Inter Gay Bar Competition: Part 3

(Conclusion from Part 1 and Part 2)

As I couldn't take pics in the bar, let me help you

visualize what the dancers may have looked like.

I think the host bar deliberately placed the best performances at the end. They were both from Planet Xanadu, the bar from faraway Quezon City. Apparently, the bar is known for their grand production numbers, and they were expected to do well in this competition.

True enough, they didn't disappoint. The first performance had a lot of dancers: two tranny impersonators at the front, and five male dancers -- the macho dancer contestant in the middle (the tallest and most handsome), plus four back-up dancers. What impressed the crowd was their stage presence. Costume + props, check: They were dressed in loin cloths ala Machete outfits, with spears and bamboo props. Choreography, check: All were coordinated in their upbeat African-Ifugao inspired moves. It was so impressive that I didn't even notice if there was some "note"-worthy exposure, particularly at the time when the middle dancer had his seductive routine amidst the dancing back-up tribesmen. Siguro naman meron, for them to be well-applauded and cheered.

In contrast, the second representative from the bar, and the last among the contestants, had a slower, more dramatic performance. It involved a semi-nude jungle king, who was the macho dancer of course, and his supposed semi-nude queen, who was a drag queen performer, if you may. They were the only performance with set-props on-stage -- tall columns decorated with leafy vines. The couple's dance routine was similar to a lyrical performance from "So You Think You Can Dance". Or for more jologs-essence, the interpretative dance by a balleting couple to the romantic duet, sung in "That's Entertainment."

Past 4 AM, while waiting for the results of the competition, the host bar, Solution Gay Bar, had a surprise performance of their own. With the use of salakots as props hanging from the ceiling, with their own impersonators and the top tattooed macho dancers dressed in glitter g-strings, the bar made sure to outshine the production numbers from the other competing bars. In fairness, as the host bar, they gave a performance that was sure to impress even non-regulars of that bar.

When the substitute host gave a run-down of the competing bars, he mentioned in a sarcastic tone that other bars declined to send a representative, without naming specifics. Boys Next Door turned Adonis II turned back to Boys Next Door in Malate didn't send a contestant. Nor did Big Papa (BP) Gay Bar, which the host was referring to. According to "Russell", who was a former dancer in the said bar, Big Papa sent a contestant in Solution's previous competitions. However, a video of the representative, taken from a hidden camera, was uploaded online without consent of the bar (sorry, I couldn't find it). As the bar's owner discovered this, he refused to send anymore contestants to their rival bar's competitions after this incident.

After a few more modeling from the host bar's hunky men, they revealed the winners of the competition. Best in Costume went to the lackluster, tribal-caped Machette Bar. 1st runner up went to the bird-shower White Bird. Top prize, with P8,000 and bragging rights to be called the Jungle King 2011, went to the as-expected, obviously-prepared Planet Xanadu.

Conclusion:

As it was my first inter-gay bar macho dancing competition, "Russell", who's had 6 bottles of MD drinks already, gave me a little debrief of what happened.

He said, for the P300 entrance fee, the show wasn't worth it. Most performances earlier can be regularly seen in an ordinary "prime time" special of any gay bar. There were no spectacular performances from the usual great show-stoppers of before, like Big Papa or Valentino Gay Bar, who would really take weeks, money and effort to prepare. The only performances that stood out came from Planet Xanadu, as expected because, according to him, one of Planet Xanadu's managers was a former Big Papa manager, trained from its school of macho dancing production numbers. Even the surprise performance of Solution  Gay Bar was also a product of Big Papa, as one of Solution's managers also came from that bar.

Well, this is not the only inter-gay bar macho competition to be held in Manila. Gay bars do sponsor their own annual competitions, as part of their big night events, inviting their so-called rival bars to participate. I wonder when and where the next competition would be?


GB Goer
Learn more: Lessons from Gay Bars in Manila
http://machosandhostos.blogspot.com/
email: char.affairs@gmail.com

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Photocredits: http://www.123rf.com, http://www.thebaglady.tv/2009/03/topshop_tribal.html