I have learned and developed valuable skills from so many talented black artists over the years of my dance career as well as seen the fashion and dance worlds collide in New York City, the birthplace of Voguing. In my time of being a dancer, I have even been taught specific fundamentals of Voguing to be used in Hip-hop rehearsals. As a dancer who has moved to New York City for fashion school, I felt it would be beneficial to immerse myself in the subculture of voguing and to understand the scope of the genre as well as the many ways it is interpreted in present-day American and British Culture.
The dance, fashion, and subculture known as voguing emerged in Harlem, New York, between 1960 and 1980, as a result of drag contests and pageantry events held by the African American and Latinx LGBTQ communities. Vogue is a style of improvised dance that takes inspiration from the poses of fashion magazine models. Although its precise roots are unknown, the style of dancing is thought to have developed among gay and trans-Black people. Certain individuals think that Paris Dupree, a pioneer in the house ballroom scene, invented vogue, while others claim that a Black gay or trans person who lived in the Rikers Island Jail complex in New York City contributed. Although there are misconceptions of the dance style’s origin are still unknown, the “Godfather of Voguing” is another renowned member of the scene named Willi Ninja, an American choreographer known for his role in Paris is Burning.
Ballroom culture will continue to be a vital component of the Black queer community and have an impact on broader audiences as well. In the 1990 film Paris is Burning, Willi Ninja described voguing as dissing or insulting rivals on the dance floor. In Paris is Burning Willi mentions that he used his voguing techniques to choreograph runway shows for The Fashion Institute of Technology in the 1980s. Voguing ultimately evolved to stand for much more than just a dance form and competition. A key player in the expansion of the Voguing subculture is the House of Ghetto. “Made up of young black females; the demographic hardest hit by austerity measures, refocussing Vogue’s original mission of black empowerment to fit the modern day narrative” (Black Gold Arts) Leading the House of Ghetto is Darren Pritchard, one of its most important figures. He co-founded Liverpool is Burning in 2008 with Darren Suarez, another well-known figure in United Kingdom fashion. Pritchard explains that the man “was an original voguer from the 80s.” “We chose to try out a Ball as part of our vogue dancing style experimentation. We developed from modest beginnings into a thirst for vogue ball culture,” says Pritchard.
The marginalization and exclusion of LGBT individuals of color from mainstream society gave rise to the ballroom scene. Participants would compete for awards and applause during the balls, which were divided into categories like “butch queen realness,” “femme queen performance,” and “vogue performance.” Voguing quickly rose to the top of the most popular categories because it allowed competitors to show off their originality, style, and agility.
For the queer-Black community, voguing has a rich cultural importance. It acted as a kind of rebellion against the traditional gender norms and beauty ideals of the dominant culture. Voguing provided a safe and encouraging environment for LGBT people of color to celebrate their communities, identities, and bodies.
Modern day examples of voguing can be seen in RuPaul’s Drag Race where many classic voguing techniques are used in Drag performances. Drag and Voguing have many parallels depending on the categories of these cultures that are being considered. Drag Queens specialize in specific areas such as Pageants, Performances, and House/Ball competitions. The Drag Queens participating in said competitions are heavily influenced by the roots of voguing and use some of the earliest Vogue techniques to this day. Not only do these two cultures compare in dance techniques but also in their stylistic fashion choices. Voguing and ball competitions’ fashion choices derived from the desire for the “fame and luxury that white women had” as they were the dominant culture at the time of the birth of Voguing. This correlates to the stylistic choices of Drag Queens as their glitz and glamour is very feminine representing.
With the release of media such as Madonna’s song “Vogue” and the documentary, Paris is Burning, which came out in 1990, voguing as a method of expression gained more widespread popularity across the United States as well as the United Kingdom. Ballroom dancers José Gutierez Xtravaganza and Luis Camacho Xtravaganza were featured in Madonna’s “Vogue” tribute song and music video. Their Xtravaganza title stemmed from the “House of Xtravaganza”, which was a Latinx-based house of ballroom competitions. Madonna was charged with converting a great tradition of fashion and dance into a trend and accused of copying a culture in which she had no right to do so. The ballroom scene in Paris is Burning was experienced firsthand by spectators. Jennie Livingston, the director, started recording the experience when she saw people voguing in New York City’s West Village. The movie is frequently cited both within and outside of the LGBTQ+ community. Even Merriam-Webster adopted the ballroom expression “throwing shade” to its dictionary collection which states it as “a subtle, sneering expression of contempt for or disgust with someone—sometimes verbal, and sometimes not.” (Merriam-Webster)
As Voguing began to receive a lot of widespread criticism in the 1980s and 1990s, it put many members of the Black Queer community in danger. Since Voguing stems from the communities longing for luxury and fame, many members of the subculture did anything they could to obtain money and recognition. Venus Xtravaganza, a well-known dancer from the Voguing House as well as House of Xtravaganza, went home with a “rich” man one night after one of her ballroom competitions who had offered her money. Due to Venus not having much family in her life, no one knew she was strangled to death that very night until days later one of her fellow dancers from the house was asked to identify her body. This was a shock to the community and encouraged the dancers to value their culture while also making safe decisions for themselves outside of their respective houses. This subculture was still so fresh and so misunderstood that safety had yet to be prioritized in these events.
My 16 years of dance training with members of the black and LGBT communities, inspired a fascination in the voguing subculture. Given that New York City is the birthplace of voguing and that I recently moved to the city to attend college, it was crucial for me to learn more about the origins of the subculture to comprehend not only how my role models evolved in the dance industry, who inspired me to dance, but also how the city I now call home acquired it’s cultural significance in the queer community. I was better able to understand the history, significance, and impact of voguing on the LGBTQ+ community as a result of my research. This knowledge has improved my awareness of the cultural origins of voguing and allowed me to approach it with a greater sense of respect and admiration.
Citations:
“In Vogue: The Subculture Grabbing Mainstream Attention, Again.” BBC Arts, BBC, 21 Mar. 2019, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5H6Rr1ghJ136DFW51h1TfTX/in-vogue-the-subculture-grabbing-mainstream-attention-again
“A Brief History of Voguing.” National Museum of African American History and Culture, 26 July 2019, https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/brief-history-voguing.
Morgan, Thaddeus. “How 19th-Century Drag Balls Evolved into House Balls, Birthplace of Voguing.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 June 2021, https://www.history.com/news/drag-balls-house-ballroom-voguing.
Livingston, Jennie, director. Paris Is Burning. Miramax, 1990.