Burn Baby Burn at Ferny House!

Last night at Ferny House, the fabulous, fierce, and fun burn baby burn event took place. The event taught people ballroom culture and vogue dancing before a screening of the famous documentary: Paris is burning.

Paris is burning is a 1990 documentary which tells the story of African American and Hispanic gay men, drag queens and transgender women as they compete in dance competitions.

The night featured a beginner vogue workshop with a range of movements such as: Cat walking, Duck walking and of course Voguing. Followed by tea and cakes for its participants. A competition was held for who could walk the walk!

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What is Voguing?

Vogue or voguing is a type of improvisational dance inspired by the poses of models in fashion magazines. Many are familiar with the style due to the iconic Madonna music video for her hit song Vogue. This features a range of model like poses and a runway walk.

What is the history of Voguing?

The style of dance became popular between the 60’s and 80’s mostly amongst the black and Latinx New York LGBTQ communities. In the 80’s voguing was introduced to ballroom culture as “vogue battles” and dance competitions would often take place.

There are 3 different distinct styles of the Vogue Dance:

• Old way (pre-1990)
• New way (post 1990)
• Vogue fem (circa 1995)

Why was this event put on?

The main purpose of this event was to get people involved and to tackle the isolation and loneliness going on in Blackpool. The event was funded by the Know Your Neighbourhood fund. This is a government fund put in place in order to help tackle the isolation and loneliness. The event allows people to volunteer and to let them express themselves amongst others just like them.

Credit: Ferny House

Sam and Aish (The owners of Ferny House) said: “The burn baby burn event went really well. It had really good vibes and was expressive.

“The point of Ferny is to make people feel safe, to express themselves and be their authentic selves.”

The Ferny House hosted this event in order to bring the queer and LGBTQIA+ community and allies of Blackpool together. Their next event is a queer Valentines Sip and Paint on Friday 16^th February!