Men in tights

Getting together for a guys’ night out has taken on a whole new meaning for a group of Sandpoint men. Known as the Big Boy Ballet Co., some 40 local men have danced their way into the hearts of many area residents all while helping out their community.

The group first got together in 1997 to hold a fundraiser for Angels Over Sandpoint, a local nonprofit that raises money to help with needs in the community including scholarships and school supplies for underprivileged families. That first event, a roast of local restaurant owner Jim Lippi, was such a big hit that it left the men wanting to do more.

“It was a big success,” said Peter Mico, one of the Big Boy Ballet Co. founders and owner of Spuds Rotisserie and Grill in Sandpoint.

But the next time the men held a fundraiser, they set their sights on something a little different, and it was then the idea of the Big Boy Ballet Co. evolved.

It wasn’t long until troupe members discovered that dressing up in white tights, white tank tops and pink tutus was extremely marketable.

In 2002 the Big Boy Ballet Co. put on its first production to once again raise money for the Angels Over Sandpoint. They started their rehearsals five months in advance, but quickly learned that their performance peaked about the second month.

“We considered ourselves untrainable,” said Dan McLaughlin, a real estate agent and original ballet company member.

But Mico said that with the help of local dance instructor Laurie Buck, they discovered that many of the men are actually talented.

“We are discovering that talent is emerging in people who can really sing and dance,” Mico said.

Since the 2002 production, the Big Boys have appeared in the 25th anniversary celebration of Sandpoint’s Panida Theater and, earlier this month, in another production which they titled “The Man Show.”

The adults-only show was divided into two acts, the first featuring videos depicting the fictitious rise and fall of the Big Boys filmed by two local Academy Award winners, Erik Daarstad and Dan McCann.

The videos, which included local psychologist Gloria Waterhouse analyzing why these men behave the way they do, were then critiqued on stage by Mark Fuhrman, radio personality and former Los Angeles police detective, and Dyno Wahl, executive director for the Festival at Sandpoint.

The second half of the show featured a Sexiest Man Alive contest complete with a dance-off with the Ultimate Males, a group of professional dancers from Seattle. The Big Boys dubbed the act “the six pack abs against the kings of flab.”

This time around practices started about five weeks before the production. Once again Buck spent many evenings teaching the men dances she choreographed and listening to their ideas.

While the group has a lot of fun putting their moves together, the men take their rehearsal time seriously and strive to perfect each dance move.

“The fact that we take this so seriously is part of what makes it so funny,” said dancer Bob Walsh, a contractor.

A majority of the proceeds of The Man Show went to Sandpoint’s Community Cancer Services, a local information and resource center for cancer patients and their families.

“They (Community Cancer Services) do so much for people we know in the community,” said Mico. He added that the timing of the event, although not planned, turned out to be a tribute to Community Cancer Services’ founder Heather Gibson, who died a month before the production, after an eight-year battle with cancer.

“We had already decided that most of the money (we raised) would go to Community Cancer Services, but then when she (Gibson) died it seemed even more appropriate,” said Mico.

But as much as they enjoy putting on their show, the Big Boys say they couldn’t pull it off without the help of others.

“We have great community participation,” Walsh said. “We could not have done this without our sponsors, the people who come to help out and just the overall support from the community.”

Just how much courage does it take to put on the costumes and dance in front of approximately 500 people in the sold-out crowd? The men say the fact they are doing it for a good cause is all the motivation they need.

“To get myself started, I have to say to myself that this is all for a good cause,” said McLaughlin. “After all, the whole point of this is to give back to the community.”