An academic talk, I assume, will have a standard format: “Here’s what I’m going to do, here’s me doing it, here’s what I did, questions?†The do/did/done is usually particular research, lots of (beautiful) jargon (#HomoNationalism, #Schizoanalysis, #FungibilityAndAccumulation), and a take away that blows something (my mind, not something (just blows), etc.). I am used to this format. This format gives me comfort. There is a certain formula/art, if you will, to the standard talk.
When the normal academic talk is disrupted, however, by queer-black-dance identity, I know this talk isn’t just an art form but art itself. Here are some signs:
1. There is a Wii controller that, when it moves, adjusts sounds that I’ve never heard before–whirrs and chants and whizzes and vhroooooongs.
2. Every so often the mouse on screen ventures into the unknown, seemingly jumping from the screen onto the board to drag another window (invisible) into plain sight. As if all computer windows are always open but invisible to the naked eye, all information like atoms, tucked away into the smallest depths of reality, the mouse dragged j-stepping videos into plain sight. J-step over here and over there, and all of a sudden the talk stopped to only watch a video (all with accompanying Wii controller controlled sound).
3. Before long all windows flashed away from the screen and a lone Word document lay in our midst. The cursor blinks in a terrifyingly regular way, more steady than my own heart or the internal metronome keeping the Wii controller controlled. Words, fragments, phrases, and identities appear. Are corrected. Disappear. Move on.
4. There is silence. Between words, sentences, remarks, sounds. He stares back at our staring eyes.
Some talks have audio-visual components, but again–â€I’m playing this for you, here it is, wow, I just played that–cool.†“OH MY, I’m going to play this video for you, BAM, here it is, AH! it just played.â€
This academic talk was less talk more performance art. Hinging on creative interests and experiences as an artist, dancer, queer person of color, it was no surprise that Tomm(ie/y) would disrupt our notions of an academic talk to center himself along the edges, cracks, and space in order to create something that was original and unique. Something that wouldn’t just talk about “Dancing [Black|Queer] Diasporas†but be dancing, black, queer diasporas.
Blackness and Queerness disrupt most things in civil society, if not all things. In my experience they (it, since I identify as Queer) do so in a beautiful way by allowing for more possibilities than first realized.
The talk finished, the questions answered, and then we danced.
We were to dance Black dance insofar as Black dance is an aesthetic style appropriated by some, embodied by some, and rendered (un)intelligible by some. The beat to 212 (by, yes, Azealia Banks) started to play and I knew that this was some pivotal moment in my life. We were beckoned to stand up (if able) and an individual led us through several dance moves that involved hip and bum movement, dropping it low, and sidestepping. We laughed and danced and became community all while the beat beat beat beat beat.
Coming back to campus, coming (back) to academia, and coming back to beloved spaces, it was nice to have a Monday night interrupted with dance, art, performance art, and a big queer audience of which to be a part.
The world said “welcome back†to Ann Arbor and we replied “I guess that . . . gettin eatin.â€
Tag: Dance
A Wolverine Abroad – Strike A Pose
This week I would like to talk about something that relates to a cause I write about often. I went to the birthday party of a bartender that I know here in Italy. He works at a Gay bar and the party was at a club called Cassero. The Cassero is, during the day, the seat of the LGBT rights foundation here in Italy, called Arcigay. It is a great foundation that does so much for the community, including this really great birthday party. This week’s post is about the spectacle put on by the friends of Massimo, the bartender, and by members of Arcigay.
As in any gay venue in the U.S., there were drag queens, fabulous drag queens. They sang a few great songs, mostly Italian but also “Our Day Will Come†by Amy Winehouse. It was so beautiful. I love when the queens sing, because they sing in their masculine voice and it is so surprising and fantastic every time I hear it. And their outfits were so perfectly chosen for the occasion, they could have been called art-fits.
What I really like about the night was the performance of “Vogue†by Madonna. Madonna is a common subject in the community here, even more so than in the states, because she is Italian, as I’ve been told many many times (Also in this category is Lady Gaga). I knew all this. What I didn’t know, however, was that Italians knew how to vogue. It is a huge part of American gay culture, but I didn’t think that it translated to over here. But it did. Six performers were onstage going through pose after pose. Arms spread out, then hugging torso, then behind the head. Perfect hits every time. This was actually the first time I saw vogue-ing live, so it was even better. For those who don’t know, vogue-ing is a dance style developed in the gay ball communities that focuses on poses from its namesake magazine. Each beat is a different pose. The dance requires a certain amount of poise and elegance while also needing attitude, speed, and accuracy. For more info, you could watch the documentary “Paris is Burningâ€. It’s fantastic.
I know that seeing people vogue in a show isn’t what you expect to read from an art reviewer living in Bologna. I feel like it’s actually really strange. But this is an art form that is still thriving throughout the gay community all over the world. I also spent the week looking for apartments, so I didn’t have the chance to find something of great mention; though I know that here it isn’t difficult. Good news though! I found a great apartment, and the roommates are all musicians!! So I’ll always have something to write about! Really though, I’m excited to move and I’m already making some great friends. Someday soon we’re going to an Italian opera here, and maybe a ballet. I’ll definitely be writing about them. I also might try out for this play here in Bologna. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Tanti Auguri!
Danny Fob
Your Wolverine Abroad Blogger
