choices of songs I’ve been thinking of:

• Vogue by Madonna

• U Say by Goldlink, Tyler the Creator

• Losing You by Solange

• Gits Weary by keiyaA

• Deep In Vogue by Malcolm McLaren, The Bootszilla Orchestra, Willi Ninja

• Elements of Vogue by David Ian Xtravagnza ( Beat Only)

• The Slang Word Pussy Tolls of The Tongue With Far Better Ease Than The Proper Words with proper word vagina. Do You Agree by André 3000

• R&R by berlioz

• La Femme Fantastique by Honey Dijon, Josh Caffe!

• Let it Flow ( Kususa Sophomore Dub ) by RudeBoyz, Zameka, Kususa

• TRACK UNO by Kaytranda

• Back on 74 by Jungle

Hart Island is a uniquely New York phenomenon. In other cities, the indigent are cremated or buried at a traditional cemetery. Here, they’re buried together on an island inaccessible to most city residents. Although most New Yorkers are oblivious to its existence, Hart Island is a necessary by-product of a sprawling metropolis—not everyone can afford a formal funeral. And to people who oversee the graveyard, burial is a more sensible option than cremation.

[3] The move to deconstruct race parallels work in gender theory seeking to subvert traditional male-female binaries.  Responding in part to Lacanian assertions in “The Instance of the Letter in the Unconscious” that the phallus or lack thereof was the primary mark of identification (Lacan’s bathroom door example), Butler redirects critical focus to question the polemics of Lacan’s initial division:  “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results” (Gender Trouble 33).   For Butler, the theatricality of drag (both male-to-female and female-to-male) works to dislodge essentialized notions of gender identity and sexual difference.  Thus, her example of a drag queen singing Aretha Franklin’s “You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman” highlights the instability of gender identification on multiple levels; not only is the irony of Aretha’s (a “natural” woman) self-reflexive subversion of gender identity noteworthy, but so are the implications of mimetic appropriation of femininity.  Working specifically through excess and repetition, drag deconstructs and reconstructs gender identities, challenging and reifying the materiality of the phallus as a distinguishing marker just as minstrelsy subverts and affirms the logic of essential race differences and other attempts to link physicality to identity.   If “gender trouble” can go from parody to politics, as Butler suggests in her conclusion, can “race trouble” do the same?

In the 80s, voguing was introduced to the scene. Ballroom culture incorporates ‘vogue’ battles, and dance competitions similar to pageant events that allow dancers to compete for trophies. Individual voguers in the ballroom scene traditionally each make part of a ‘House’, a competitive group that acts as a support network and extended social family.

Voguing and dance

There are currently three distinct styles of vogue dance:

Old Way (pre-1990)

The original form of voguing, ‘Old Way’ is characterised by the formation of lines, symmetry, and precision with fluid-like movement. Egyptian hieroglyphs, martial arts, breakdance, popping, and male fashion poses serve as the original inspirations for old-way voguing. 

In its purest and historical form, voguing of the old way is a ‘duel’ between two rivals.

New Way (post-1990)

The new way of voguing is more flexible and gymnastic. It is characterised by creating complex angles, boxes, lines, and illusions with the hands, wrists, and arms. Inspired by performers who use poses including contortionists, gymnastics, and yoga.

Vogue Fem (circa 1995) 

Vogue Fem is based on the ‘old way’ performance and embodies feminine appearance and movement. With five basic elements: hands, catwalk, duckwalk, spins/dips, and floor, influences are taken from a wide range of dance genres, including Modern Dance and Ballet.

Willi Ninja, a renowned figure on the Harlem Ballroom scene, was known as ‘the godfather of vogue’. He drew inspiration for his dances and intricate choreography from mimes and martial arts and took the dance form around the world.

Willi Ninja was born William Roscoe Leake on April 12, 1961 and grew up in Flushing, Queens. A completely self-taught dancer, Willi began to dance publicly at age 7. After high school, Willi dropped out of college, enrolled in beauty school and moved to Greenwich Village in the late 1970s[1]. Not much is known about his childhood, although in many interviews he describes how his mother, Esther Leake, was very accepting of his sexuality and had a direct role in nurturing his interest in dancing. Esther often took Willi to the ballet and the Apollo Theater to see various dance performances[2]. In an interview with Joan Rivers, Willi describes how he never came out to his mother about his homosexuality; in fact, it was she who confronted him, claiming that “mothers always know.” She told him that he was her son and she would love him no matter what[3]. Presumably having some sort of acceptance, Willi’s experience stands in stark contrast to the lives of the African American and Latino gay and transgender youth he later mentored. Inspired by Fred Astaire, Olympic gymnasts, and the martial arts (hence the name “Ninja”), Willi formed a dance group who called themselves the Video Pretenders in the early 1980s[4]. They would go to clubs and mimic the dance moves in the music videos being shown on the screens. They soon realized that they should create their own choreography. Willi began voguing at the Christopher Street Pier and Washington Square Park, popular hangout sites for LGBTQ youth, and made his debut in Harlem’s famous drag balls.

