The Ballroom scene (at times synonymized with the performance art form of “vogue”) began in the Black and Brown queer club scene of late 1970s New York, and has since flourished as an increasingly globalized space for building personal identity and community. Please join us for this workshop on the vogue dance form, produced by writer and Ballroom historian Sydney Baloue and the House of FUBU, which will consider performance as both a contemporary art form and a historical practice.
Attendees will serve as an audience to a roll call that presents different voguing styles and competitive categories commonly walked in balls around the globe, which will be introduced for the first time into the Clark’s historic drawing room. The vogue showcase will be followed by a Q&A on the history of queer performance and what it means to build community in a space that was started by individuals who fought to combat the forces of racism, discrimination, abandonment, and other important social and economic issues across history.
The latter half of the event will consist of a reception in the style of a “high tea,” which connects to the history of tea dances as safe spaces for the gay community in the pre-Stonewall era and serves as a nod to the taste for drama which ties together modern Ballroom culture and Regency-era society. Attendees can also visit the “literary salon” taking place in the North Book Room, which will feature a display of rare material from our collections and dramatic readings highlighting gender nonconformity and performance.
The conference is free to attend with advance registration
and will be held in-person at the Clark Library.
Seating is limited at the Clark Library;
walk-in registrants are welcome as space permits.
Registration will close on Monday, June 3 at 5:00 p.m.
To register for the workshop please visit the website.
Image: Clark Library vestibule ceiling mural by Allyn Cox. For more information on the art and architecture of the Clark, please see here.