Deep in Vogue

We see these four houses as they prepare for the Manchester Ball. We witness the choreography, the costumes, and the characters all as they’re being made. We also learn a little bit about the history of vouge balls, which goes all the way back to the 1930s, when Drag Balls started. The New York Ball scene originated because black people and other people of color were never appreciated in that scene as much as their white counterparts. These black and Latinx gay and trans people helped build a legacy that has lasted far longer than many of them might have anticipated. Unfortunately, the legacy has also outlasted many of the people who formed it, even though it really wasn’t all that long ago.

Deep In Vogue is celebratory, and while it does mention the systemic oppression that minorities, especially LGBTQ and BIPoc, face daily, it does not wallow in it. This doesn’t mean that voguing is apolitical. Its very existence is political in nature. Grace Oni Smith says, “Vogue is all about socialism, so it’s all about passing your skills down and lifting people up… and giving people the opportunity to shine.” Rikki Beadle Blair, a Vogue Ball MC, says, “The greatest revolution that anyone can instigate is to truly be themselves.” I think that is true, and in that way, voguing is revolutionary and always has been.

“…showcasing of the different houses’ routines, and they are all awesome.”

If you want to learn more about the Vogue Ball scene in the UK, please see Deep In Vogue. You will get to know some beautiful people, and you’ll even learn about the different types of voguing (old way, new way, femme, to name a few). Also, you just get to revel in the ball itself. There’s a lot of showcasing of the different houses’ routines, and they are all awesome. The music selection is also incredible. You’ll feel like you’re really there, which in this time where hardly anyone travels beyond their couch, is something worthwhile.

Plus, it is only an hour-long, and it seems much shorter than that. I would love to see more of the footage. I can say that directors Dennis Keighron-Foster and Amy Watson did an excellent job because all I want to do now is go to the Manchester Ball. I’m sure you’ll feel the same way after you watch Deep In Vogue as well.