"Where in the world are we?" one man asked his buddy as they walked along Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland last Saturday night. If they had been in Las Vegas, perhaps they would have found nothing unusual about the fishnet thigh-highs, deep cleavage, studded leather pants, red corsets, outrageously plunging necklines, feathery Venetian masks, and – ooohhh, yes baby – the ubiquitous leather whips spilling out onto the sidewalk in front of the House of Blues late into the evening and early-morning hours. But our intrepid urban hikers knew they were not in Las Vegas, or San Francisco, or New Orleans; they were in Cleveland, Ohio, and thus one can easily appreciate their confusion.
"Holy [expletive deleted] how do we get in on that?" asked a young male college student, glancing up at the House of Blues marquee, where a partial answer could be found. "Party Erotique" says the display. "Ah ha! Erotique." The similarity to "erotic" provides the clue: something sexy, exotic, sensual, kinky. Yes, this was a party for folks who like to be a little bit naughty. This wouldn't be the first time that something sexy happened in Cleveland, but it's one of the comparatively rare exotic events so easily accessible to the mainstream adult public.
Judging from the attendance at Saturday night's shindig, Party Erotique might very well return to Cleveland again next year, according to one of the show’s several promoters. Speaking for myself, I certain hope that it does. Clevelander’s, like most American's inhabiting the landscape sprawling between New York and California, could well afford another opportunity to loosen up and admit that sexy sensuality need not always be an embarrassing secret. Hanging out with pasties on your nipples can be just good clean fun.
The on-stage entertainment was a blast as well. The mixture of pounding DJ dance tunes along with live music and dance performances made for a very lively atmosphere.
But, as much as I enjoyed the evening, I must offer a few critical comments as well. These are just my personal observations grounded in my own personal preferences, for whatever they may be worth.
(1) The large dance floor was filled mostly with people who stood around watching the stage performances. This is understandable but, as I see it, somewhat regrettable. More dancing off the stage would have been good; more mingling, more flirting, more opportunities for social networking. Don’t get me wrong: I’m sure that a great deal of mingling and flirting occurred last Saturday, but from my limited perspective it seemed that the overall tread was to stand around and watch everyone else standing around watching. There were some wonderful exceptions, like, for example, the bouncy gal with the whip who took it upon herself to playfully flog anyone who presented their backside to her. I can’t claim to be much of kinkster myself, but even I can appreciate the fact that bare bottoms and braided leather make a lovely combination. As I see it, there simply wasn’t enough of this sort of thing. I’m not talking about S&M, per se, but playful interactivity in general.
My suggestion for anyone planning parties of any sort: Build “social mixers” more consciously into the agenda. A few random ideas might include: hiring workers, or recruiting volunteers, whose duty it is to gently nudge people out of watching mode and into flirting mode. Perhaps some color-coded bracelets would make it easier to distinguish those who really want to flirt (but, in many cases, might be too shy) from those who really do just want to watch from the sidelines. This concept could apply to both singles and couples. There were a lot of couples at the party, but not all of these couples necessarily wanted to stick only to each other. Something like a voluntary “lock and key” option might work. If you really want to mingle, then you display your lock or key and introduce yourself to others with the appropriate “mingle bling.”
(2) The gals dancing on stage were wonderful, but so far as I saw, there was only one example of dancing male “eye candy,” and he was only on stage for a relatively short period of time. On average, I suspect that the majority of people would rather see women rather than men, but I’m sure that a lot of straight women, and/or bi/gay men would have appreciated just a bit more of a ripped-male presence on the stage. Diversity is good.
I'd like to thank the organizers and promoters (Caliente Club & Resorts, SDC.com, and Ambiance) for their work in bringing Party Erotique to Cleveland. Overall, I enjoyed the party, and look forward to going again next year, if the organizers see fit to bring it back to our area. With luck, next year, folks will once again wander down Euclid Avenue late on a balmy Saturday night and wonder, like the characters on the LOST island: “Where in the world are we?”
Comments