vogue

Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" (1990), 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). In its modern form, this dance has become a global phenomenon that continues to evolve both stylistically and demographically. History This style of dance arose from African American Harlem ballroom cultures, as danced by African-American and participating Latino gay men, from the early 1960s through the 1980s. The Harlem 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 demonstration that aspects of identity like race, gender and sexuality can be fluid and intersecting. 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. Inspired by the style of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs and the famous images of models in Vogue 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.