‘Strike A Pose’ Will Make You Look At Madonna’s ‘Truth Or Dare’ VERY Differently

If you thought Madonna: Truth or Dare gave a revealing look at the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, think again. 2016’s Strike a Pose is the documentary behind the documentary and shines a light on many things going on off-stage that most fans had no clue about.

Truth or Dare was a surprisingly candid look at Madonna, the woman. How she dealt with relationships, with her family, with her friends, and with the prudes trying to silence her and her pointy cone bras. It’s a great documentary, and even though it’s in black and white, it turns out there was a lot of gray area around the events of that massive tour.

In Strike a Pose, her former dancers explain who they were before the tour, what was going on with them when they weren’t sweating on stage every night, and where they are today. The film isn’t just a lot of twirling and waving arms around: these men fully open their hearts to the world. While it was revolutionary for Madonna to show gay men in a movie at that time (including that major kiss moment), it took more than one of them much longer to reveal their HIV-positive status. Each reminisces about Gabriel Trupin, one of the original dancers who passed away from AIDS in 1995, and reflects on their own health, as well as that of their friends in the gay community. It’s impossible not to feel your eyes widen and tear up and realize how much and how little things have changed since the iconic tour took place nearly 30 years ago.

Throughout the documentary the dancers also get emotional while discussing their relationship with Madonna herself: what it was like to be on tour, to be friends, and to experience a falling out with the Queen of Pop. While each man walks us through their current lives, fondly recalling memories and flipping through clippings from magazines, it’s when the six men reunite for an intimate dinner that you’ll feel a flood of feelings. Their bond is palpable and their embraces are as tight as can be. They ultimately carry a ton of positivity, no matter if they’re currently sharing an apartment with their mom or teaching dance classes on a regular basis. Through lawsuits and drug addictions, the fact that these men expertly moved their bodies in the presence of Madonna is a fact that will make them lifelong friends and brothers.

The documentary a fascinating look at just how influential these backup dancers were at the time, and continue to be, for many fans. Madonna worshippers or not, it will bring viewers a lot of tears, a lot of new perspectives and yes, a lot of voguing. Strike a Pose tells an important story and serves as a look back on the people that made that era of music, and all that came with it, so significant.

Where to watch Strike A Pose