“Bears Can Dance” Review

Bears Can Dance, Feb 8, 2009

Bears Can Dance – 495 Bears new monthly “T-Dance” upstairs at the Green Lantern – is a sexually-charged, growling furfest with familiar and new faces, colorful alcohol opportunities, hot bellies on hot bears dancing to well-mixed familiar tunes in a visually stimulating environment. 495 Bears organizers installed the disco lights from their own homes onto the ceiling of the too-familiar second floor, bringing a needed new atmosphere and genuine Bear Dance Floor to Sunday afternoons. If you miss Titan Bar, or are longing for a true Bear Happy Hour in Washington, D.C. you owe it to yourself to check this out.

Eric and John from 495 Bears

The “Tea Dance” or now “T-Dance” started as a way for high-society resort vacationers to gather together for one more social event before the end of a weekend, the name literally taken from the traditional Victorian afternoon tea. Especially in places like Fire Island where resort owners adopted it as a way to make some last-minute cash, gay culture embraced the tea dance for one last chance to party before the work week begins. When a tea dance is in your home town though, consider it the last opportunity to go drinking, dancing, sexing, and eating with enough time to go home, pass out, and still get enough sleep for work the next day.

I arrived about halfway through the February 8, 2009, event. My drink of choice for this tea dance was a Green Lantern Tea – a $6 Long-Island Tea with melon liquor to bring out the flavor and color of the bar’s name, served by Nick, a defined smooth young true Bear chaser who is a staple in the DC Bear Scene and who you’ve probably met. Dozens (my notes tell me 100+ people at one point – though in retrospect that may be an overestimate) of men came to drink and dance. The room heated up and shirts came off. The room was just trashy enough to make a Bear feel at home.

I’m no expert on DJ’s, but I can say the music was fun and familiar enough to get even me moving before I finished my first potent tea. The lights and mirrored balls, while they won’t win any nightclub awards, are just enough to bring you to a different space. While I never forgot I was at the Green Lantern, the place had a new energy and vibe. Also, the men were friendly and looking for a good time.

Hot Visiting Bears

I met a couple of Bears from out-of-town the next day who had attended the dance. They both said they had a great time and are glad they heard the buzz surrounding event on Bear411. I’m sorry I forgot their exact names because I didn’t take notes, but I think it was Mike & Matt from Kentucky. Or was it Mark & Mick from Tennessee? Whatever their names are, they’re hot. Welcome.

The Next “Bears Can Dance” is Sunday March 8, 2009, from 5-10 pm at the Bear-owned Green Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW Washington, DC 20005. If DC area Bears are smart, they’ll take this opportunity to build a new Bear social outlet outside of Friday nights at a twink bar.