America’s love affair with dancing can be seen on a number of televised competition shows and in video games, where a “Dance Dance Revolution” is underway.

The modern-day dance craze transports me to my formative years, when dancing reigned supreme on TV shows, such as “Solid Gold” and “Dance Fever,” and in a bounty of dance-floor flicks. Then, the soundtrack to our lives was provided by the likes of KC & The Sunshine Band, ABBA and the high-pitched intonations of The Bee Gees (seriously, did those boys have to give each other severe wedgies to hit those notes?).

The gateway to heaven lay behind a velvet rope; if one was lucky enough, he got into the ultimate hot spot, Studio 54. Unfortunately, only being 10 at the time, I wasn’t able to dance the night away with Liza Minnelli or Michael Jackson (though, I’m sure he would have enjoyed that).

Shaking my booty also reminds me of the ’80s, when I moved to a small town where dancing was verboten! I took it upon myself to teach the kids in the town to defy the law, even going so far as to educate one strapping lad one-on-one about the fine art of dance, to the tune “Let’s Hear It for the Boy.” Oh wait … that’s the plot of Footloose.

Any-hoo, here’s a homo-age to the television shows and movies that made us feel mighty real; back in the day when men could be either regular turkeys or of the jive variety, and the ladies were stone-cold foxy.

During the 1970s, lines to get into the free clinic must have wrapped around the block. No, not because there was a gonorrhea outbreak. Well, maybe that had a little something to do with it, but more than likely it was because mid-decade, the country was stricken with boogie fever!

That fever began on a Saturday night with John Travolta donning a white suit and strutting his stuff in Saturday Night Fever in 1977.

The film phenomenon not only ushered in the disco craze, it added another interesting dynamic to films: the tough guy with something to prove … who proves it with dance (which was later a plot line in Footloose and Dirty Dancing)! Pretty gay, if you ask me.

Travolta repeated the formula as bad boy “Danny Zuko” in Grease, and included singing to his tough-guy repartee – even Stockard Channing as “Rizzo” was more butch than Travolta.

And then there was his turn in the sequel to Fever, Staying Alive. Rather than wearing his traditional Tony Manero suit, Travolta donned a matching loincloth and headband ensemble, which went along nicely with his very tight body, oiled to a high gloss. Nope – you didn’t want to mess with him; he’d choreograph you within an inch of your life! It’s safe to say these three films are the root of those gay rumors.

“TV Personality” (don’t you have to have a personality to be considered one?) Deney Terrio (a.k.a. Travolta-lite) did the hosting duties on “Dance Fever” in 1979, until he was replaced by Adrian Zmed, circa 1985 – ouch, low blow!

No, not for Terrio – for the show itself, which upon its premiere, had couples competing to be the greatest dancers. Usually, these “couples” were a gay guy and his gal pal. You couldn’t hear them, but I’m sure they traded barbs: “Pick up the pace, Jenny, you’re holding me back!” “Shut up, Terry! Is that my leotard you’re wearing?”

Speaking of what the contestants wore, rather than sporting Halston, Gucci or even Fiorucci, some of the contestants donned plastic clothing – and, considering chafing, wouldn’t that be a lose/lose situation?

Costumes and signature dance moves (so dramatic!) were just a part of the charm of “Solid Gold,” which began as a special in 1979, before invading the tube each week from 1980 through 1988, with hosts such as Dionne Warwick, Marilyn McCoo, and even Andy Gibb.

But, the real stars of the show were The Solid Gold Dancers – including original male dancers Alex Cole and Tony Fields (eye candy for every gay-in-training). Yes, there were other dancers aside from Darcel Wynne, who seems to be the most recognizable name – but she was fierce, so it’s understandable.

But, back to the men (my personal favorite was Mark Sellers): they were just so bendy as they helped count down the week’s top 10 songs. Young gay boys didn’t need “Bette Davis Eyes” to figure out what they were seeing was sealing their fate as gay men.

Another strain of boogie fever that sprang up on Saturday nights was the roller skating fad.

No movie more deftly captured the spirit of this four-wheeled trend than 1979’s Roller Boogie starring Linda Blair, the incomparable Jimmy Van Patten, and introducing

Jim Bray as Bobby James – this was his only screen credit, by the way.

Hopefully, you know sarcasm when you read it. This flick clocked in at a whopping two hours and 15 minutes and it could have been trimmed as short as Blair’s satin shorts! Something else that needed to be trimmed was Blair’s waistline – ’cuz you can see the strain on Bray’s face when he has to heft her above his head.

