The tea dance began in the 19th century as social gathering where people would enjoy afternoon tea and a dance. In the 1950’s the gay community in the USA began to organise their own tea dances as a way of making friends and meeting other gay people. In New York, bars where gay people were known to meet where regularly raided by the police, so the solution was to create the tea dances which often took place outside of the city on Sunday afternoons.
Bijou Stories are pleased to be reviving this tradition but need the help of the LGBTQ+ community to plan and organise the dance in time for LGBTQ+ History Month 2023. Regularly meeting over the autumn and winter this will be the chance for the gay community to come together and share ideas and skills.
Interested? E-mail stories@avantgardening.info to be added to the mailing list.
Or drop in to the “Where to now the sequins have gone?” exhibition in Lewisham Shopping on Wednesday 7th September any time between 1pm – 3pm to find out more and discuss how we we will develop the project.
https://avantgardening.notion.site/DIY-Tea-Dance-first-meeting-b2a8c3c3244b4043b7de1eb373b8bb98
Bijou Stories 