#Ballroom History

[marzipanandminutiae]

This is maybe a silly question, but how does a dance card work? I hear about them but I don't really know what they are or do.

Basically, during the 19th-mid 20th centuries, women might have one at a ball with a little pencil (usually given as party favors). Thus:

Dance card from a ball on January 11, 1887.

Before dancing started, men would approach women and ask for this or that dance with them. Women could refuse, but would then have to sit that dance out entirely so as not to appear rude- rejecting one man and then accepting another was seen as impolite. The general rule was to accept your first offer, in part because dancing didn't always imply romance. It was a social activity, and you were supposed to be a good sport and spread yourself around, so to speak. Men weren't exempt from this, either- asking ladies for as many of the dances as possible was considered good manners, for the same reason.

once one had a partner committed for a given dance, one would write his name on one's dance card. this was as much to create a memento as to jog one's memory later, it seems to me. you could also be asked to dance immediately before a dance started and write the name of your partner in afterwards; see above re: memento creation

and that's basically it

(men usually just had to remember with whom they had claimed each dance. womp womp.)

[livesunique]

Budavári Palota, Budapest, Hungary

[yesterdaysprint]

The Decatur Daily Review, Illinois, January 7, 1934

[petervintonjr]

Today we celebrate the life and accomplishments of the "Godfather of Voguing," Willi Ninja. Born in 1961 Queens, New York, Willi was raised by an encouraging and supportive mother, Esther Leake, who not only encouraged his passion for dance but --significantly-- supported his own self-identity. While not able to afford dance lessons, Leake nevertheless took her son to ballet shows and other performances at places like the Apollo Theater, and Willi embarked on a self-taught path to dance greatness.

Borrowing heavily from the Harlem ballroom scene (and its established role as a socially safe space for Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ alike), Willi mastering the singular art of voguing, a unique form of dance that blended fashion poses with precise martial-arts movements. In 1982 Willi founded his own dance troupe, the House Of Ninja, which --in keeping with Harlem ballroom tradition-- also served as a community safety net. The "Ninja" moniker was inspired by Willi's own interest and study of various martial arts. Willi rapidly ascended to stardom, perfecting and reinventing his dance techniques. By the 1990's Willi had landed appearances in music videos (including two with Janet Jackson), films, talk shows, and international runway shows; drawing attention from pop icons like Madonna and fashion moguls like Jean-Paul Gaultier. One 1991 appearance on Joan Rivers' show caused considerable buzz as he encouraged audience members to "walk" as if participating at a drag ball.

On this very date (June 9) in 1990, Jennie Livingston's inspiring documentary Paris is Burning, which features appearances by Willi and the House of Ninja, was released at the NewFest New York LGBT Film Festival. The film exposed Willi and his signature choreography to a much wider audience. Shortly after the film's premiere, Willi starred in Anthem, a critically-acclaimed 9-minute video directed by Marlon Troy Riggs.

Willi never neglected his own community, though --his rising stardom offered him a megaphone to advocate for many issues important to the LGBTQ+ community, among them HIV/AIDS awareness and fighting to end the relentless social stigma that accompanied patients with the disease. Willi himself died of heart failure due AIDS complications, in 2006.

[k-wame]

aight bigups for the choice

[detroitlib]

View of brick wall sign for Graystone Ballroom on side of building, above advertisement for Coca-Cola. Handwritten on back: "Sign, 1977."

Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library

[livelaughlovelams]

❝𝐁𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞; 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 – 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭.❞ 𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋

-Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 𝄞⨾𓍢ִ

Also the raven is a reference to his bird Vogel btw (imagine naming your bird the word bird but in another language???(

[noperopesaredope]

80s American drag ball culture is so fascinating and cool to me from a social and historical standpoint. A while back, I watched this documentary called Paris is Burning which was released in 1990, and I am low key obsessed with it. Like, all these people were rejected by their families and society, and they often had no place to go or no one to support them. So they all ended up banding together to create chosen families. And due to general society's lack of acceptance of their forms of self expression, they decided to create a safespace that allowed them to reject these particular social norms and be themselves. This eventually evolved into a complex culture with traditions and styles of dress and language and social interactions and stuff. It's really beautiful, in a way. I have recently started getting into anthropology since it became one of my require courses, and ballroom culture is a goldmine to me.

I've actually started using it as inspiration for the world of one of my stories. It's just so real and alive and interesting, and it should be appreciated more.

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

~ Anders Zorn, "The Waltz" (1891)

via cutlermiles.com

[wandering-jana]

Ballrooms of Schloss Charlottenburg, not far from Central Berlin.

Explore Berlin:

[troutreznor]

"Realness (The Face Competition)" 1984/printed later; Archival pigment print (Edition of 12); 15.25 x 23 inches, image.

photo & caption by Mariette Pathy Allen [website] [instagram]

[mozartbachtoven]

The minuet dancing steps, c. 1755

[livesunique]

Palazzo of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy,

Massimo Listri Photography

[yesterdaysprint]

Frost’s Laws and By-Laws of American Society, S.A. Frost, 1869

[eroticdictionary]

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in Irish History | 14 February:

St Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is a holiday observed on 14 February. Many churches claim to be Valentine’s final resting place, including the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street in Dublin. According to the story told there, the St’s remains were given to Fr John Sprat by Pope Gregory XVI and a shrine still exists there today. 1628 – Valentine Greatrakes, or…