Vogue (dance)

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Vogue
Voguing Masquerade Ball (30471245435).jpg
Performer voguing in the Old Way at the Vogue Ball, National Museum of African Art, 2016
Origin Ball culture, Harlem, New York City, United States

Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s. [1] It is inspired by the poses of models in fashion magazines. [2]

Contents

It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" (1990), and when showcased in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning (which went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival). [3] In its modern form, this dance has become a global phenomenon that continues to evolve both stylistically and demographically. [4]

History

This style of dance arose from African American Harlem ballroom cultures, as danced by African-American and participating Latino gay men, from the early 1960s through the 1980s. The Harlem Renaissance shaped a distinctly African American and Latino LGBTQ culture in Harlem from 1920 to 1935, which included advancement in literature, arts and music and attempted to demonstrate that aspects of identity like race, gender and sexuality can be fluid and intersecting. [5]

The Balls that began during this time eventually shifted from elaborate pageantry to vogue dance battles. The dance battles consisted of dance learned during prison years. [5] Inspired by the style of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs and the famous images of models in Vogue magazine, voguing is characterized by striking a series of poses as if one is modeling for a photo shoot. Arm and leg movements are angular, linear, rigid, and move swiftly from one static position to another. [1]

Dance competitions often involved throwing "shade," or subtle insults directed at one another in order to impress the judges and the audience. The competition style was originally called "presentation" and later "performance." [6] Over the years, the dance evolved into the more intricate and acrobatic form that is now called "vogue". [3] [4] [7]

Vogue dance presents gender as a performance. Drag queens pretend to apply makeup ("beat face"), style hair and don extravagant clothing through the dance moves. [5] Depending on the competition category, participants may perform the traditional behaviors of their biological sex to demonstrate "realness," or passing as straight. [8] Although there are varying gender and sexuality classifications and categories, each fits into either Female Figure (FF) or Male Figure (MF). Female Figure includes trans women, cisgender women and drag queens, while Male Figure includes butch queens, butch women and transgender men. [9] No matter the category, performances and competitions are camp, which embodies the spirit of extravagance and is exaggerated and artificial. [10] [11]

The precise origins of voguing are disputed. Although many cite the story in which Paris Dupree takes out a Vogue magazine and mimics the poses to the beat of the music (and other queens subsequently followed), there are other accounts that note voguing may have originated from black gay prison inmates at Rikers Island, performed for the attention of other men as well as throwing shade. [1] Voguing is continually being developed further as an established dance form that is practiced in the Black and Latino gay ballroom scene, and clubs in major cities throughout the United States, centered in New York City. [4] [12]

Styles

There are currently three distinct styles of vogue: Old Way (pre-1990); New Way (post-1990); and Vogue Fem (circa 1995). [13]

Old way

Old way is characterized by the formation of lines, symmetry, and precision in the execution of formations with graceful, fluid-like action. Egyptian hieroglyphs and fashion poses serve as the original inspirations for old way voguing. In its purest, historical form, old way vogue is a duel between two rivals. Traditionally, old way rules dictated that one rival must "pin" the other to win the contest. Pinning involved the trapping of an opponent so that they could not execute any movements while the adversary was still in motion (usually voguing movements with the arms and hands called "hand performance" while the opponent was "pinned" against the floor doing "floor exercises" or against a wall). [14]

New way

New way is characterized by rigid movements coupled with "clicks" (limb contortions at the joints) and "arms control" (hand and wrist illusions, which sometimes includes tutting and locking). New way can also be described as a modified form of mime in which imaginary geometric shapes, such as a box, are introduced during motion and moved progressively around the dancer's body to display the dancer's dexterity and memory. New way involves incredible flexibility. [3]

Vogue Fem

Vogue Fem ("Fem" is derived from the French word femme, meaning "woman") is fluidity at its most extreme with exaggerated feminine movements influenced by ballet, jazz and modern dance. Styles of Vogue Fem performances range from Dramatics (which emphasizes stunts, tricks, and speed) to Soft (which emphasizes a graceful, beautiful, and easy flow continuations between the five elements). There are currently five elements of Vogue Fem:

Scenes and chapters

The ballroom scene has evolved into a national and international underground dancesport with major balls and dance competitions being held in different regions of the United States and around the world. [16] New York State continues to be the mecca of the ballroom scene as well as the dance style, but regional voguing "capitals" exist—Chicago and Detroit for the Midwest. Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami for the South. Los Angeles and Las Vegas for the West Coast. Baltimore, D.C, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh. and Virginia for the East Coast. [17]

International cities in Western Europe (the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Sweden), Eastern Europe, Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama) and Asia Pacific (Japan and New Zealand) have sprouted and held competitions inspired by voguing from the original balls of New York City. [18] [19] [20] [21]

Influence on pop music

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"Cunt in a Box" (2006)
A ballroom/vogue track by Kevin Jz Prodigy
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Influence on Madonna

Madonna and her dancers vogueing on the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. The singer brought global exposure to the then-underground dance. VogueBlondAmbitionUndergGround.jpg
Madonna and her dancers vogueing on the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. The singer brought global exposure to the then-underground dance.

