Dancing With The Stars has been
a huge hit for ABC, but if it's gay contestants you're looking for
you'll have to turn to cable TV.
Three gay men shimmy and sway for
America's votes in Lifetime's first dance competition series, Your
Mama Don't Dance. Lifetime's twist on the reality TV dance
competition is to pair-up young professional dancers with one of
their parents.
Two dancers and one parent are gay.
Silvano Merendi, 48, will be paired with his daughter, Celia, whom he
raised with his partner in Miami, FL. Out dancer Dante Puleio, 31,
will be tapping it out with his stepmother, Dolores. And finally
Johnathan Silva, 19, will compete with his hairdresser mother,
Rodilyn.
Ian Ziering, best know as Steve Sanders
in Beverly Hills 90210, will host the show. Judges – Chris
Judd, Ben Vereen, and Vitamin C – will decide which two teams to
put on the chopping block each week and, much like American Idol,
voting by phone, text, and online will determine the winner.
Your Mama Don't Dance premieres
on Lifetime TV Friday February 29th.
Cable channel Bravo's reality dance
competition, Step It Up & Dance, brings together 12
professional dancers competing for $100,000. Judges will eliminate
one dancer each week based on challenges which range from a music
video to Vegas spectacular.
Four contestants identify themselves as
gay in their biographies located on the Bravo website. Michael, 25,
James, 23, and Miguel, 24, are from the Los Angeles, CA area. While
Oscar, 31, is from Bologna, Italy but now lives in New York City.
Hosting the show will be dancer
Elizabeth Berkley. The 12 contestants will be mentored by Tony Award
winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell. World-renowned
director and choreographer Vincent Paterson (Madonna's Blond
Ambition tour, Michael Jackson's Bad tour), and
choreographer Nancy O'Meara, whose credits include Hannah Montana
and High School Musical Tour, will serve as judges for the
competition.
Step It Up & Dance premieres
on Bravo TV Thursday April 3rd.
Gay Entertainment Report is a feature
of On Top Magazine and can be reached at ontopmag@ontopmag.com