(DailyVantage.com) – An LGTB organization recently disqualified a team of dancers from performing at an event due to their costumes featuring the American flag, which the hosting association claims is an offensive symbol.
The team banned from the event is the Borderline Dance Team, a Seattle-based team that participates in various country-themed events. According to a spokesperson for the Borderline Dance Team, the hosting organization, the Rain Country Dance Association, claimed that multiple attendees at the event would likely feel triggered or threatened by the American flag outfits.
Despite the Rain Country Dance Association’s warning that the crowd would likely react negatively to the dance team’s uniform, members of the Borderline Dance Team still planned on wearing the American flag outfit during their performance. Instead of allowing the team to wear the costume, the hosting organization gave them an ultimatum: wear street clothes or clothes supplied by the event’s staff or leave the event entirely. The Borderline Dance Team refused the request, left the event early, and suffered a disqualification in return.
When explaining why the team couldn’t wear the American flag costume, the Rain Country Dance Association cited the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and recent transgender controversies as potentially triggering for the event’s attendees. Despite the hosting organization’s decision to act as though it wasn’t aware of the team’s uniforms before their arrival, the Rain Country Dance Association shared images of the Borderline Dance Team in their outfits on its webpage before the event. The LGTBQ organization has since removed the pictures but hasn’t addressed the scandal.
According to one of the team’s co-captains, Lindsay Stamp, the group began receiving complaints less than an hour after arriving at the venue. Stamp said that while the team did see multiple complaints, only a small group of the event attendees seemed to care about the patriotic outfits. Despite the lack of complaints, Stamp said the team unanimously decided to remove themselves from the event and walk away. Stamp explained the team’s decision by stating that the Borderline Dance Team supports first responders and the military and is ultimately a patriotic dance team.
While the hosting organization hasn’t directly addressed the controversy in a public statement, its president, Ziadee Cambier, claims that the Rain Country Dance Association did not ask the Borderline Dance Team to leave. Cambier also claims that there wasn’t an active competition at the event and that no teams were disqualified. Cambier cited the entire controversy as a “miscommunication” and said the association plans to communicate with the dance teams to explain the ordeal.
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