Pink Triangles in Red Square

In August 1993, a group of 34 Gay and Lesbian square dancers traveled to Russia and Latvia to sight-see, perform, and spread the joy of American square dancing. Organized by John Paul and members of San Francisco's Foggy City Dancers and the Foggy City Performance Team, the group included caller Andy Shore and translator/guide and dancer Alex Zabelin. The trip included stops in St. Petersburg, Riga, and Moscow.

History

From the Program Book of the 10th IAGSDC Convention, held in Seattle, WA in 1993:

This coming August 16, a planeload of square-dance goodwill ambassadors from all comers of the United States will travel to Russia for what will most likely be a once-in-a-lifetime, memory-creating journey.

This idea started nearly two years ago in San Francisco. The Enthusiasm for this "working vacation" soon spread to dancers in Seattle, Florida, New York, Colorado, Chicago, Cleveland, Virginia and beyond. In all, about 35 dancers will make the trek to the former Soviet Union.

Over the course of the two weeks, dancers will visit St. Petersburg, Moscow and Riga, Latvia. Approximately 2-4 interpreted, learn-to-square-dance events will be held for the gay and lesbian communities in each city. The contacts in the communities have shown lots of excitement and interest, which has really fueled the team to create a memorable event for everyone concerned.

Officially named "Pink Triangles in Red Square," this adventure will begin with a Saturday morning breakfast during the REMAKE THE CIRCLE convention in Seattle. Because many of the travelers will attend the convention, it made sense to gather for the first time in such an energized atmosphere.

Actual time and place of the breakfast will be forthcoming or look on bulletin boards during the convention for this information. Well-wishers and supporters are invited to drop by and cheer the group for this brave undertaking. For more details on the trip (we may have a few spots open still) contact John Paul at (510) 843-8048 days and (510) 527-1710 evenings.

See the stories in SquareUp! Magazine issues 1 and 5.

Some photos on flickr.

In February and March 1996, a similar tour traveled to Australia for Pink Triangles Down Under.

Participants


Name	City	State
Al Schroeder	San Francisco	CA
Alex Zabelin	San Francisco	CA
Andy Shore	Mountain View	CA
Bill Mossburg	Denver	CO
Bob Fuller	San Francisco	CA
Bob Hilliard	New York	NY
Bob Sullivan	San Francisco	CA
Bruce Little	Richmond	CA
Bruce Wexelberg	Chicago	IL
Chip Carman	San Francisco	CA
Christina Baker	San Jose	CA
Dave Howell	Seattle	WA
David Norton	San Francisco	CA
Dennis Cossey	Denver	CO
Ed Wheeless	Arlington	VA
Greg Wilson	Palo Alto	CA
Gregory Paulk	New York	NY
Jim Edminster	Chicago	IL
JimmySue Harrop	Seattle	WA
Jim Parks	Denver	CO
John Paul	Berkeley	CA
Keith Sutton	Cleveland	OH
Kian-Lam Kho	New York	NY
Layne Ethington	San Francisco	CA
Melinda Napier	Guerneville	CA
Mick Sheppard	San Francisco	CA
Paul Almy	San Francisco	CA
Paul Donnelly	Sausalito	CA
Peter Bray	San Francisco	CA
Randy Clarke	Mountain View	CA
Roger Miller	San Francisco	CA
Steve Browning	San Francisco	CA
Steven Guzay	Cleveland	OH
Warren Livesley	New York	NY