Ballroom Beats Bullying for Harlem Youth, To Benefit AIDS Walk

They came in rain, sleet and howling wind...they came, to dance the night away, to salsa into another day, they came. A sizeable crowd -- especially for a Wednesday evening -- gathered on Apr. 10 for the first Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) Step+Walk+Dance event. Hosted by Krishna Stone of GMHC and Sidney Grant of Ballroom Basix, the event was one of many dedicated to raising funds and awareness for the upcoming AIDS Walk New York.

"GMHC has been a constant leader in the fight against HIV and AIDS at local, state, and national levels and we remain committed to serving those in greatest need and we've worked diligently to evolve and expand with the changing needs of the populations that we serve," said Stone in an recent interview with EDGE.

After watching her longtime friend, Grant, on NY1's "New Yorker of the Week," Stone was struck with inspiration. Although she hadn't seen him in a year, she reached out to him.

"In January I figured out 'oh why don't we try a ballroom dancing fundraiser at GMHC' and I have been here for 20 years and this is the first time we have actually done a ballroom dance fundraiser for AIDS Walk New York," said Stone. "It's very exciting for us."

Stone and Grant quickly organized and out of a serendipitous television viewing came Step+Walk+Dance. As part of the event, professional dancer and 2011 USA Tango Championship Winner, Grant offered dance instructions and performances.

Founded by Grant in 2008, Ballroom Basix, a co-collaborator for the evening's events, is a non-competitive school program for students beginning in the sixth grade. It encourages self-development and respect through the classic art of partner dancing. Based in the musically historic Harlem, it creates a unique and safe space for students to engage and express.

"Children need and deserve an activity that by its very nature is non-competitive, and it is about connecting them in a physically appropriate and respectful way," said Grant, adding, "partner dancing in general is enjoying a renaissance of sorts right now because you've got programs like 'Dancing With The Stars' and 'So You Think You Can Dance' but I also think it's a sociocultural phenomenon in that we got to a point of disconnect. The reason partner dancing is back in vogue is because people are realizing this is an incredible language to share non-verbally with somebody, the lead and the follow, the give and the take. So I think partner dancing is an incredible metaphor for life."

The evening was an entertaining combination of lessons, performances and casual dancing. Some highlights of the night included students from Ballroom BaSix performing to Grammy Nominated Karina Pasian's rendition of "America, The Beautiful" and the Manhattan Prairie Dogs offering fabulous and fresh energetic flashes of flesh.

Volunteer DJs Andre Boorstyn and Ron Kelly kept the evening light with lively and engaging music while mixed and same-sex couples twirled, whirled, spun, and showed off their best fancy footwork.

The common thread for this event and the organizations that participated is commitment. People were there because they wanted to be there, because they were happy to be there. It might not have been the largest crowd, but it was the right crowd. The energy was ideal, the camaraderie sincere and the dancing familiar.

The event will raise money for AIDS Walk New York, an annual event that raises money to support nearly 40 local organizations working with individuals living with HIV/AIDS. In 2012, AIDS Walk New York raised six million dollars with more than 40,000 people participating in the event. One of the primary recipients of funds from the event is GMHC, an organization that has been at the forefront of the HIV care movement since it was founded in 1981 in the living room of playwright Larry Kramer.