Madonna is commonly credited with popularizing vogue as a dance craze. Due to the popularity of her song "Vogue", Madonna has often been perceived as the inventor of vogueing, which nevertheless has not remained central to her performance work. [22] MFA Stephen Ursprung from Smith College felt that "Madonna created a market for voguing" and further asserted "voguing has left its mark on the world" through a "close connection" with the singer. [23]

Danish lecturer Henrik Vejlgaard, commented that both her song and video made "voguing a popular dance concept in many parts of the world". [24] A 1994 article from academic journal Public Culture , said that the gay ball dance form was popularized by Madonna "in a way that made it seem like she practically invented it". [25]

Although Madonna's song "Vogue" brought popularity and awareness to the dance style, the pop singer still received criticism from those who believe she exploited and appropriated the ballroom culture. [26] The 1990 music video was choreographed by Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza and Luis Camacho of the House of Xtravaganza. However, all of the celebrities mentioned in the song are white, and Madonna herself is a white woman. Even though Madonna referenced the Harlem ballroom culture by including members of the community in the production of the video, critics still say that she erased the originating culture since she is the primary mainstream association with the style. [27]

Further influence

Several other notable pop celebrities and artists have been influenced by Voguing, including performers such as Teyana Taylor, Rihanna, Willow Smith, FKA Twigs, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé and Azealia Banks have all taken inspiration from voguing from dances of past and contemporary voguers, while also incorporating the beats traditionally attached to the dance. [28] [29] [30] [31]

One of the most recent influences of voguing (and Ball culture) comes from the documentary film Kiki , in which contemporary Balls and Voguing is represented through the scenes and styles that now exist. [32] [33]

Depictions in media

See also

Related Research Articles

Drag is a performance of exaggerated femininity, masculinity, or other forms of gender expression, usually for entertainment purposes. Drag usually involves cross-dressing. A drag queen is someone who performs femininely and a drag king is someone who performs masculinely. Performances often involve comedy, social satire, and at times political commentary. The term may be used as a noun as in the expression in drag or as an adjective as in drag show.

<i>Paris Is Burning</i> (film) 1990 film by Jennie Livingston

Paris Is Burning is a 1990 American documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vogue (Madonna song)</span> 1990 single by Madonna

"Vogue" is a song by American singer Madonna from her soundtrack album, I'm Breathless (1990). Written and produced by herself and Shep Pettibone, it was inspired by voguing, a dance which was part of the underground gay scene in New York City. The song was released as the lead single from the album on March 20, 1990, by Sire Records and Warner Bros. Records. "Vogue" is a house song with influences of disco, which contains escapist lyrics describing the dance floor as "a place where no boundaries exist". Its middle eight features Madonna name-dropping several actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. "Vogue" was later included on three of Madonna's compilation albums: The Immaculate Collection (1990), Celebration (2009), and Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willi Ninja</span> American dancer and choreographer (1961–2006)

William Roscoe Leake, better known as Willi Ninja, was an American dancer and choreographer known for his appearance in the documentary film Paris Is Burning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ball culture</span> Black and Latino LGBT subculture in the United States

The Ballroom scene is an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture. Its origins can be found in drag balls of the mid-19th century United States, such as those hosted by William Dorsey Swann, a formerly enslaved Black man in Washington D.C.. By the early 20th century, integrated drag balls were popular in cities such as New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. In the mid-20th century, as a response to racism in integrated drag spaces, the balls evolved into house ballroom, where Black and Latino attendees could "walk" in a variety of categories for trophies and cash prizes. Most participants in ballroom belong to groups known as "houses," where chosen families of friends form relationships and communities separate from their families of origin, from which they may be estranged. The influence of ballroom culture can be seen in dance, language, music, and popular culture, and the community still exists today.

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<i>How Do I Look</i> 2006 film by Wolfgang Busch

How Do I Look is a 2006 American documentary directed by Wolfgang Busch. The film chronicles ball culture in Harlem and Philadelphia over a ten-year period.