The culture surrounding drag balls and voguing can be traced back to the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem’s Hamilton Lodge hosted its first queer masquerade in 1869[5]. In newspapers, these balls were disguised as “masquerades.” However, by word of mouth, they came to be known as fag balls or parade of the fairies[6]. This scene experienced backlash and police intimidation during the Depression, Prohibition, and the criminalization of homosexual relations throughout the first half of the 20th century. By the early 1960s, the drag ball scene began to fragment along racial lines, coinciding with the intensification of the Civil Rights movement. Although attended equally by black and white audiences, black queens were expected to “whiten up” their faces if they wanted a chance at winning a title. Frustrated by racial biases, black queens began to stage their own events. Crystal LaBeija formed the House of LaBeija in 1972 as a promotional gimmick for a drag ball she was hosting with a friend[7]. The formation of the house structure paralleled the increasingly assertive gay liberation movement and the reshaping of New York gangs. The house system of the drag ball scene provided an extended social family that helped the participants navigate through racism, homophobia, transphobia, and class oppression. Many were disowned by their family and friends, or ran away to avoid causing their family shame because of their nonconforming gender and/or sexual identity. The history of the house formation also requires references to the politics of abandonment and the racial and economic injustices occurring in New York City in the 1980s. There was a decline in the city’s welfare and social services, early gentrification of urban neighborhoods, decreases in funding for group homes and shelters for homeless youth, a sharp rise in unemployment rates among black and Latino men and a lack of funding during the Reagan era for people newly displaced or homeless as a result of HIV/AIDS. All these conditions forced black and gay (and especially black gay) people into the streets in unprecedented numbers, if they were not already disowned by their families for being gay or transgender. Queens competed in various categories to acquire the most trophies, thus placing their house higher in the overall hierarchy of the drag ball scene. Every house was known for something different. House of Ninja was known for its dancers, House of Xtravaganza for having the prettiest faces, etc. While black queens organized their own balls and attempted to represent people of color in their scene, internalized racism still materialized when the “children” still won prizes for emulating white actors and celebrities[8]. However, the shift in the scene to be more inclusive also gave way for showcasing talent at the drag balls. Instead of categories based all on appearance, singing and dancing became other forms of expression. This provided more acceptance in a space where drag usually meant males imitating femininity in order to be convincing women. There were also generational hierarchies, as legends tended to be the founding housemothers, upcoming legends were the older children who had been active in the scene for years, and children were the newcomers/rookies. The scene acted as a springboard for the older queens who were interested in furthering their careers. Willi Ninja participated in the scene to perfect his dance form. Others used it to polish their modeling or singing or other performance art. Arguably, the children benefited the most from the ball scene as it provided a chance at fame in the subculture and legitimized their identity and experiences. Having a space to fulfill their fantasies, they could be the person they wanted to be through the performance of an identity otherwise unattainable to them. Queens won prizes for expressing the most realness, a transformative and convincing performance of a particular persona. Many of the youth could not obtain jobs or an education, but by dressing up as a certain professional or student, they felt like they were fulfilling their desires of being that person and proving they could be that person by dressing the part. The categories ranged from company executives, students, military men, runway models, and a heterosexual man, and then dancers would come to sweep the stage. 

The drag ball scene in Harlem was not simply a product of the LGBTQ subculture of New York City. In its own right, the drag queens operated as a wide-ranging community of gay men, trans men and women, lesbian women, and queers. It was a reflection of many gender nonconforming people in society. Queens did not just imitate gender binaries; they pushed to break them down. Willi Ninja did not to “pass” as a woman. He did not live as a woman nor do full drag. He walked and danced down the stage sporting a mustache, long hair, large jewelry pieces, make-up, women’s clothes, all while performing a blend of masculinity and femininity. While a lot of the femme queens and transwomen found validation in winning categories for their realness of passing as biological women, Willi Ninja, an androgynous self-described butch queen, performed a fluid gender presentation in a world that celebrates white male heteronormativity and in a subculture that rewarded woman realness. He just wanted to be himself and showcase his talents and techniques. 

Similar to hip-hop and break-dancing, voguing emerged from black, poor and working class communities as a form of expression with an emphasis on male bonding and street crews. Paris DuPree created the style at the dance club Footsteps in New York. She was trying to “out dance” another queen when she grabbed the Vogue Magazine that was in her purse and began to imitate the poses the models held in the photographs[9]. In an effort to insult the other queen in the form of shade, Paris DuPree had created a dance form that is still popular today. Voguing is a contorted, jerky, slicing style of dance, combining model like poses and pantomimic choreography. Willi redefined voguing and prided himself on being a clean, sharp dancer to “kill his competition.” He is credited with revolutionizing the dance form by adding swift angular movements and contortionist arm and leg positions.

• Feminine: Seduction and mastery of womanhood and all the traits that serve the divine feminine.

• Vogue: Liberation Through Movement and Using the Elemental:

• Rebirth: A revelation while channeling your inner personality and waking up your egos or isms.

• Nostalgia: Reliving or watching past works of people that came before and walked catergories.

• Elemental: Catwalk, Duckwalk, Hand Performance, Floor Performance, Spin & Dips, Hair Illusion, BreakDown.

• Queer: Butch Queens Vogue Fem, Fem Queen

• Celebration: Community Gathering

• Cultural Memory: Archive Moments

• Poetry: Language through movement and tell a story

• Final Rites: Icon & Legends of Mastery of your Category.

• Sound: Commentating & Musical Vibrations