Directed by Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan, the film profiles the dancers who performed with Madonna on her Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990.
[5][6][7] Strike a Pose includes information about dancers Gabriel Trupin, Salim “ Slam” Gauwloos and Carlton Wilborn's positive HIV status, and why they decided not to share information about their status, even with each other, during the Blond Ambition tour.
[13] Gould said in an interview[14] that she specifically did not want Madonna to be a part of the film, because she might pull focus from the dancers' stories.
"In a strange way, she was the elephant in the room, because even if she had turned up at the reunion dinner, wouldn’t that somehow ruin the point that these young dancers have moved on, matured and become grown men?"
The film has earned 96% on Rotten Tomatoes,[15] and 59% on Metacritic[16] For Variety, Denis Harvey wrote, “By the time we see them playing “truth or dare” anew over dinner, 'Strike a Pose' begins to feel like a rather flimsy, gimmicky exploitation rather than a thoughtful exploration of a shared, shining-moment-in-the-spotlight past.”[17] For The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote, “in emotionally effusive film, this – sometimes excitable and indulgent but watchable, and an interesting addition to a growing documentary genre focusing on New York City as the crucible of gay liberation politics.”[18]