gregorybmowery I'm actually shocked at the number of insensitive reviews of this excellent documentary about a group of talented, young dancers who got lucky enough to enter the surreal performing world of Madonna at the top of her stardom during her 1990 "Truth or Dare" tour, and what happened in ensuing twenty five years. Seven young, attractive and blazingly talented dancers were plucked out of an audition process by Madonna and her team to support of her TRUTH OR DARE tour. Six are gay and mostly closeted to the outside world and have significant ballet and dance training. The seventh performer both straight and fro the hip-hop world. For many months these kids performed with the most famous pop singer in the world with audiences for each concert ranging from 20 to 80 thousand fans. It was a heady experience where they concentrated on supporting their their star and with all their needs being taken care of by the backstage tour personnel. Everything was first class. In this heady time, the dancers wore designer clothing, were photographed everywhere with Madonna. A bit older than her charges, she became their big sister, tour mother, their shining star. She took care of them, loved them, coddled them. Arguably, the biggest star in the world at the time, Madonna was fearless in her pronouncements. At the height of the world-wide AIDS crisis, Madonna was outspoken in her support of friends who were dying, and in the process, insisted that those brave enough to come out were deserving of the world's respect and compassion. It was a naive assumption and it compelled her to out some of her dancers who were not emotionally ready to share that information. One of the dancers she publicly outed, died of AIDS. Once the tour was over, there was creeping reality that there lives would go back to being ordinary again, and some of the dancers sued her for breach of privacy. Hurt and angry, Madonna withdrew from them all completely. At least two more members of the group contracted HIV and had to learn how to cope with their fear. The straight hip-hop kid headed straight for Las Vegas after the tour where he attached himself to the club scene, and drowned himself in booze for a long time. There was only one really successful member and that was Kevin Alexander Stea (so much for those who have written none of them were a success after the tour), who worked with Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Prince and Beyonce, among others. Carlton Wilburn, another dancer, has had success as an actor and writer. Here you have seven young dancers who got swept up in Madonna's orbit and then they were left to figure out the rest of their lives. Most of them were ill-equipped to make that transition. And that's both the inspiration and the heartbreak of this documentary. Madonna was generous in giving the filmmakers access to the music and images of the tour. But she is completely absent here and that's too bad. All the dancers professed to having no bitterness, or feelings that they're owed something from her and that's a good reality check. They were not exploited by having worked with her, except perhaps in her over-zealousness in outing some of them. All of them express a deep love, respect and gratefulness to Madonna for touching their lives. Too many here are critical of the tears shed in this film, and are very dismissive of this team's emotional ties and that's too bad. They were naive kids, barely out of their teens, and not at all sophisticated to the dangers of the world out there. They were beautiful, and because they were dancers had beautiful bodies and were admired for their looks as well as their talent. This period in their lives could not have been an easy one to traverse without some emotional fallout. I felt terrible for the man whose mother shares her disappointment that her son should have continued dancing with Madonna in order to buy her a house she always wanted. I'm surprised he's even speaking to her. How selfish. Her son is vulnerable and trying to carve out a life for himself. He admits to crippling self-doubt and it can't be easy to in the place he is now in--living in a room in his mother's apartment. Yes the final reunion dinner seems a tad stagy--how could it not be? Six guys--a brilliant team--were getting together who had not seen each other in years. Their joy at being in each other's company is palpable. They get to share war stories from their youth, and measure their own sense of self-worth at this stage. I was never a Madonna fan--I didn't dislike her--but her music didn't touch me and her outlandish PR machine seemed more silly. I also was put off by her failure to become a successful working actor, further distancing her from interesting me. But there is no question of her mark on the culture of her time. Some of the videos are still magical to watch. She was a massive star and it was virtually impossible to ignore her. For me, STRIKE A POSE, humanizes her in a way that was surprising. I hope her dancers from that tour stay in touch. They have a lot of emotional investment in each other. And they will always have the memories of that astonishing period in their lives to draw on.

babzilla-05403 What a fascinating exploration of seven dancers and the time they toured with Madonna. It brought back so many memories of the era. What I loved about this documentary was these men shared a very brief, crazy time in the spotlight, but they refused to be defined by this history. They have moved on, but they do recognize the importance of this time in helping them become the men they are.It's hard to explain to people just how groundbreaking Madonna was. She was a global sensation who refused to be held to conventional ideas, gender lines and sexuality. At that time, with limited general knowledge, AIDS & HIV were thought to be a death sentence. People actually whispered the words. Coming out was a huge step, and many people lived in fear of being outed. Madonna played a huge part in instigating open discussions.The physical beauty of the dancers is undeniable - their youth, prowess to command attention and ability is breathtaking. Thirty years later, their faces are still beautiful, and their stories continue to command attention. It was like seeing old friends, hearing their struggles - and some are heartbreaking - and feeling like their determination and spirits have helped them rise above and break free from what could have been a one-dimensional story. Well done!

Red-125 Strike a Pose (2016) is a Dutch documentary that was directed by Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan. It tells the story of the six surviving members of the seven-man dance group that accompanied Madonna on her Truth or Dare tour.It's a truly sad film. These young, talented men reached great heights during the tour. They became famous in their own right. They were like a family, and Madonna, who was in her 30's at the time, was like their mother hen.When the tour ended, they learned that they weren't really a family. Some of the dancers complained that Madonna had outed them in the movie Truth or Dare (1991). The conflict ended in a lawsuit.One died of AIDS, and the others have struggled with HIV, alcohol, and drugs. None of them maintained the heights they had achieved during the tour. All of them are struggling. (Some more than others, but still struggling.)In retrospect, these talented men would have probably done better if they hadn't been chosen for the tour. No one would have believed it then, but we can see it now.I didn't enjoy this film. The men may have been great dancers, and they may have felt like a family, but they each went their own way, and that way was down. I had hoped the movie would have had more dancing, but there wasn't very much of that either.Not my kind of movie, but the film carries an high IMDb rating of 7.7, so obviously I'm in the minority. I think dancing works better on the large screen than it does on the small screen. However, this movie will work well on either, because there wasn't much dancing.We saw the film at Rochester's excellent Little Theatre, as part of ImageOut, the wonderful Rochester LGBT Film Festival.l

richbw Having just watched the UK premiere at Sheffield Doc fest last night I have to say that this film is an heartwarming, intense, emotional and hugely satisfying journey going all the way back to Madonna's 1990 Blond Ambition tour to the present day documenting the seven backing dancers who worked with Madonna on her extremely popular worldwide tour. Be in no doubt this film does show bits and pieces of the 1990 tour (with Madonna's permission on music rights too) this film is not about Madonna but about her loyal and extremely talented dancers and the aftermath of the tour bringing us up to the present time dealing with their deeply personal issues that each dancer has gone through. Its an emotionally heartwarming film and one not to be missed, if you get the chance to watch it then don't hesitate- just go see it with your eyes open and you'll be rewarded.