Tea dance, often abreviated as jt "tea", is a term for "happy hour" ed among men and women the gay muny. Not necsarily jt one hour. The term n also be qualified by Kight" and "low" to qualify the time of day occurs. Low tea typilly tak place earlier the eveng. High tea is later. And some larger gay rorts, such as Fire Island, there is even mid-tea which tak place between the two." name="Dcriptn" property="og:scriptn
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SUNDAY TEA DANC, A PROUD GAY TRADN WORTH REVIVG
* gay tea dance london *
To gay lennials the ia of gog to a bar while light out is unheard of; fact, gog to a gay bar to meet new people and socialize is almost unheard of. But to generatns of gay men ’s what we did, what we looked forward to, where we created Communy. Sadly tea danc, once an tegral part of the Gay Communy, have all but died out.
Our iends at recently posted a terrific article by Will Kohler*, “The Very Gay History of the Almost Lost Tradn of the Sunday Tea Dance. “Gay people, of urse, were still largely unrground the 50s, but was the discreet speakeasi that social (nonpartnered) dancg was evolvg. In the event of a raid, gay men and lbian women would quickly change partners to mixed-upl.
THE HISTORY OF GAY TEA DANC
By the late 60s, gay men had tablished the Fire Island Cherry Grove and also the more subdued and “closeted” P (off of Long Island, New York) as a summer rort of sorts.
It was illegal at that time for bars to ‘knowgly sell alhol to homosexuals’ and bis many of the venu there were not licensed as ‘night clubs’ or to sell alhol. *Will Kohler is a noted LGBT historian, wrer, blogger and owner of A longtime gay activist, Will fought on the ont l of the AIDS epimic wh ACT-UP and ntu fightg today for LGBT acceptance and full equaly.
“It’s so important to have a gay dance scene, ” says the tapdance teacher Michael Sandwick, hoppg off the dancefloor to chat. “Gay clubs do not ter to olr people, ” says Peter Flockhart, who teach an hour of le dancg every week. There are gay men here, lbians, transvt, transsexuals; all ag, all ethnici – even a few straight people.