History and Origins
Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance that emerged in the late 1980s from the vibrant Harlem ballroom scene, which itself had been active since the 1960s. This dance form was created by Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities in New York.
The aesthetic of vogue is uniquely inspired by two distinct sources: the poses of models in Vogue fashion magazine and the angular, linear, and rigid movements found in ancient Egyptian art and hieroglyphs. Competitions, known as "balls," were central to the creation and preservation of LGBTQ+ culture, serving as pageant-like events where dancers vied for trophies. Within this ballroom culture, individual voguers traditionally belonged to "Houses," which functioned as both competitive groups and essential support networks, often acting as surrogate families.
The unique dual inspiration of Vogue from high fashion magazines and ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs reveals a sophisticated artistic sensibility within the ballroom scene. This synthesis of contemporary glamour with historical aesthetics, combined with its origins in Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities, highlights how marginalized groups create rich, complex cultural forms by drawing from diverse, often unexpected, and historically resonant sources.
Styles of Vogue
Currently, there are three distinct styles of vogue dance:
Old Way (Pre-1990): This is the original form of voguing, characterized by the precise formation of lines, symmetry, and fluid-like movement. In its purest, historical form, Old Way was a "duel" between two rivals, traditionally involving "pinning" an opponent to the floor or wall to win a contest.
New Way (Post-1990): This style is more flexible and gymnastic than Old Way. It is defined by the creation of complex angles, boxes, lines, and illusions using the hands, wrists, and arms. New Way incorporates "clicks," which are limb contortions at the joints, and "arms control," involving hand and wrist illusions that sometimes include tutting and locking. Original competitive aspects of New Way also involved "pinning" opponents.
Vogue Fem (Circa 1995): Building on "old way" performance, Vogue Fem embodies an exaggerated feminine appearance and movement, emphasizing fluidity, elegance, and drama. Performances in this style range from "Dramatics," which highlights stunts, tricks, and speed, to "Soft," which prioritizes a graceful, beautiful, and easy flow. Unlike Old and New Way, Vogue Fem does not require the "pinning" of opponents.
Table 2: Vogue Styles Comparison
Old Way
- Pre-1990
- Lines, symmetry, precision, fluid-like movement
- Egyptian hieroglyphs, fashion poses, martial arts, breakdance, popping
- "Duel," "pinning" opponent to floor/wall
- Pop, Dip, Spin (foundation)
New Way
- Post-1990
- Flexibility, gymnastic, complex angles, boxes, lines, illusions with hands/wrists/arms
- Contortionists, gymnastics, yoga, martial arts, mime
- "Pinning" opponent to floor/wall
- "Clicks" (limb contortions), "arms control" (hand/wrist illusions, tutting, locking)
Vogue Fem
- Circa 1995
- Exaggerated feminine movements, fluidity, elegance, drama (Dramatics or Soft styles)
- Ballet, jazz, modern dance, iconic female performers
- Storytelling, outshining competition, no pinning required
- Catwalk, Duckwalk, Hand Performance, Floor Performance, Spins/Dips
The Five Elements of Vogue Fem
The five elements are fundamental to Vogue Fem, contributing to its distinctive expressive quality:
Catwalk: An exaggerated feminine walk characterized by legs crossing over each other, hips thrusting from side to side, and hands thrown forward in opposition to the legs. It is often described as walking like a cat.
Duckwalk: This movement involves squatting on the heels and kicking the feet out while moving forward to the beat, mimicking a duck's walk. It challenges the dancer to maintain sensual movement while in a deep squat and frequently serves as a launch point for tricks, spins, and dips.
Hand Performance: This element involves telling a story through intricate hand and arm movements. It is utilized to "throw shade," which refers to subtle insults, for example, by miming an expression of horror at an opponent's face. While New Way vogue emphasizes sharp lines and angles in hand movements, Vogue Fem typically employs a soft, limp wrist with circular motions.
Floor Performance: This component showcases the competitor's sensuality through rolling, twisting, and other movements performed on the ground, designed to capture the judges' attention.
Spins and Dips: This is considered the most recognizable feat in Vogue Fem. Dips, often mistakenly called "death drops" or "shablams," are ground-level stunts. They are executed by spiraling down to the floor, tucking one leg while extending the other, creating the illusion that the head has touched the floor. This movement is typically performed on a "HA!"—a loud metallic crash in the music or a verbal "HA!" that accents the movement. The dip traces its origins to "Pop, Dip, and Spin," which formed the foundation of Old Way vogue.
Cultural Impact and Musicality
Vogue is characterized as a "camp style of dance" that frames gender as a performance, embodying an exaggerated and intentionally artificial spirit of extravagance. It serves as a physical and emotional medium for expressing narratives and fantasies, and as a tool for individuals to embody their most authentic selves. Notably, voguing was even utilized as a non-violent method to resolve disputes among rivals through the art of "throwing shade".
The musical backdrop for vogue beats was, and continues to be, heavily influenced by house and electronic music. Madonna's 1990 "Vogue" music video played a pivotal role in propelling the dance style into mainstream global attention.
Vogue's profound emphasis on "presenting gender as a performance" and its use of "throwing shade" as a competitive and expressive tool reveal it as a powerful form of embodied resistance and identity affirmation for Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities. The dance transformed societal exclusion and oppression into a vibrant stage for self-definition, creative expression, and the assertion of dignity and belonging in a world that often devalued their lives.