‘And Then We Danced’: A Poignant Gay Movie On Georgian Dancing

‘And Then We Danced’ (2019) is a Georgian movie, directed by Swedish director Levan Akin. It tells the story of Merab, who follows an intense and rigorous training to get a spot in the National Ensemble as a traditional Georgian dancer. Men’s traditional Georgian dance is a very powerful and masculine dance, which requires a tremendous amount of strength. But Merab appears to be struggling with the overbearing masculine part of the dance, and his teacher often points it out.

Merab trains hard and attends dance school with Mary, who is sort of his girlfriend. There, he learns why there is a spot available in the ensemble: the previous dancer was caught having sexual relations with other men and was severely beaten by the other members of the troop, before being excluded. Being queer is not so welcomed in Georgia.

There have been protests at the premier screening in Georgia, actually, with conservative groups wanting to cancel it and ready to storm the cinema. Police had to be called to ensure the security of the audience, in order for the screenings to take place as planned. So, remember: every person watching this movie is one more nail in the coffin of Georgia’s rampant homophobia.  

But, back to the plot of the movie: one day, a new student comes to the school. Aleko, who makes a very noticed entrance, because of his rebellious side and his incredible talent - even if he has not trained for this long. Jealous at first, Merab finds himself more and more drawn to Aleko, as time goes on.

Unfortunately, life - and society - will not be easy on them. If you are looking for a sweet, feel-good movie, this one might not be for you. But if you love drama, passion, (gay) love, hope, incredibly good dancing on top-notch acting performances, we can only recommend you watch it. The movie has won several awards in movie festivals for its scenario and acting performances. Yes, it is that good!

Just watch the trailer down below and you will see what we are talking about!