Shakedown

Refreshing, informative, stimulating, visually appealing

so nice to watch a queer film that doesn't center a white middle class romance

the film explores sex in public, outside of the couple form, in a queer community space

amazing that young queers at the time could have access to this world

I love how many different event posters the film features, for some reason the way the posters were put together really spoke to me

the aesthetic of the posters makes me feel like they were made by people close to the performers who really wanted the performers to be safe and surrounded by money and love.

Shakedown was a club that had to close for financial reasons--and being raided by the cops must have played a part too. The interviews are often informative, the dancing can be very raunchy (a bit surprising for the high-minded Criterion Channel). The spirit of fun in the place is infectious. Beware of the murky lighting in some scenes, and strobe lights too.

An homage to expressive and queer sexuality, the dancers featured in this documentary are passionate and inspiring in their adulterated way of being. Thank you to the film maker for highlighting a part of this lesbian world. The footage is raw and the story very much in the moment as events are happening. The dancing is hyper sexual and for me as a queer woman empowering to see this expression is a lesbian run and owned space, by the female gaze for the female gaze. It portrays a magnitude of lesbian identities within the hour and 10 minutes it runs from hyper femme to trans masculine presenting. I would definitely recommend to any queer friends as educational and entertaining.