Creating A New Culture: 'IndianVoguingScene' Is The Dance Form's First Indian Platform

Many might associate the word ‘vogue’ with the magazine, or at a stretch, Madonna’s hit 1990 single. But ‘letting your body move to the music’ might be a closer guess than you think. The iconic documentary ‘Paris is Burning’ was also released in 1990, and focuses on artist Paris Dupree’s annual ‘ball’. The Ballroom Scene is a part of the LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in late 20th century New York City, specifically by Black and Latinx drag queens. The documentary is an insightful look into the Golden Age of New York City drag balls, with a lens on race, class, gender, and sexuality.

These balls slowly transitioned from shows of pageantry into voguing battles, inspired by themes like ‘Black and White Drama’ or ‘Latex Eleganza’.

Ballroom culture gave queer people a safe space to survive and thrive, with people who were in the same boat as them, especially during the height of the AIDS crisis in the 80s. It formed a method of self-expression and freedom, especially in a society that was repressed, and even more so in a country like ours, where being anything other than the norm was illegal.

History is proof that India’s drag culture did not start with the advent of the west. According to ancient scriptures and texts, we had many men performing as women — the word ‘drag’ just had not been denoted to it. But with the colonisation of India, and the start of ‘victorian values’ creeping into our lexicon, our society grew to be more homophobic and unaccepting of things that had previously been the norm.

It is only now that India’s voguing culture is catching up. With the start of India’s globalisation in the 90s, and the introduction of the internet, drag queens here were able to watch and learn. India’s big cities have a thriving drag scene, with organisations like Kitty Su and Salvation Star hosting drag nights for the local queer population.

Original Article Link to read more

Article source: https://article-realm.com/article/Computers/28897-Creating-A-New-Culture-IndianVoguingScene-Is-The-Dance-Forms-First-Indian-Platform.html