Gay Blades Unique Style

There are many fine Rapper teams out there, and we learn something from them every time we have the chance to see them perform. We do, however, have a few characteristics as a team that we think distinguish us from others, specifically the gay issue and our non-traditional approach to the dancing. We also have two great musicians who inspire us and go along with us no matter how crazy the scheme.

Gay Blades Rapper Sword is an all-queer team, meaning gay, bisexual, and lesbian. Oh very well, that's only broadly true: perhaps I'd best say "all-queer and allies," John and Shelley being "allies" in this context. It seemed short-sighted in the extreme to discourage two musicians as fine and devoted as John and Shelley for no better reason than their heterosexuality: no reason to compound the world's bigotry with bigotry of our own.

Yet, we are first and foremost a gay team, growing out of gay, bisexual, and lesbian contra dance and gender-role-neutral English Country Dance. Our shared differences on the team give us a strong initial bond, nurse our inventive powers, and inform our (generally) supportive and cooperative rehearsal and performance style.

We are even more committed to people than to dance; we work with, and around, each others' strengths and weaknesses; we invent figures and routines and jokes together; we try to maximize the pleasure, and minimize the pain, of the work of rapper. We are a team, but also a kind of family. [Cue music: link arms and sing, when not sobbing. Doves will now be released from the ceiling.]

Although we are, to our knowledge, the only all-queer rapper team, we are not alone in the greater world of traditional dance. The White Rats Morris team, from San Francisco, describe themselves as "the world's first queer/pervert/leather Morris team."

I distinctly recall that when Dean and Graham founded the team, the intention was to cultivate sharp, clean, fast, traditional dances, with traditional figures. Just rapper, thank you; the distinguishing characteristic of the team was to be that it was ours, and that it was (at that time) composed of gay men.

This fine and conservative scheme went the way of all best-laid plans. I'm afraid that our most salient feature, even for viewers who understand the purport of our name and our cheery outfits, is our penchant for comedy.

Over time, our routines have included, but not been limited to (click on thumbnails of pictures below to see a larger image):

And besides, how many ritual dance teams have named a figure (of their own invention) "Buns"? (Must be seen to be believed). In the picture below we're doing "David's buns."

Every few months, one of us will say, "How about a routine that's just dancing, no funny stuff?" But not twenty minutes have gone by before some comic notion has crept over us, and helps us shape the new routine. Our public expects no less of us, and how can we let them down?

At a recent sword ale, several dancers from England's superb but highly traditional Sallyport Sword, urged us very strongly to attend DERT, a competitive rapper tournament. "You'd never win," they said, "you're not remotely traditional enough, but they'd love you." Which utterance told us that we'd succeeded at something, if not perhaps at fulfilling our first intention.

Let us not overlook our musicians: Shelley Drowns and John Chambers. It is not clear to me, when Shelley and John started to play for us, and expressed a wish to continue, that we understood how lucky we were and are to have them--they are among the most praised and sought-after folk musicians in the Boston area.

Not only do they continue to find and develop new single- and double-jig tunes for us, they have shown themselves remarkably adept at learning and adapting the "novelty tunes" our stranger routines seem to require. No practice session is complete without a reference to John Chambers' website, including a huge collection of tunes, including some of the novelty tunes we use in our comic bits!

Bob Golder, a straight but very gay-friendly contra dance caller (regarding the Gay Blades "Wizard of Oz" piece):

I saw the Oz piece twice, and both times the piece was so beautifully wistful and sad/happy that it pretty much made me cry and laugh at the same time. I can only speculate that the gay/lesbian community, whose members may experience social rejection in various forms, is particularly aware of the universal human yearning for "home," for a place of belonging, and acceptance, and family, and community.

To me it is that longing for "home" that is so powerfully communicated in the Gay Blades performance piece, much as when in the movie young Judy Garland sings,

If happy little bluebirds fly
Above the rainbow,

Why...
	Oh why...
		Can't I?

... and breaks my heart again every time I hear her sing. .... Bob

International Sword Spectacular 2004, Festival Programme

Gay Blades (USA): One of four rapper teams here from Boston, but with no chance that you'll confuse them with the other three! To call their performance flamboyant barely does them justice. Formed in 1996, they draw on various dance forms and sources; we're not aware of any other teams who hav eperformed rapper to both 'YMCA' and 'Girls just wanna have fun'. Just look for hte chery dancers in cheery outfits.

Last updated July 8, 2002. The URL of this page is www.gayblades.org/unique.html

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