We tried a dance class over at the Gay Men’s Dance Company!

You could be forgiven for presuming that gay men’s dancing is confined to a twerk or a slut-drop on the Heaven dance floor. These guys are here to prove you wrong. Running a jam-packed week of classes, from pole dancing to yoga, they’re here to get you fit, and have fun whilst doing it! Despite having the dance-moves of an aging antelope, we decided to head on down and try a class out for ourselves:

It’s slightly intimidating to turn up to a Sunday afternoon session at the swanky Covent Garden GymBox, having drunk yourself to bloatation the night before. We weren’t quite sure what to expect approaching the high-tech dance studios, quaking in our little white trainers. Once we entered the studio it was a delight to be met by a crowd of smiling men who were ready to have some fun getting their grove on, we were instantly put at ease. Lucky for us, it was folk dancing week! Step aside Michael Flatley; it was our turn to become Lord of the Dance!

The super-cute Scottish Dean was on hand to teach us some Scottish Ceilidh. Having never done folk dancing before, we were just glad it wasn’t of the Morris variety, all bells and ribbons with ugly hats. It turns out the Ceilidh is somewhere between aerobics and a tango, with a healthy helping of Celtic sass. Once the warm-up was over we knew that this was not going to be a walk in the park… we were already SWEATING. Usually when we’re working up a sweat in a room full of gay men, actually, it’s better if I not finish that sentence. Anyhow, in just an hour we had all gone from drunken uncles at a wedding to bona fide Billy Elliots of the Scottish dance. Once we really got into it, swinging each other around and two-stepping, we were living our ‘Kate Winslet slumming it on the Titanic’ fantasy. Tossing our imaginary flowing curly red hair, we grabbed ourselves a young DiCaprio and swung each other around like Miss Trunchbull and that girl with the pigtales in Matilda.

The dance class came to an end and our joggers were well and truly sweated through, we were tempted to stay on for the advanced dance session for another few hours. But, it turns out, there are people out there who are actually good at dancing. Can you imagine? Maybe one day we suppose… Maybe after a few seasons of lessons over at the Gay Men’s Dance Company! They have and packed weekly program of classes which are amazing at developing you fitness and getting social, and it’s not just dancing! They also have a choir, musical theatre classes, drama classes and Kickboxing. Whatever your jam is, they’ve got you covered.

There are still a few more weeks to go until their Christmas term begins, so there’s plenty of time to go try out classes. To get involved, get fit and get social head over to www.thegmdc.com!