Where Were You First Time You Heard Madonna’s VOGUE?
I had just moved to NYC, wanting to be a club kid, wanting to be cool…
Talk about newness and freedom. I loved going to the REAL balls in East Harlem, where people were REALLY Vogueing, and had been since the 1960s.
Those were the days of Paris is Burning, Christopher St., Harlem and of course, Madonna – mainstreaming it all (new verb).
Here are some of the ballroom kids, who were kind enough to let me shoot them, and man do I wish it was video. They danced constantly, and their genius, minus any formal training, can only be described as inspired. I always love being around that much talent. I miss it. I miss them.
Here’s a close up shot that was damaged when my storage space burned down (thanks for nothing Manhattan Mini-storage)
I grabbed this at, like, 5am in East Harlem. I didn’t even drink that much then… didn’t need to, the scene was enough.
Here’s a shot of Lopeti Etu, my creative genius friend and fashion designer, who turned me on to the ballroom world.
