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Gay line dancing brings twang to Ybor

By Alexandra Zayas, Times Staff Writer
In print: Thursday, May 22, 2008

Lynn Crosby, right, takes a break and watches her fellow Florida Mavericks line dancing members, from left, John Reyes, Adam Sakowski, Roger Bell, Jesse Rivera, and Chris Kilburn as they practice Monday at Lounge 714 in the GaYbor district.
	[BRIAN CASSELLA | Times]

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TAMPA — If you happen to be in Ybor City this weekend, expect to see cowboy hats. Expect to hear music involving trucks and hound dogs. And expect the unexpected.

Pink fringes. A line dance step reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz. A man doing a cartwheel off another man's leg.

"In the gay circuit, you dance with a man, you dance with a woman, it doesn't matter," Roger Bell said. "Nobody turns their head twice."

"Unless," Chris Kilburn added, "they think you're hot."

Through Sunday, hundreds of gay cowboys and cowgirls will compete at the Tampa Marriott Waterside for the Tampa Bay Yo Ho Hoedown, the annual convention of the International Association of Gay and Lesbian Country Western Dance Clubs.

The convention almost went to Orlando. But Roger Bell, who founded the Ybor-based Florida Mavericks line dance team, offered the organization Tampa and its growing GaYbor district.

The high concentration of new gay businesses in the surrounding blocks on Ybor's west end are putting Tampa on the map as a gay-friendly tourist destination. Of the more than 1,000 people coming in for the competition, an estimated 75 percent have never visited Tampa.

The Mavericks scored the competition. Now, they want to win it.

• • •

It's Monday night at Lounge 714 in Ybor City. Eight men and three women stand in silent formation, heads bowed, hands on their cowboy hats. Kilburn, the team choreographer, regulates.

"Hold it … Hold it …"

Then, the sound of a horse clopping. The hats come off in unison. And on, and off, and on again. If anyone drops theirs, it could cost the team precious points.

But this is their trademark, Bell says. "Our hats probably leave our heads more than anyone would chance."

The amateur team placed second in last year's Atlanta competition. It was their first. Bell, 37, competed in a gay Virginia team in the 1990s. When he moved to Tampa, he formed his own.

The Florida Mavericks are amateurs, ages 23 to 52. They incorporate a gay "Dorothy step," which involves a tap and a skip, but mostly stick to the traditional.

"We're trying to keep it as much country western as we can without doing jazz hands, spirit fingers, swan leaps," Kilburn said. "But there are lots of teams that do."

There isn't much crossover between the gay and straight dance worlds. Mainstream groups like the United Country Western Dance Council don't permit same-sex couple dancing.

But there's also no animosity.

"It was just more of a venue where you could feel more open with people and be yourself," Bell said. "We feel comfortable, they feel comfortable."

Jesse Rivera was 18 years old and 100 pounds overweight, just out of the closet and searching for an identity. He liked the personal space line dancing offered.

He could dance by himself, and not feel pressure. Wear whatever he wanted, and not feel judged. Be a gay man, and not a sissy.

Now 24, he's a Maverick. And 100 pounds lighter.

Alexandra Zayas can be reached at azayas@sptimes.com or
(813) 226-3354.