I propose, a deep dive into the reacclimatising of my body back into the world of Vogue. Vogue/Voguing is a dance style created and popularised by the black and latinx queer communities of Harlem, New York during the 1980’s, that has since developed into a global phenomenon. Vogue is an essential element of what is now known to be ‘Ballroom’ culture, the term ‘Ballroom’ stemming from the Drag balls. Pageants held for drag queens in New York since 1920. Racial prejudice would give rise to Ballroom, as many balls of the time were spaces held almost exclusively for white drag queens.
In New Zealand, Ballroom culture would find its footing in all-boys high schools, through its trans and queer students and the internet. The discovery of Ballroom in the early 2000s gave everyone the tools to recalibrate their experience from queer peoples at the mercy of a callous student/school body to one of power and fierce sovereignty. The reclamation of their bodies came with the ability to master the core elements of the dance style; Hand performance, Catwalks, Duckwalks, Spins and Dips and Floor Performance. Through this, Vogue became vital to the survival of the trans-girls and gay-guys navigating their predominantly Pasifika, very religious and heteropatriarchal environment. Today, Ballroom culture in New Zealand has developed into a sprawling scene built on the foundation of three houses; The House of Iman, The House of Coven-Carangi and The House of Aitu, all of which are headed by POC transwomen who played pivotal roles in NZ Ballroom during its formative years.
How do I play into this? Well, I acted as facilitator and commentator for NZ Ballroom for three years and grew up on Ballroom culture as an alumnus of the infamous D.O.L.S, otherwise known as the Divas of La Salle. A gang of trans-girls, N.B’s and gay-guys hailing from the all-boys, Catholic high school, De La Salle College in South Auckland. I have since left the scene, deciding to prioritise my studies.
My objectives behind returning to the dance form are:
1. To reacclimatize my body to the form. Since leaving the scene I have begun HRT therapy, my body has since changed and thus, this serves to identify what I can and can no longer do.
2. To train my body in stamina. Voguing is exhausting and requires many feats of strength and endurance. This documentation will hopefully capture my progression towards better fitness.
3. To educate; The history of the dance form is dense and for those perhaps wanting to learn, my documentation can serve as a jumping pad into the world of Ballroom and its 4 distinct styles of performance – Runway, Old Way, New Way and Vogue Femme. I will be focusing on the latter.
Many of the resources I will be using will come from YouTube. These will mostly be a collection of my favourite performances from Ballroom internationally. Some walkers (those who participate in the balls) that I will be studying include Pandora West, Axelle Salge Prodigy, Chloe Prodigy and Leiomy Amazon. These clips will be included in the portfolio posts. The resource will also come in tutors invited into my space who will assist in my training.
My plan as to how I will present this include:
· A preface post including a video of my ability before undergoing my training and a written section of my expectations.
· Posts including a video of my training in a particular element of Vogue Femme(Hand performance, Catwalk, Duckwalk, Spins and Dips and Floor performance).
· This will also include a write-up and/or voice over explaining the element and its fundamentals.
· A final post of my ‘10’s’, the fusion of all elements into a single performance. This will be compared side-by-side with footage of my initial performance before the start of my training. This will also serve as my reflection.
Due to the nature of this project, theoretical reference may be sparce, however, where necessary or where theory provides a lens through which Voguing and what constitute Ballroom culture can be analysed/critiqued, it will be applied.
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