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The Sex Squad

 
In the world of 1950's New York, a ballet chorus dancer is torn between the two men he is involved with and his one true passion -- dance.

In the 1950's, teenager Harry Potter is introduced to the world of ballet when his mother, like millions of other middle-aged women, falls in love with The Red Shoes. While his mother's attempt to turn herself into a ballerina is doomed to fail, Harry soon discovers that he has both the talent and ambition to dance professionally. So, at seventeen, Harry moves to New York City. There he lives in a cold-water, walk-up apartment in a seedy part of Greenwich Village, dances at the old Metropolitan Opera, and finds himself the focal point of a tempestuous and complicated love triangle. Despite his involvement with fellow dancers Siegfried Ilquist and Rex Ames, Harry's life still revolves around his one steadfast passion -- dance.

As a member of "The Sex Squad" (those male dancers well built enough to get away with wearing the skimpy chorus costumes in Aida,) Harry is in the midst of the great explosion of creativity and diversity that is the ballet world of the 1950s. But as compelling and captivating as he finds it, Harry must also come to a decision about who he loves, who he is, and what he is willing to sacrifice for a life in ballet. With its mix of famous people and imagined characters, The Sex Squad is a charming, sexy, and compelling evocation of life and love in an almost forgotten place and time.

Formerly a ballet dancer at the Metropolitan Opera, David Leddick is currently an advertising consultant. He is the author of the novel My Worst Date (Stonewall Inn Editions) and two books of nonfiction, Naked Men: Pioneering Male Nudes (Universe) and The Male Nude (Taschen). He divides his time between Miami Beach and Paris.

Sounds good? Now read some excerpts:

• "How I Became a Dancer": Dance calls Harry and his mother all the way to New York City.
• "Sixteenth Street": Harry's disgusting first apartment in New York, and the whole disgusting neighborhood.
• "In the Dressing Room": Enter the world of high art and low advances.
• "Neighbors": Harry learns about life at exotic parties.

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