Fascinating. I was a little bit surprised to know that the two men aren't romantically involved. I wonder if any straight men perform ballroom together...no, nothing fruity going on, just a coupla fellas in spandex doing the rhumba together...
In practice or for fun, all the time. But in competition, no. It's verboten. Don't know how many straight guys would *want* to dance with each other, but as long as the man-woman rules are enforced, we'll never know. The more adventurous might very well want to, even if only as a sideline, because, as the article suggests, it's a different form of partner dancing with different challenges.
It's not all about the spandex, you know. :-)
(Long-time ballroom competitor who hates the man/woman rule, genesis of which in the U.S. was entirely homophobic, and nothing to do with international competitive rules)
Hey, thanks. We don't often get informed comments.
Spandex is a big part of it though, right?
Spandex, yeah, sure. And rhinestones. Lots and lots of rhinestones. :-)
(It's a weird little subculture, but mine own)
Am not a man, so can't say for sure, but my guess is that's it's very tricky indeed to switch roles from leader to follower. They're totally different skills. I loathe switching from follower to leader, myself. I think leading is much harder.
I think you're right, though, and practice would mitigate the oddity of it. I've seen some same-sex couples practicing for the Gay Games, and when they're good at it, they switch seamlessly from leading to following and back again. It's neat to watch.