a true joy”, he said. “She is so imaginative, passionate, and surprisingly attentive to detail. It was easy to give her a movement and just have her fill in the emotional intent. When it came down to performance time, nerves did not frazzle her. She performed with fire and gave the audience the show they paid to see!”

Same-sex dancers. (Photo by Raphael Coffey).

Dancing With the Drag Stars isn't the only recent same-sex dance event that has taken place. The  circuit has grown tremendously over the last few years thanks in part to the Dancing With the Stars television series, and key milestones include the acceptance of ballroom dancing into the Gay Games and the Out Games. This summer, Bay Area dancesport athletes represented the United States in Copenhagen at the Out Games bringing home 5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals in same-sex ballroom dancing. There are also numerous competitions across the state including Dancing in the River City in Sacramento, April Follies in Oakland, and the California Dreaming DanceSport Festival in San Francisco, which is the largest same-sex Ballroom competition in the country.

If you missed the recent Dancing With the Drag Stars competition and still want to see a same-sex dance event, check out California Dreaming. The competition and show will be held at Hotel Whitcomb in San Francisco on November 7th. If you’re interested in learning how to dance, check out one of the groups below. Each one offers same-sex dance classes in the Bay Area.

Cheryl Burke Dance
Dancing With the Queers
Light on Your Feet
Trip the Light Fantastic
Vima Dance Studio
Queer Jitterbugs
Emily Coles Dance