The right time to open the closet

When referee Mike Riley came to Bulgaria for the match between Levski and Schalke 04, he had no idea that at the end of the game he would hear the most offensive word on the pitch in the country. Levski’s president Todor Batkov called him a “British homosexual”.


In an EU country which decriminalized homosexuality long before the change from communism to democracy, one might expect to see a tolerant society. In reality, 80 % of the population disapproves of gay lifestyles and media is reinforcing negative stereotypes. Tabloid websites flood their pages with lists of likely gay/bisexual football players and the remarks are cruel.

In contrast

Gay and bisexual football players in the UK find it easier to come out according to a charity that is dealing with challenging discrimination and working for positive change.

“Clubs have definitely moved on. They are more corporations rather than football clubs, “says Kevin Coleman, a grass roots development officer at Kick It Out campaign.

Kick It Out is football's equality and inclusion campaign in Britain. There are 4,000 players in the professional league and currently no one is openly gay. Coleman considers that if 10 per cent of the population in the UK is gay/bisexual 400 players are possibly gay/bisexual too.

Back in the days...

He speculates that people are not willing to come out and are scared of the consequences because of the media attacks. In 1990 Justin Fashanu was the last openly gay player in football and he received the harshest welcome would any player ever received. His brother John publicly disowned him, whereas his manager Brian Clough called him “a bloody poof!” Fashanu ended up committing suicide.

Kick It Out is trying to educate people to step forward and would help the players if they ever came forward but “no players ever came forward to us”, says Coleman.

Moving on

That is changing. Last year British Lions rugby legend Gareth Thomas announced publicly that he was gay. Recently he wrote in the Daily Telegraph, “There comes a point where you think that the whole world is against you, and then you say to yourself “I can carry on in this dark little world or I can be honest with everybody and live the life I want.”” Thomas is the first openly gay professional rugby union player who is still playing. He expected a big backlash, but in fact he got large support.

In the 606 debate web page of the BBC Celticjinker writes: “Well done Gareth and thanks for all your years as a player for Wales and I'm sure it won’t make a bit of difference to your many fans.”

The 20 year old Anton Hysen is another player who was not afraid to come out. He did that at the start of his career. Unlike Fashanu, he was not shunned by his brother, but his mother is concerned that he’ll get beaten up. That doesn’t trouble the young player. He said to the Guardian,  “People tell me I’m a celebrity now, and I shouldn’t be. But if there’s anyone afraid of coming out they should give me a call”.

...because it's better for the club

Kevin Coleman thinks that one of the reasons for the change of the mentality might the corporate thinking of the clubs. “We are just waiting for one player and there will be a wave. People have moved on. Clubs have definitely moved on. The club would be more supported whether they are more acceptable or not, because of the corporate image of the club.”

Don’t expect to hear such statement in Bulgaria soon. The last time there was a piece on homosexuals in football it was an interview with a famous drag queen who said that she slept with many professional players.

Two decades after he took the stage, Usher still makes us saying OMG after we leave his shows

If you’re expecting a crowd of predominantly teenage girls to an Usher concert, you’re wrong. If you went to his show at the O2 and thought that his main idea was to emulate Michael Jackson, you might be wrong as well.

Usher started the concert on a flying platform. He looked around and saw a very diverse audience. It was not only screaming teenage girls waiting for him to take his shirt off (which he did). There were the parents of these girls, fathers with their sons and mates who were drinking beer and enjoying the show.

The star filled the stage with his personality. Usher’s voice and moves are his competitive advantage and he exploited that to the maximum last night in front of approximately 20, 000 of his fans.

Let's Take a Ride

In the two-hour experience the Dallas native offered a musical journey - from his debut single You Make Me Wanna, to Love in This Club and the medley of his previous hits.

There was a good selection of songs. The fans seemed more excited about his previous singles than the ones from Raymond V. Raymond, although after the concert the only thing you can hear at the North Greenwich tube station was “oh, oh , oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…” from OMG.

During the performance of You Reminded Me the four female dancers pretending to be his previous lovers haunt the singer in a dramatization where he’s acting like a player. 

The happiest girl in 02

In Trading Places an attractive blonde girl from the crowd went to the stage. Usher got very intimate and I heard someone from the audience saying, “That b*tch is so lucky.” The performance was a little dirty, but that can be forgiven.

Usher just got divorced, he’s a bachelor again and there’s nothing wrong with a little display of raunch. On the other hand, it helps selling more albums. That’s probably is one of the reasons why he also took off his shirt and had all these suggestive moves.

Choreo

Overall the dance performance was slick with some choreography reminding of Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveShow. The dancers were professional and demonstrated good skills when they used pyro or other light effects for the numbers.  

Usher paid a tribute to his idol Michael Jackson with a dance on the intro of Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough.

There are reviews in the British press that claim the main idea of the artist during the concert was to imitate the King of Pop. I don’t think that was necessarily the case, but I believe that Usher has the capacity to fill the void for an inspiring pop act that appeals to mass audiences.

Classic ballet meets street dance at Oxford Playhouse

It was supposed to be a typical Saturday night out in London - spending at least 30 quid on booze and clubs.

Instead, I decided to go to Oxford and watch a dance performance. The experience cost me less than that including the train tickets. Money well spent.

No need for a translator
I have always been a big fan of dance. Thanks to nonverbal communication it tells stories without words, giving your imagination a room to put the right words for you.

Danish Dance Theatre was created 30 years ago.With choreographer Tim Rushton they are making their first tour of the UK.

There were three pieces in his program. The quality of the production was amazing - from the light that was measured with a high degree of precision, to the light movements of the well built dancers, to the carefully selected music.



The biggest impact

Kridt was the best work of the show. It was the most touching piece based on Peteris Vasks' Musica Adventus (which you can find in the album Viatore). It tells the story of a dying man whose life is remembered by his friends. The shapes of his moving body are jot down on the wall and he's dancing until his final breath when sand comes out of the sky to bury him. It's striking and makes you think about life.

The other two pieces had their appeal as well. CaDance shows five of the male dancers competing with sharp, aggressive movements under the influence of live drums playing on the background. In Enigma, which started the performance dancers struggle to understand each other. Beautiful duets and the music of Mathias Friis-Nansen that inspire a additional sense of mystery.

I enjoyed Danish Dance Theatre on Saturday and was not the only one. At the end there were three curtain falls at the Oxford Playhouse.