The film’s plot revolves around a group of kids (who go everywhere with their trusty skates on) stopping corrupt forces that want to shut down their favorite roller rink. Cher provided the title track, “Hell On Wheels” – wonder why she doesn’t sing it live?

And what ’70s flick would be complete without the TBG (Token Black Guy), who cries out, upon hearing of the possible demise of the skating rink, “What are we gonna do about the boogie contest?” Words to live by, really.

Skatetown, U.S.A., also released in 1979, is most notable for the first-ever screen appearance by Patrick Swayze and its who’s-who cast, including Maureen McCormick, Scott Baio, and Ruth Buzzi; all of whom must have been biding their time between guest star stints on “The Love Boat.”

Xanadu has got to be the penultimate roller skating flick. While I love me some Olivia Newton-John, all I can say about this weird fusion of old school meets new school dance movie, is it is one big Xana-don’t! It had a great soundtrack, though, as did Thank God It’s Friday, with songs by Diana Ross, Thelma Houston and one of the films stars, Donna Summer. Unfortunately, the soundtrack outsold the movie, putting on hold its proposed sequel, Bennigan’s: The Musical! Oh, T.G.I. Friday was about a disco contest, not the restaurant biz? My bad!

Surprisingly, Can’t Stop the Music starring The Village People was not nominated for an Oscar, as we were to believe the “Macho Man” crooners were straight – and, that’s why they call it acting! Their musical number set at the YMCA, had me thinkin’ they were going to do it with co-star Valerie Perrine, right in the middle of all of the naked men in the locker room. The flick also starred Steve Guttenberg and Bruce Jenner, who wore a pair of Daisy Dukes and a half-shirt – it wasn’t a horror movie, but I can’t get that scary image out of my head!

Horror movies were, however, catching the fever. Case-in-point, Jamie Lee Curtis’ disco-dance routine in Prom Night … which was the most frightening part of that movie!

Even when it was boldly proclaimed that disco sucks (um, does not!) at a “death-to-disco” bonfire during a baseball game at Chicago’s Comiskey Park Arena on July 12, 1979, dance movies still forged ahead.

In 1980 Fame assured film audiences we would remember its name, with its tale of students attending the New York City High School for the Performing Arts.

I wasn’t all that surprised that Flashdance star Jennifer Beals would later star in “The L Word.” I mean, her off-the-shoulder sweatshirt and leg warmer wearin’ character was a welder-by-day-and-dancer-by-night – ripe with lesbian overtones, no? Alas, she was straight and did some very interesting shows; the most memorable being the dance routine in which she poured water on herself.

What if she had been shuckin’ and jivin’ for tips at a lesbian club, say The Clambake, for instance? What a feeling, indeed!

The same thing could be said of Footloose, with Kevin Bacon as the new kid in a town that dreads gettin’ down. The film should have been written with a gay main character, as Bacon and male co-star, Chris Penn, exhibit more sexual chemistry, than Bac-O-Bits and female lead, Lori Singer. Who was the first one to hug Bacon after he wins a tractor chicken race? Penn, of course!

And, to blow off steam, Bacon does a very kicky dance routine complete with gymnastics moves. How very hetero of him. Even though Footloose is one of my all-time faves, I take some contention with it.

For instance, for an uber-religious town, why do all the kids lose their shit when they string up Christmas lights for prom? And, there were a number of kids who knew how to break dance, but they didn’t have MTV?

Perhaps they were visited by the casts of Beat Street, Breakin’ and its sequel Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.

These 1984 films, like their 1970s counterparts, set out to capitalize on current obsessions in dancing; this time, it was for those about to pop and lock, and featured (starring is too kind a word) the likes of “Kool Herc,” “Shabba-Doo” and “Boogaloo Shrimp.” Look closely in the Breakin’ sequel and you can spot me as “T ’N Krumpin’.” Just kidding … or am I?

Ironically, a film set in the 1960s restored luster to dance movies of the ’80s. 1987’s Dirty Dancing set the box-office ablaze, and again raised a flaming question: is a man who wears a leotard less of a man? Well, Patrick Swayze did seem to fill his out nicely, and there was definite chemistry between he and Jennifer Grey’s old nose – which you are not to put in the corner, by the way! So, it’s just a matter of taste, I suppose.

The reason for this dance down memory lane is a strange happenstance of “Solid Gold” coming up in interviews with Margaret Cho, Chelsea Handler and, of course, Dionne Warwick. Oh, did I just drop names? Let me pick them back up. Talking with the ladies did make me think fondly of the disco days (and beyond), and how they molded me into the man I am today. Thanks a lot Diana Ross! Until next time, that’s all of the news that’s fit to print!