Dance teacher given new lease on life offers same-sex salsa lessons
Lorraine Vasquez, 50, remembers the day two years ago when doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer. She was given a year to live. “I had two young daughters and my doctor told me I should get my affairs in order because I was going to die,” Vasquez recalls. “I just said ‘No, you are wrong’.” Vasquez closed her successful dance studio in Puerto Rico, packed her things and moved to Orlando. She checked into MD Anderson Cancer Center and was shocked to learn she was cancer-free. She had been misdiagnosed. Other good things happened. Vasquez met her partner, Lelis Pagan, while working at the airport. On March 8, she opened Lorraine’s Dance Studio at 1720 N Goldenrod Blvd in Orlando. There are now two generations of lesbians working in the dance business. Her daughter Nita Bravo, 20, and partner Francesca Colon, are helping out. To celebrate, Vasquez has introduced same-sex salsa classes for adults from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays. Vasquez said she is grateful to be given another chance at life. For pricing and to sign up for salsa, call 321-400-0953.
Blue Starr leaves Revolution
After 14 years belting out late night tunes on Bumby, the multi-talented Blue Starr has parted ways with Revolution Nightclub. Starr announced, on Facebook, she will perform exclusively at The Venue, the entertainment place she opened in Ivanhoe Village last fall. The Venue, now home to babybluestar Productions, has been providing affordable rental to the arts community. In addition, a number of fundraisers have used the locale for events. Starr plans drag burlesque, drag king shows, improv, coffee house-esque and more. “Pretty sure there will be a girlie show at The Venue on a Saturday every now and again! That fucking rocks my world! Dreams come true,” she wrote on her post, which had more than 200 likes and dozens of congratulatory comments at press time. For a schedule, visit TheVenueOrlando.com or call 407-412-6895.
Openly gay sci-fi hottie to sign autographs at MegaCon2014
Every nerd and nerdette in the comic book and gaming community will converge on the Orange County Convention Center from March 21- 23 for MegaCon2014. This Mega Convention is the place for appearances by stars in the world of comic books, sci-fi, anime and fantasy. Sounds a little boring, right? Then, we looked at the schedule. There we found John Scot Barrowman, the gorgeous and hunky openly gay Scottish-American actor who plays Captain Jack Harkness in Torchwood, the sci-fi series about a team of alien hunters. Barrowman is currently playing Malcolm Merlyn in the new series Arrow on The CW Network. Ken Tucker, a writer for Wikipedia describes Barrowman’s role as “dashing”, “utterly fabulous,” “celestially promiscuous,” and “like Tom Cruise with suspenders, but minus the Scientology.” Barrowman will sign autographs and pose for pics with fans for a fee. Visit MegaConvention.com for tickets. For luscious pics of Barrowman, visit his site at JohnBarrowman.com.
