Nude Awakenings: PART I of II

I faced the water, iPod in hand, headphones barely staying atop of my head, as I danced under the clear sky of an approaching sunset. The water was calm and the breeze was barely a whisper. Such a perfect night on Fire Island. The Belvedere had a beautiful back deck area at that time. This was right after I completed my studies and training with the conservatory, so we’re talking summer of 2013. Heaven knows if it is still there or if things have been redesigned or torn down. But at that time, at that moment, it was as close to paradise as I had gotten since my cruise to Jamaica, Mexico and the Cayman islands back in 2008. But I digress…

I remember this day fondly. I was vacationing with my boyfriend Ron at the time, and a friend of his, Amit, on Fire Island for a few days. After a wonderful dinner, a puff of the “peace pipe” and a nice stroll through the boardwalk, we retreated to our rooms at The Belvedere. I, being the mover that I am, remembered seeing the back deck area of the hotel when we first arrived. I casually made my way to the back, with my headphones and iPod in tow, and began to groove to India Arie’s classic “Nature”, while observing the sunset that was before me. It was setting right above the water, with an amber-like tint to it. Absolutely beautiful I tell you.

It must have been no more than three minutes or so (maybe more) and I suppose I pirouetted around, as I was free styling (improvised or on the spot dancing), only to see my boyfriend and Amit watching me. I stop short, shy, perhaps a wee bit embarrassed. Amit suddenly exclaims, “NO, Please! Don’t stop! You look absolutely stunning, especially against the sunset…“. I hadn’t noticed them, being caught up in my music and facing the water. I laughed, meekly.

He asked me, “What are you up to this weekend?”.

“Odd question”, I thought.

The three of us had planned on leaving Fire Island in the next day or two and so would have a few days in between before the official weekend. I honestly thought Amit was full of crap, in all honesty. Ron informed me of his ventures and ideas throughout the years that didn’t always pan out or he may not have followed through with. Not that he wasn’t a great guy, because he was. Charming, handsome, great conversationalist and quite an imagination as I’d soon come to find out.

Unbeknownst to me, Amit was working on a project down in Miami, Florida in which he had begun before coming up to New York. He was taking a break before heading back down apparently. He hadn’t known that I was a dancer beforehand. This project he was working on involved individuals whose role was to perform the tasks that are associated with their craft/job, while being naked. However, though filmed naked on set, the end product would result in a series of videos and photos or just one video, of only the silhouette of the individual. Seeing me on the deck facing the sun and dancing away (with clothes on) coincided with exactly he was doing in Florida. He exclaimed that he had already hired and recorded, with his team, 19 or so people. Everyone from a janitor, maintenance man, firefighter, an exotic dancer and even an office secretary were a part of this project. This included all genders, including a trans woman. I would be the last “piece of the puzzle” that he was looking for. He hadn’t been able to find a professional dancer, aside from the exotic dancer.

Up until that point, my only exposure to the idea of public nudity had been through my longtime dear friend Bruce who considered himself a “part-time nudist”. I never saw him around the house naked unless we were at the gym. He attended the GNI (Gay Naturists International) gathering for years. He always showed me kodak photos of himself and friends, fully clad in nothing but the sun against their skin. I was always perplexed at the fascination of folks (at that time men) to wanting to be naked amongst a bunch of others for the sake of, well… JUST BEING. Without the clothes, the layers, and the accessories that compensate for our need for security.

But this was different. This wasn’t getting naked for the sake of being naked. It was after all a “gig“, so to speak, but more importantly, this was artistic and gave me a chance I was going to do what I love to do, which is dance, just instead this time I’d be nude. This was an all expenses covered round trip which included food, and shelter. I thought this to be a pretty nice deal AND something that was out of my comfort zone as a dancer. But as a performer, I was up to the challenge.

Also, him identifying as a cisgendered, heterosexual male, in all honesty, made me a little less uncomfortable once he explained his intentions. What he offered was indeed a non-sexual proposal. All I knew and assumed up until that point was that nudity equated to sex. Boy was I inaccurate.

The experience of dancing in front of a camera crew, nude, while dancing to one of my favorite songs (the very song I was dancing to back at the Belvedere) was liberating in a way that only now I realize. Little did I know that this experience would open the door to opportunities I could only dream of doing. And NEVER in a million years would I have ever thought it would allow me to follow an unconventional path which has turned into a passion, that literally revealed who I was/am to the world…