Chance To Dance For You
By: Gail Sidonie Sobat
Overview
Gail Sidonie Sobat, author of Chance To Dance For You, tells a story about two high school boys, Jess being the school jock, and Ian, a simple dancer, going through the complications of being in a homosexual relationship. Ian expresses his feelings towards Jess but later on faces the obstacles that come along with falling in love with the high school quarterback. Similarly, in today’s society, many people are being harassed, threatened and brought to court simply for loving the same gender. When teenagers come out, often times it is very hard for their family and society to accept them in their entirety. Apart from their social renouncement, religion and cultural beliefs are both factors that prevent youth from coming to terms with their sexuality. As years pass, homosexual relationships are increasing in number and are becoming more widely accepted. The white pine author I chose was Lindsay Moynihan. She promotes homosexual relationships with a fresh new insight by telling her audience about situations she went through herself and the ways she handled them. Aside from the website, Chance To Dance For You and The Way He Looks, which was the movie I picked, present homosexual relationships with a fresh insight just by including homosexual relationships within their storyline.
Novel
The characters of Chance To Dance For You are very unlike each other but are alike when it comes to gender preference. The protagonist, Ian Trudeau, has a huge passion for dance. Since the age of 6, Ian has been learning dance from Madame Branislov and still continues to learn from her. At the age of 17, Ian started to develop feelings for the antagonist, Jess Campeau. Jess is the school jock as well as a football player although rude at the same time. They both live in a suburban area and are currently enrolled in Grade 12 at Whitleigh Highschool. As Ian expressed his feelings with Jess, he later on faced obstacles that come along with falling in love with the high school quarterback. Ian and Jess are two opposite people. While Ian is very open about his sexuality, Jess is not. Ian came out to his Mom unknowingly that his mom already knew he was homosexual. On the other side, Jess’s father is strictly against homosexuality and will not allow Jess to be homosexual. Later on in the story, Ian wanted Jess to come out to everyone that he is homosexual but Jess refused, so Ian threatened Jess to tell everyone about their relationship. The theme of Chance To Dance For You is homosexual relationships. The author presents this theme as positive LGBT by the realism that is inside this book. The author realizes that there are problems and confusions that occur when there are homosexual relationships.
Movie
Leonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend, Giovana, and the way he sees the world changes completely with the arrival of Gabriel. While working on a school project, Gabriel and Leonardo get closer. Giovanna sees that they are getting closer and that thought soon forms a love triangle between Giovana, Leonardo and the new student, Gabriel. Leonardo and Gabriel are both homosexuals keeping their relationship a secret. Stress comes in the way when one of them wants to publicize their relationship. Along with Chance To Dance For You, The Way He Looks supports homosexual relationships in a positive manner. In the novel and movie, both the protagonists of each medium try to cope up with their relationship in a very judgemental society.
Website
Link To The Website
http://www.jeanbooknerd.com/2013/04/lindsay-moynihan-author-interview.html
This website provides more than enough information on the author’s life. Lindsay had a passion for storytelling since her early childhood. Fun fact: Lindsay actually grew up in Toronto, Canada. She volunteers with local LGBTQ organizations and continues to write about the struggles and successes of today’s young adults. This website provides information on Lindsay’s only book, The Waiting Tree. The way this website is structured is unique. Lindsay grabs her audiences attention but being real and truthful on her website. Lindsay is very passionate about LGBT and she shares a story that she experienced at her church. This website provides background information and current information about Lindsay and her successes towards different LGBT organizations.