Kevin Burrus, also known as Kevin UltraOmni is an American mentor, speaker, LGBTQ activist, and film producer who founded the ball culture House of Omni in 1979–which was renamed the House of UltraOmni in 1990–and has chapters across the country. He has become an authority on ball culture and has spoken in interviews about the movement. Omni is also the assistant director for the documentary How Do I Look, produced by Wolfgang Busch which aims to correct misperceptions about ball culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danni Xtravaganza</span> Member of the New York ballroom scene

Danni Xtravaganza was a founding member of the House of Xtravaganza, the first primarily Latino house in the underground Harlem ball culture.

Founded in 1982, the House of Xtravaganza is one of the most publicly recognized "houses" to emerge from the New York City underground ballroom scene and among the longest continuously active. House of Xtravaganza members and the collective group is recognized for their cultural influence in the areas of dance, music, visual arts, nightlife, fashion, and community activism. House of Xtravaganza members continue to be featured in popular media and travel the world as ambassadors of voguing and the ballroom scene.

"Kiki" is a term which started in ballroom culture and has recently been brought back to slang by the LGBTQIA+ community, is loosely defined as a gathering of friends for the purpose of gossiping and chit-chat, and later made more famous in the 2012 song "Let's Have a Kiki" by the Scissor Sisters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza</span> American dancer, choreographer and recording artist from the New York ballroom scene

Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza is a dancer, choreographer, and recording artist. He is one of the most widely recognized personalities to emerge from the NYC ballroom scene of the 1980s. He is best known for his work with Madonna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Dupree</span> American drag performer (1950–2011)

Paris Dupree was an American drag performer and documentary participant featured in Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary, Paris is Burning, which was named after Dupree's annual ball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leiomy Maldonado</span> Puerto Rican dancer and activist

Leiomy Maldonado, known as the "Wonder Woman of Vogue", is a transgender Afro-Puerto Rican dancer, instructor, model, activist, and ballroom dancer. She is the founder of the House of Amazon and best known for her voguing. Maldonado introduced a new style of voguing which is more athletic and dramatic when she entered into the scene in early 2000s New York.

The House of Aviance is one of the "legendary/iconic" and major vogue-ball houses in the United States, with its base in New York City. It was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1989 by voguer/dancer, record label owner (CEO/A&R), nightclub host, music artist and secretary Mother Juan Aviance—one of the nightlife personalities of New York City. Since its founding, the House has played an integral part in U.S. and world ball culture, especially U.S. nightlife.

Mother Juan Aviance is an American secretary, voguer / dancer, music artist, nightclub host / promoter, record label owner, and CEO / A&R. He is the founder and "Mother" of the House of Aviance, one of the legendary houses that emerged from the U.S. ball culture in the 1980s, a House which is still active today and "currently reigns the club scene in New York City." He is also founder, CEO and A&R of Aviance Records, LLC, a multi-genre record label that promotes new and upcoming artists. He is regarded as a "legend / icon" within the ballroom scene and is "House Mother" to the nightlife personalities and recording artists Kevin Aviance, and Erickatoure Aviance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal LaBeija</span> American drag queen, trans woman, founder of the House of LaBeija

Crystal LaBeija was an American drag queen and trans woman who co-founded the House of LaBeija in 1968. The House is often credited as starting the house system in ball culture. She became a mother figure for homeless LGBTQ youth.

Hector Xtravaganza was a member of the House of Xtravaganza and well-known figure in the NYC ballroom life, entertainer, fashion stylist, and public advocate for HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ organizations.

Luis Camacho is a dancer, choreographer and recording artist. He is best known for his work with Madonna.

Dashaun Wesley is an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and ballroom performer, MC, and commentator. He is known for hosting the voguing competition series Legendary and for his appearances on the television series America's Best Dance Crew and Pose. He is often called the "King of Vogue".

