Texas Twisters seek dance team members

GOTTA DANCE: In 2000, team captain Tony New helped form the Texas Twisters.

The Texas Twisters, a country-western-flavored LGBT dance group, is gearing up for its club membership drive.

The Twisters are a performance and competition team that busts out all the moves: two-step, cha-cha, West Coast swing, East Coast swing, the waltz, the triple two-step and the night two-step.

Rehearsals begin June 1. After routines are polished, the Twisters perform at benefit shows.

Each year the Twisters select two beneficiaries and raise money all year long on their behalf. In 2005, they donated $4,000. The 2008 beneficiaries are The AIDS Resource Center of Dallas and The Samaritan House in Fort Worth.

Past teams have won numerous national and international awards. Plans include performing in Texas gay Pride parades and competing in the state TGRA Dance Contest,

Through June 30, memberships are half-price: individuals pay $15, couples (two people living at the same address) are $25.

Membership forms available at the Round-Up Saloon and Texastwisters.org/#onlinemembershipreg

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AIDS — THE MUSICAL!

Jade Esteban Estrada, pictured, morphs into Rock Hudson, singing a song about the greatest role he ever played — hiding out in Paris, circa 1985, dying of AIDS. That’s just one of the stories he retraces in “A Lullaby for Ryan: The History of HIV/AIDS in America,” which will be staged at Fort Worth’s W. E. Scott Theatre on Friday.
Estrada, a San Antonio native, is also a Latin pop artist and has appeared on four albums, including the 2002 compilation “Being Out Rocks,” which featured his song “Bella Morena.”

So far, Estrada has produced 10 solo shows, including his 2007 production of “Gay Christian, Gay Muslim, Gay Jew.”


W. E. Scott Theatre at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St. in Fort Worth. May 23 at 8 p.m. Reception at 9:30 p.m. Tickets, $10. 817-207-9633. GetJaded.com




These articles appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition May 23, 2008.