Dance Erotica 

Dress code – Leather, rubber, PVC, cling film, body paint, nothing…

The night began, really, with eight queer folks sitting in the front room dressed up in rubber, leather and spangles. Actually all eight of us were not there at the same time for most of it as there was a mad flurry of hair spiking, making up and buffing each other’s rubber up. We’ve been to a couple of these fetish nights before as we love the mischievous excitement when you parade around in grown-up fancy dress. The buzz; the freeness of the people at these nights. The atmosphere is very fun and sexually charged, but also very safe. One of the queer boys in the front room had never gone to one of these pervs’ nights before so he was pretty nervous but he looked damn good in his red kilt.

We popped into Gubu at about 11 o’clock for a couple of drinks and enjoyed the looks people were giving us: appreciative, amused, nervous, confused.

It was after midnight by the time we headed over to the Vortex, a-squeaking all the way. It was fifteen pounds a head and you had to pay another tenner (of which you got £5 back on returning the key) if you needed a locker for the night to store your going-home gear, etc. The night was going to be long though, going on until 9am, so we reckoned that this wasn’t too big a price to pay. At that price we expected that there would be some live acts, but unfortunately there weren’t. Unless you counted the clientele! 

After paying, we were buzzed through to a smallish bar area, which sold cans of beer, soft drinks, spirits and legal herbal highs. There was a small dance floor, and a DJ spinning vinyl in the corner. There were about 20 people there and you could feel that it was going to be a good night. The atmosphere was charged. 

There were some more standard fetish costumes – leather, rubber and PV – and also some really interesting ones. A tall bloke with his chest wrapped in cling film, another guy painted head to toe in beautiful black and white swirls, a sailor boy and girl, and a girl with fangs were some of the more memorable outfits. 

It was the kind of place where you went for a wander; first of all down to the dungeon, which was dark and positively pumping with techno and at that stage quite empty. There was a small TV screen in the corner showing some desperately hilarious SM porn. It was very 80s, very Swedish and had lots of women with big hair and big nails, and strong, tanned, well-hung men with perms and moustaches. There is a central space in the dungeon, which leads off into a number of smallish cubicles, which housed harnesses, straps, and the like. Basically the kind of place where you could freely watch some folks doing a scene or even do your own scene (here’s one I made earlier …). 

On the first floor above the bar was the locker room and showers. The second floor had various cubicles - with bolted doors for those who were looking for some privacy for their intimate moments and which contained covered black mattresses on the floor or bench. On the upper floor, there is a maze and some more small cubicles. A large room, with mirrors on all the walls and ceiling, and a large leather bed, housed a very attractive body painter. He produced some striking works of art that night, mostly in black and white and consisting of abstract swirls. 

It was a big place which meant you never felt too crowded, unless you wanted to be! Mind you it made it harder to keep track of some people, including one of our group who disappeared for quite a while up to the top floor, and coincidentally around the same time, the body painter was nowhere to be found either…

There was a fair bit of action in the dungeon at about 4 or 5 in the morning but we can’t give details of the scenes as we didn’t feel like staying long in the dungeon to see them. There tended to be a majority of male SM-ers and voyeurs, some just watching and others getting Mr Happy happier! 

Later in the night, at about 7am, the numbers in the venue lessened, leaving it feeling a bit empty, but not devoid of atmosphere, and six women took over the dance floor … and the counter of the bar …. There were a number of other people around and the mood was still lively. Finally about 8am the remaining two of our original group left. We certainly got our money’s worth! 

All in all, a good night, thanks to the vibrant and energetic crowd. It was a disappointment that there were no live acts and that no work was done to make the Vortex look more like a fetish club. The fetish night held in March transformed Viva into a sleazy, sexy, atmospherically lit place. The central bar/dance area was possibly too small, and there was no other central congregating spot, which is needed for nights such as Dance Erotica. Also the Vortex had very few places to sit, unless you were in a cubicle! Dublin really needs a regular fetish event, so thanks to the organisers behind Dance Erotica… we look forward to the next one! 

Many thanks to J for the review - August 2001

Related Links
Vortex Page on Gay-Ireland
Dance Erotica Club Flyer
Basic Instincts Page on Gay-Ireland
Lube Fetish club - Interview