References

  1. 1 2 3 Stuart., Baker (2011-01-01). Voguing and the house ballroom scene of New York City 1989-92. Soul Jazz Records. ISBN   9780955481765. OCLC   863223074.
  2. ↑ "The art of voguing". www.istd.org. Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Becquer, Marcos; Gatti, Jose (1991-09-01). "Elements of Vogue". Third Text. 5 (16–17): 65–81. doi:10.1080/09528829108576327. ISSN   0952-8822.
  4. 1 2 3 Schaefer, Brian (2015-07-23). "Vogueing Is Still Burning Up the Dance Floor in New York". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  5. 1 2 3 "A Brief History of Voguing". The National Museum of African American History & Culture. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  6. ↑ Jackson, Jonathan David (Autumn 2002). "The Social World of Voguing" (PDF). Journal for the Anthropological Study of Human Movement. 12 (2): 26–42. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-28. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  7. ↑ Upadhye, Janet (2012-06-21). "Vogue: Not Madonna's Dance". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  8. ↑ Buckner, Rachel. "Underground Ball Culture". Grinnell College. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  9. ↑ Wallace, Stephaun Elite. "Ball Categories". House of Luna. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  10. ↑ Jeffs, Lotte (2016-10-04). "What is Voguing?". Elle. Archived from the original on 2019-12-13. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Bekhrad, Joobin. "What does it mean to be camp?". BBC. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  12. ↑ Veine, France (March 13, 2014). "French Drag Queen Dance Battles". VICE. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  13. ↑ Tara, Susman (2000-01-01). "The Vogue of Life: Fashion Culture, Identity, and the Dance of Survival in the Gay BalIs". DisClosure: A Journal of Social Theory. 9 (1). doi:10.13023/disclosure.09.15. ISSN   1055-6133.
  14. ↑ Livingston, Jennie (1991-08-01), Paris Is Burning, archived from the original on 2017-04-20, retrieved 2017-05-02
  15. ↑ L02|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3c7Gv5RHaw%7Caccess-date=2017-05-02%7Carchive-date=2017-03-17%7Carchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317031650/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3c7Gv5RHaw%7Curl-status=live}}
  16. ↑ streetstar (2013-08-22), STREETSTAR 2013 - Vogue Femme Final Battle Lasseindra (FRA) vs Ida"Inxi" Holmlund (FIN), archived from the original on 2021-12-22, retrieved 2017-03-20
  17. ↑ Bailey, Marlon M. (2013-08-29). Butch queens up in pumps : gender, performance, and ballroom culture in Detroit . University of Michigan Press. ISBN   9780472051960. OCLC   820123691.
  18. ↑ "Inside Eastern Europe's Wild, Competitive Voguing Scene". Vice. 13 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  19. ↑ "Watch: Aya-Bambi, the Japanese dancing couple who will leave you hypnotised". CatchNews.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-15. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  20. ↑ Morton, Frances (May 9, 2017). "Inside New Zealand's Radical Pacific Queer Community". Vice. New Zealand. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved Sep 13, 2017.
  21. ↑ Villegas, Richard (2016). "How voguing and ballroom became cool in Latin America". Remezcla. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  22. ↑ Bennett, Andy; Waksman, Steve (2014). The Pop Star: Madonna; Achieving Stardom; Gender and Genre. SAGE Publishing. pp. 340–343. ISBN   978-1-4739-1099-7 . Retrieved March 5, 2022– via Google Books.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  23. ↑ Ursprung, Stephen (May 1, 2012). "Voguing: Madonna and Cyclical Reappropriation". Smith College. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  24. ↑ Vejlgaard, Henrik (2007). Anatomy of a Trend . McGraw Hill Professional. p. 51. ISBN   978-0-07-159470-7 . Retrieved May 2, 2021– via Google Books.
  25. ↑ "Ball Culture" . Public Culture : 236. 1994. Retrieved March 5, 2022– via Google Books.
  26. ↑ Chatzipapatheodoridis, Constantine (2017). "Strike a Pose, Forever: The Legacy of Vogue and its Re-contextualization in Contemporary Camp Performances". European Journal of American Studies. 11 (3). doi: 10.4000/ejas.11771 .
  27. ↑ Goodman, Elyssa (25 April 2018). "The Historic, Mainstream Appropriation of Ballroom Culture". Them. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  28. ↑ Hunt, Kenya (2014-11-18). "How voguing came back into vogue". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  29. ↑ "Meet Leiomy Maldonado, the Trans Latina Vogue Dancer Whose Hair Flip Inspired Beyoncé & More". LATINA. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  30. ↑ "NEW MUSIC: Azealia Banks' new Vogue-worthy track "The Big Big Beat" is an instant-hit". afropunk.com. 22 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-06. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  31. ↑ "Leiomy Maldonado Talks Signature Hair Flip That Inspired Beyoncé". Vibe. 2017-01-25. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  32. ↑ Kenny, Glenn (2017-02-28). "Review: 'Kiki': The Vogueing Scene, Still a Refuge for Gay and Transgender Youth". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  33. ↑ MovieZine (2016-06-30), Kiki (2016) - Trailer, archived from the original on 2021-12-22, retrieved 2017-05-02

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