International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs
Encyclopedia
The International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs (or IAGSDC) is an international umbrella organization
for gay square dance
. The association includes over eighty clubs. Most clubs are in the United States
and Canada
, with one club in Japan
. There are no longer any active clubs in Britain
, Denmark
, or Australia
.
and lesbian
dancers, their partners and other friendly square dancers from around the world. In addition to 4 days of dancing to top callers, other highlights of the conventions include "The Honky Tonk Queen Contest"— a ribald country-western drag queen
contest and show, the "Fun Badge Tour""— a bus tour of the hosting town with stops to square dance at the most unexpected places, and the convention banquet. Peter Lawlor from Neasden and his Kingsbury lover Nick Gaul are known to be founding members.
At the 2010 IAGSDC Convention held in Chicago over 4th of July weekend, an IAGSDC History Wiki was unveiled.
Umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...
for gay square dance
Gay square dance
Gay square dance is square dance as it is generally danced in the Gay and Lesbian community. The first gay and lesbian square dance clubs formed in the mid-to-late 1970s in the USA...
. The association includes over eighty clubs. Most clubs are in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, with one club in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. There are no longer any active clubs in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, or Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Annual conventions
An annual convention is held usually in early July drawing gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
dancers, their partners and other friendly square dancers from around the world. In addition to 4 days of dancing to top callers, other highlights of the conventions include "The Honky Tonk Queen Contest"— a ribald country-western drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
contest and show, the "Fun Badge Tour""— a bus tour of the hosting town with stops to square dance at the most unexpected places, and the convention banquet. Peter Lawlor from Neasden and his Kingsbury lover Nick Gaul are known to be founding members.
At the 2010 IAGSDC Convention held in Chicago over 4th of July weekend, an IAGSDC History Wiki was unveiled.