Vogue or voguing is a highly stylized, modern house dance that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene in the 1960s.[1][2] It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" (1990),[3] 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).[2] After the new millennium, Vogue returned to mainstream attention when the dance group Vogue Evolution competed on the fourth season of America's Best Dance Crew.[4]
History
Inspired by Vogue magazine, voguing is characterized by model-like poses integrated with angular, linear, and rigid arm, leg, and body movements. This style of dance arose from Harlem ballrooms by African Americans and Latino Americans in the early 1960s. It was originally called "presentation" and later "performance."[2] Over the years, the dance evolved into the more intricate and illusory form that is now called "vogue." Voguing is continually developed further as an established dance form that is practiced in the gay ballroom scene and clubs in major cities throughout the United States—mainly New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Miami, Detroit, and Chicago.
Formal competitions occur in the form of balls held by "houses"—family-like collectives of LGBT dancers and performers.[2][5] Some legendary houses include the House of Garcon, the House of Icon, the House of Khan, the House of Evisu, the House of Karan, the House of Mizrahi, the House of Xtravaganza, the House of Ebony, the House of Revlon, the House of Prodigy, the House of Escada, the House of Omni, the House of Aviance, the House of Legacy, the House of Milan, the House of Infiniti, the House of Pend'avis, the House of LaBeija, the House of McQueen, and the House of Ninja, among others. ("Legendary" in ballroom terms refers to a house that has been "serving," that is, walking or competing on the runway, for twenty years or more.) The House of Ninja was founded by Willi Ninja, who is considered the godfather of voguing.[5][6] Members of a house are called "children." Sometimes children legally change their last name to show their affiliation with the house to which they belong.[2][5]
Styles
There are currently three distinct styles of vogue: old way (pre-1990); new way (post-1990);[7] and vogue femme (circa 1995), performed either in dramatics style (which includes stunts and tricks) or in soft style (which emphasizes graceful movements).[2] Although vogue "femme" has been used in the ballroom scene as a catch-all phrase for overtly effeminate voguing as far back as the 1960s, as a recognizable style of voguing, it only came into its own around the mid-1990s.
It should be noted that the terms "old way" and "new way" are generational. Earlier generations called the style of voguing the generation before them practiced "old Way." Voguers, therefore, reuse these terms to refer to the evolutionary changes of the dance that are observable almost every ten years. Ten years from now, today's "new way" will likely be deemed the "old way."
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 he or she 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).
New way
New way is characterized by more rigid, geometric movement coupled with "clicks" (limb contortions at the joints) and "arms control"—hand and wrist illusions, which sometimes includes tutting. 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.
Vogue femme
Vogue femme is fluidity at its most extreme with exaggerated feminine movements influenced by ballet and modern dance. There are five elements of vogue femme (six including the unofficial element, spins).
| Elements of vogue femme |
| Hand performance |
| Catwalk |
| Duckwalk |
| Floor performance |
| Dips |
| Spins (unofficial) |
Hand performance refers to the illusions and movements of the arms, wrists, hands, and fingers. The catwalk is the upright sashaying in a linear fashion. The duckwalk refers to the crouched, squatted, foot-kicking and scooting movements requiring balance on the balls of the feet. The duckwalk was so named because of the duck-like appearance of the movements. Floor performance refers to the movements done on the floor using primarily the legs, knees, and back. The dip is the fall, drop, or descent backward onto one's back with one's leg folded underneath. The dip originated from voguing.[citation needed] Mainstream dance forms popularized the dip, which is occasionally called the "death drop" when done in dramatics style. Due to popular media, the dip is sometimes incorrectly termed the "5000," "shablam," and "shabam." When competing in a vogue femme battle, contestants must showcase all six elements in an entertaining fashion.
Development
The ballroom scene has evolved into a national underground dancesport with major balls being held in different regions (East, Midwest, South, West). The major vogue city in the country has been and continues to be New York, but regional voguing "capitals" exist—Chicago and Detroit for the Midwest, Atlanta for the South, and Los Angeles for the West.
London has seen a dramatic rise in ballroom balls starting in the late 1990s. However, in London, the main aspect of the ballroom scene is not voguing but the runway categories dealing with fashion and design. Additionally, ballroom participants in London tend toward older members of the LGBT community, usually over the age of thirty. Japan is another region that is rising in the ballroom scene; Japan's main category is voguing, the same as America.
Mainstream attention
Many performers, particularly female performers, have used vogue-style dance as a part of their routines. The transgender member of Vogue Evolution, Leiomy Maldonado, is responsible for making her signature voguing move, the "Leiomy Lolly," popular. The Leiomy Lolly is featured in Britney Spears' video for "If U Seek Amy" and Beyoncé and Lady Gaga's video for "Video Phone." Lil Mama and Chris Brown incorporated the dip in their music video for "Shawty Get Loose," Christina Milian included the dip in her music video for "Dip It Low," and Ciara has showcased the dip in many of her videos. Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai and Swedish singer Hanna Lindblad have also used voguing in their music videos for "Honey Trap" and "Manipulated," respectively. Voguing can be seen during the masquerade ball scene in the 2004 film adaptation of "Phantom of the Opera."
See also
References
- ^ Gregory, Deborah (2008). Catwalk. New York City: Random House, Inc.. ISBN 9780375848957.
- ^ a b c d e f Freeman, Santiago (August 1, 2008). "The Vogue trend returns". DanceSpirit.com (MacFadden Performing Arts Media). http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1844. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
- ^ Guilbert, Georges-Claude (2002). Madonna as postmodern myth: how one star's self-construction rewrites sex, gender, Hollywood, and the American dream. McFarland. ISBN 9780786414086.
- ^ Kinon, Cristina (September 27, 2009). "'America's Best Dance Crew' loses its luster with Vogue Evolution gone". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/09/27/2009-09-27_americas_best_dance_crew_loses_its_luster_with_vogue_evolution_gone.html. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
- ^ a b c "The History of Voguing - Tributes to Willi Ninja". UKBlackout.com. http://www.ukblackout.com/arhived-articles-news-92/184-culture-archivie/611-the-history-of-voguing-tributes-to-willi-ninja.html. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
- ^ "Willi Ninja, godfather of ‘voguing,’ dies at 45". MSN.com. September 7, 2008. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/14688473. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
- ^ "The House of Diabolique vs. Runway, Ballroom, and Voguing music". HouseOfDiabolique.com. http://www.houseofdiabolique.com/runway.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
External links
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