Instructions for Bear Dancing - Part 1

Bear dance parties are some of the best. But they can be confronting to the uninitiated.  Some simple rules will help you get started. Variations are included for those up to a challenge.

Rule 1: Under no circumstances are you to move your feet

VicBears defines ‘Bear’ as “a gay man with a ‘masculine, down-to-earth attitude’ – not as a particular body type or ‘look’”. What better way to demonstrate your down-to-earthedness, than by keeping both feet firmly rooted in the ground? Shuffling your weight between your feet is, of course, acceptable. Dance parties are the long haul flights of social interaction and if you didn't move your legs around you’d be bound to get deep vein thrombosis. There’s also no doubt that shifting your weight between your feet is essential if you've gone for the tradie look including work boots, because, let’s face it, they weren't designed for arabesques. Perhaps the nirvana of bear dancing is, in the words of Madonna, to be “standing still in time”.

Variation: A turn about the room

For the experienced bear dancer, can I persuade you to attempt, from time to time, a clockwise shuffle completing a full rotation over a minute or so? Like Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennet you too can find yourself assured “it is very refreshing after sitting so long in one attitude” to “take a turn about the room”.  A military operation rather than a slow pirouette, this controlled rotation is all about reconnaissance. Any Darcy’s?  But let me remind you whilst turning, Rule 1 still applies.

Happy bear dancing.