Diageo Man, Paju Munro, Caroline Lund, Patrik Gallineaux, Donna Sachet, Garza, Eric Glaser.

The good news was announced on Sept. 10 at the private bar and lounge of Diageo that the next season of “Dancing with the Drag Stars” has been officially green-lighted; so we will once again get to witness talented drag queens and kings paired with professional dancers in another fierce, fun, fabulous competition to win the coveted mirror ball trophy. This event is the queer version of the very popular TV reality talent show, Dancing with the Stars. This spin-off is produced by Cheryl Burke (pro dancer and trophy winner on the TV program and owner of Cheryl Burke Dance Studios in San Francisco), Patrik Gallineaux, and Michael Reeves. At the party, I was able to get behind the scenes interviews with cast and crew to find out what makes this such a successful event. 

Sherri Burke, mother of Cheryl, said she got involved in this “by default, being the mom.” She was a judge for one of the drag versions and loves ballroom dancing very much. “I appreciate the extraordinary number of hours dancers have to put in to compete,” she said, having watched her daughter and some of the drag stars rehearsing. “I can’t wait to see the next season of ‘Dancing with the Drag Stars.’” She said the first time was a test to see how it would be received by the public. “I was very impressed by what Patrik and Donna Sachet had put together, and I know it will be another fabulous show this next time.” 

Reeves said he moved from the Midwest to Northern California nine years ago and eventually purchased a dance studio in Silicon Valley with 2,000 clients a week. He met Sherri Burke at a wedding reception who suggested they partner into Cheryl Burke LLC. They bought the rundown site at 1830 17th Street and renovated it into the elegant facility it has become. Reeves said as a gay man he asked his gay friend and dance instructor Gallineaux why there didn’t seem to be any gay clients, and how could they remedy that. They got in touch with Donna Sachet and knocked around the idea of getting the queer community involved in ballroom dancing. They gave drag queens and kings five-hour sessions with instructors who choreographed and taught the competitors to dance. “Honestly, I was amazed at how well they picked up on the routines, and some were even better than the stars on the TV show,” said Reeves. At the same time, they started offering same-sex dance classes. Everything has been so successful that they are thinking of having live cable-TV broadcasting of the event and also showing snippets of the teams practicing – complete with bloopers with drags falling on their asses. He said the next series would begin early June, in time for the SF Pride Parade. He anticipated entering a float with dancers. Looking at the big picture, he said he foresaw these drag competitions being held all over the metropolitan cities and gathering the winners in each to compete at a festive final judging in Las Vegas. We both recalled the high energy and electricity at the last round, when two dancers scored perfect tens and had to perform in a fast and furious tiebreaker. Expect to see “DwtDS” on the Castro Street Fair stage this year. “We’re proving that ballroom dancing isn’t just for heterosexuals!” he beamed. 

Sharon Boggs is in charge of the sound for the event through her company, Sound Productions. She said Cheryl Burke gave her free reign to make the event come alive. “I think this is a great way to tie in the gay community into what we might consider the average mainstream world and the big entertainment world,” she said. “This is a way for us to really show off!” DJ Thonsey provided the dance music for the first two shows. “It was so exciting to see the show progress from the rehearsals to the final competition,” said Thonsey. “This was a first of its kind, and where else but in San Francisco!?” adding, “We have gotten a lot of great feedback on the show, and I hope to be asked back.” 

In the end, Garza was the winner with a different partner (Jesus Ortiz) than she had for the first session - meaning she had the disadvantage of having to get used to another man’s choreography and style. But they both pulled it off perfectly with Garza’s tango full of fervor, attitude, and flair - finishing off with Garza doing the splits. Paju Munro and her partner Michael Eric Koptke provided fierce competition for Garza and Ortiz. The dance floor came alive. “I was getting back so much energy from the audience that I had to concentrate not to let it overwhelm me and cause me to fall off my high heels,” she told me. “We both put a lot of passion and energy into the dance, and we really wanted to tell a story,” said Garza, and they surely did exactly that. She recalled clutching her prize and saying, “This is a dream come true!” Regarding other drag dancers, she said, “This is going to set up a whole new stage to reach everyone in the dance community,” and added, “People who never saw a drag queen in their lives were there cheering their hearts out for us.” She concluded, “It’s time for other queens to take this torch and make it really flame!” 

Caroline Lund was in the opening and closing production singing and dancing to her hit, “Move Your Body.” She said, “We had a great time with me and my dancers at the show.” She said, “It just has such a nice family feeling being in the show.” She said Gallineaux engaged her at one of her dance performances at clubs around town and thought she would be a perfect fit for DwtDS. “I felt really honored to be part of the show, and I was very impressed by the drag dancers’ capabilities.” She said, “I really think the event has so much potential, and I hope they will keep me on.” Lund added, “We have so much talent here in San Francisco, and I think it’s great to see these performers in yet another outlet, going in a different direction.” 

“This next season will be bigger and better,” said Gallineaux. “In fact, I predict it will be so big, we’ll have to get a much bigger venue.” He said he saw it growing into a nationwide competition possibly having its finale in Las Vegas or someplace equally showy. He said he has already been contacted by drags all over the country who want to compete, including Miss Gay USA 2000 Catia from Oklahoma, who plans to be an integral part of “Dancing with the Drag Stars.” Gallineaux concluded, “Our number one priority is making sure this event remains a staple and mainstay of the San Francisco community, reflecting the unique diversity and power of different sexualities in the greatest potential possible.”