.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, orvoguing, is a highly stylized, modernhouse dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of theHarlemballroom scene of the 1960s.[1] It is inspired by the poses of models infashion magazines.[2]
It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured inMadonna's song and video "Vogue" (1990), and when showcased in the 1990 documentaryParis Is Burning (which went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the 1991Sundance Film Festival).[3] In its modern form, this dance has become a global phenomenon that continues to evolve both stylistically and demographically.[4]
This style of dance arose from African AmericanHarlemballroom cultures, as danced byAfrican-American and participating Latino gay men and transfeminine individuals, from the early 1960s through the 1980s. TheHarlem 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 andsexuality 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 AncientEgyptian Hieroglyphs and the famous images of models inVogue 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 arecamp, 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 whichParis 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 atRikers 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 gayballroom scene, and clubs in major cities throughout the United States, centered inNew York City.[4][12]
There are currently three distinct styles of vogue:Old Way (pre-1990);New Way (post-1990); andVogue Fem (circa 1995).[13]
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 is characterized by rigid movements coupled with "clicks" (limb contortions at the joints) and "arms control" (hand and wrist illusions, which sometimes includes tutting andlocking). New way can also be described as a modified form ofmime 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 Femme ("Fem" is derived from the French wordfemme, meaning "woman") is fluidity at its most extreme with exaggeratedfeminine movements influenced byballet,jazz andmodern 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:
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The ballroom scene has evolved into a national and international undergrounddancesport with major balls and dance competitions being held in different regions of the United States and around the world.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19][20][21][22]
Madonna is commonly credited with popularizing vogue as adance 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.[23]MFA Stephen Ursprung fromSmith 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.[24]
Danishlecturer Henrik Vejlgaard, commented that both her song and video made "voguing a popular dance concept in many parts of the world".[25] A 1994 article from academic journalPublic Culture, said that thegay ball dance form was popularized by Madonna "in a way that made it seem like she practically invented it".[26]
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 andappropriated the ballroom culture.[27] The 1990 music video was choreographed byJose Gutierez Xtravaganza andLuis Camacho of theHouse 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.[28]
Several other notable pop celebrities and artists have been influenced by voguing, including performers such asTeyana Taylor,Rihanna,Willow Smith,FKA Twigs,Ariana Grande,Beyoncé andAzealia Banks have all taken inspiration from voguing from dances of past and contemporary voguers, while also incorporating the beats traditionally attached to the dance.[29][30][31][32]
One of the most recent influences of voguing (andBall culture) comes from the documentary filmKiki, in which contemporary Balls and Voguing is represented through the scenes and styles that now exist.[33][34]
At 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy, ice skaters Beaudry and Cizeron performed a program with Madonna's Vogue song including vogue dance inspired moves in the rhythm dance discipline.[35]
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