Sports
May I have this dance?
Local gay outfit enjoys learning ballroom steps
Members of Lambda DanceSPORT DC in rehearsal. (Photos courtesy Lambda DanceSPORT DC)
Just like many of us who have competed in the Gay Games, Terry Chasteen, founder of Lambda DanceSPORT DC, experienced a life-changing moment at his first Games experience.
Chasteen headed to Amsterdam in 1998 to compete in same-gender dancesport which was being contested for the first time in the history of the gay games. “I went there with no dance partner,” says Chasteen, “but they ended up pairing me with a gentleman from South Africa.
Without much practice, the duo was able to dance their way into the semi-finals in Latin dance. “Dancesport is huge in Europe and there many same-gender dance organizations such as Equality dance,” Chasteen says. “The ovations the crowds were giving us and the other dancers were amazing and it was definitely a life-defining moment.”
At the Gay Games, dancesport is contested in three different dance disciplines, country, Latin and ballroom. The duos place themselves in one of the five skill levels and are then graded before the competition begins to ensure proper placement.
Chasteen’s path to dancing began through an elective dance class at Ohio State University. That led to giving dance lessons at Fred Astaire Dance Studios outside of Columbus, Ohio. He has taught lessons in the D.C. area for the last 17 years and founded Lambda DanceSPORT DC in 1996. The group offers training in ballroom, Latin, country western, hustle, Argentine salsa and many more. Dancers meet for lessons every Wednesday and Sunday from 3 to 11 p.m. along with an assortment of other days.
“Same-gender dancesport is different from the conventional version,” Chasteen says. “The same-gender dancers have to learn both roles as they switch leads throughout the dance. It really makes you a better dancer knowing both sides.”
The group moved its dance training from the Chevy Chase Ballroom to The Church of the Pilgrims near Dupont Circle in October after the Ballroom came under new ownership. “The new venue is just perfect for us,” he says. “We even have the ability to serve refreshments and desserts during our special events.”
Recently the group offered social dances on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s with more to come this year.
On the competitive side, Chasteen is hoping to send as many as 20 dancers to Cleveland in 2014 for the next Gay Games. In the meantime, there are possibilities of going to Houston for a country western event and Philadelphia for a ballroom event.
The popularity of “Dancing With the Stars” has affected the Lambda group positively. It gets a new wave of members each season. Some call asking to take lessons in the varieties they see on the show. And the group can be a subtle form of activism — members enjoy performing at straight venues where they often wow observers with their ability to dance both parts.
Coming up this year for Lambda DanceSPORT DC is a 12-hour Learn-To-Dance-athon with all proceeds being donated to each dancer’s designated charity. It will include different workshops by different teachers in all dance styles. Following the workshops there will be open dancing and practice in that style for 30-45 minutes before the next session begins.
So, you think you can dance?
Cha-cha your way over to lambdadancesportdc.org and dancesportdupont.com for more information and coming events.
More than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes are expected to compete in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that open on Friday.
Outsports.com notes eight Americans — including speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy and figure skater Amber Glenn — are among the 44 openly LGBTQ athletes who will compete in the games. The LGBTQ sports website also reports Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, is the first openly transgender athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics.
“I’ve always been physically capable. That was never a question,” Glenn told Outsports.com. “It was always a mental and competence problem. It was internal battles for so long: when to lean into my strengths and when to work on my weaknesses, when to finally let myself portray the way I am off the ice on the ice. That really started when I came out publicly.”
McDermott-Mostowy is among the six athletes who have benefitted from the Out Athlete Fund, a group that has paid for their Olympics-related training and travel. The other beneficiaries are freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, speed skater Brittany Bowe, snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick, alpine skier Breezy Johnson, and Paralympic Nordic skier Jake Adicoff.
Out Athlete Fund and Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood on Friday will host a free watch party for the opening ceremony.
“When athletes feel seen and accepted, they’re free to focus on their performance, not on hiding who they are,” Haley Caruso, vice president of the Out Athlete Fund’s board of directors, told the Los Angeles Blade.
Four Italian LGBTQ advocacy groups — Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano — have organized the games’ Pride House that will be located at the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan.
Pride House on its website notes it will “host a diverse calendar of events and activities curated by associations, activists, and cultural organizations that share the values of Pride” during the games. These include an opening ceremony party at which Checcoro, Milan’s first LGBTQ chorus, will perform.
ILGA World, which is partnering with Pride House, is the co-sponsor of a Feb. 21 event that will focus on LGBTQ-inclusion in sports. Valentina Petrillo, a trans Paralympian, is among those will participate in a discussion that Simone Alliva, a journalist who writes for the Italian newspaper Domani, will moderate.
“The event explores inclusivity in sport — including amateur levels — with a focus on transgender people, highlighting the role of civil society, lived experiences, and the voices of athletes,” says Milano Pride on its website.
The games will take place against the backdrop of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s sporting events.
President Donald Trump last February issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S. A group of Republican lawmakers in response to the directive demanded the International Olympics Committee ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
The IOC in 2021 adopted its “Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations” that includes the following provisions:
• 3.1 Eligibility criteria should be established and implemented fairly and in a manner that does not systematically exclude athletes from competition based upon their gender identity, physical appearance and/or sex variations.
• 3.2 Provided they meet eligibility criteria that are consistent with principle 4 (“Fairness”, athletes should be allowed to compete in the category that best aligns with their self-determined gender identity.
• 3.3 Criteria to determine disproportionate competitive advantage may, at times, require testing of an athlete’s performance and physical capacity. However, no athlete should be subject to targeted testing because of, or aimed at determining, their sex, gender identity and/or sex variations.
The 2034 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City. The 2028 Summer Olympics will occur in Los Angeles.
Sports
‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to participate in Olympic torch relay
Games to take place next month in Italy
“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will participate in the Olympic torch relay ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics that will take place next month in Italy.
HBO Max, which distributes “Heated Rivalry” in the U.S., made the announcement on Thursday in a press release.
The games will take place in Milan and Cortina from Feb. 6-22. The HBO Max announcement did not specifically say when Williams and Storrie will participate in the torch relay.
The Washington Capitals will host Pride Night on Saturday, Jan. 17, when they host the Florida Panthers at Capital One Arena. A special ticket offer featuring a Pride-themed Capitals rainbow jersey is available at washcaps.com.
Fans are invited to a pre-game Block Party at District E beginning at 5 p.m. The event will feature a performance by the band NovaKane. Specialty happy hour food and beverages will be available, as well as giveaways. There will also be a presence by several local LGBTQ+ community organizations.
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