Let’s just get something clear from the get-go: I don’t dance.
I mean, I can sway fairly convincingly at a live gig, and I’ll be pulling shapes with the best of them on a 2am dancefloor.
But dance dance? Like choreographed, don’t-forget-the-moves, kick/spin/jazz hands kind of dancing?
Nuh. NO WAY.
With that in mind, way back in 2011 I took a Janet-Jackson-style step out of my comfort zone – and agreed to dance in the Melbourne Pride Team Mardi Gras float.
As a straight girl with an outstanding friendship circle that includes many, many LGBTI pals, sexual orientation is never really something that I register when it comes to contemplating my mates.
Gay, straight, crinkle cut – I don’t care. But as the years have gone on and friends have struggled with very real issues associated to their orientation, such as marriage, adoption, and pregnancy, I found myself becoming very protective of them.
It was therefore an honour to walk – no, DANCE – with the Melbourne Pride Team on their 2011 ‘Not Your Sport’ float.
When I was preparing to write this article, I looked back through the grainy footage of our float. And, apart from the first flush of Oh my god, could I get any more awkward? a big grin was stretched across my face. What a fun night, and what an unforgettable experience!
After training for months leading into the parade, the Melbourne Pride team had put together a killer routine to Missy Elliot’s We Run This. I still can’t hear that song without getting nervous jitters.
The theme was American gridiron player meets…er, well, I don’t really know. Sexy stripper? Space lingerie? Futuristic football alien model stripper? You be the judge.