Juan Michael Porter II
Juan Michael Porter II is a dance and theatre writer based in New York City. He has contributed dance and theatre criticism to ColorLines, Dance Enthusiast, Time Out NY, Ballet Review, TDF Stages, HuffPost, Movement Research, and BroadwayWorld, where he is also the Managing Editor and Critic-in-Residence for Dance.
Latest by Juan Michael Porter II
Remembering Dr. Ron Simmons, Black Gay Activist and HIV Champion Who Was So Much More
From the Vietnam anti-war movement to HIV/AIDS, TheBody remembers this trailblazing activist.
You Should Know This Gay Asian-American Civil Rights, Anti-War, and HIV/AIDS Activist
TheBody remembers Kiyoshi Kuromiya, who died 20 years ago this month.
Black Gay Pulitzer Winner Michael R. Jackson Uses Theater to Challenge HIV and Sexual Stigma
One of the two Black gay Pulitzer winners in 2020 discusses Tyler Perry, loving Black men, and being an ally to people living with HIV.
New Experimental Show Brings HIV/AIDS Out of the Undetectable Closet
Performance artists bring together 35 years of art and activism in ‘GENERATOR.’
Emil Wilbekin Is Our Native Son and Afropunk’s Renaissance Man
“I wanted to create a space where we would come together and be forced to look each other in the eye, say hello, speak to each other, and serve as a mirror to each other.”
Broadway Legend André De Shields Is Thriving at His Own Pace
The 74-year-old Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award–winning iconoclast for the first time discusses conquering HIV and continuing to break new artistic ground in the name of Africa.
When Using Dating Apps, Disclosing My HIV Status Is Earned, Not Your Right to Know
“Revealing every nuance about my health with someone who doesn’t know my favorite color feels rash,” Juan Michael Porter II writes.
Late Broadway Composer Is Remembered for Smash Successes, but We Shouldn’t Forget Outing His HIV Status May Have Killed His Career
The late Jerry Herman, who wrote now-legendary shows like ‘Hello Dolly!,’ ‘Mame,’ and ‘La Cage Aux Folles,’ was nearly ruined by his outing by a gossip columnist.
What Happens When Black Gay Men With HIV Love and Dance in the Name of Brotherhood
After making a splash with 'how to survive a plague,' Orlando Zane Hunter Jr. and Ricarrdo Valentine create dance about the African diaspora with Brother(hood) Dance!
New Play Seeks to Go Beyond the Statistics for Black Queer Men Living With HIV
HIV-positive black queer playwright Donja R. Love's new play, 'one in two,' brings the lives of HIV-positive men out of public health and onto the stage.