Israel is the first country to feature a same-sex duo on its version of the popular television competition “Dancing with the Stars,” and the two women have already resolved the toughest question they face: Who will lead?
One, a gay television presenter, and the other, a straight professional dancer, are going to take turns.
“The leader and the follower – we change all the time,” said Dorit Milman, the professional dance partner of TV sportscaster Gili Shem-Tov. “One time I lead her and one time she leads me. But we continue to court.”
The dance partners, who appear on the sixth season of the popular Israeli version of the dancing competition, bring attention to the surprising tolerance of gays in an otherwise homophobic region. Although activists cite dozens of laws that discriminate against them, gays serve openly in Israel’s military and the buzzing seaside metropolis Tel Aviv is one of the gay-friendliest cities in the world.
Shem-Tov said she requested a female dance partner when she was invited onto the show, saying it felt more natural for her as a lesbian.
“I live with my girlfriend and we are raising my 1-year-old son together. It felt natural for me to dance with a woman. That’s my way of life,” Shem-Tov told reporters Tuesday, the day she made her televised dancing debut.
Program producers said they were initially startled by the request, but then embraced it. It’s the first time that a same-sex couple appears on any of the local franchises of the dancing competition, said Cristina Dunn of BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British broadcaster, which distributes the program.
Milman said a same-sex coupling was very different from the strict gender division of roles for men and women in dance. Still she said the nature of the moves wouldn’t change.
No comments:
Post a Comment