The Solo Ball | I wanna feel the heat with somebody

Oh, I wanna dance with somebody

I wanna feel the heat with somebody

Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody

Whitney Houston’s famous track I wanna dance with somebody takes on a new resonance in these strange times of social distancing. Most of us here in South Africa have not been able to dance with somebody since the national lockdown was announced on the 23rd March.  When the DJ played this song last night, I was filled with a deep sentimental longing for a different time and place. The idea of being on a dance floor pulsating with sultry energy seems like a distant dream.

Much like taste or smell, music has the power to transport us back to times past. A single note carries with it entire histories; drawing into the crevices of what was once forgotten. I Wanna Dance with Somebody together with MFSB’s “Love Is the Message” (1974), Cheryl Lynn’s “Got to Be Real” (1978), “Deep in Vogue” (1989) by Malcolm, “Walk for Me” (1995) by Tronco Traxx and Madonna’s Vogue (1990) — are a few songs that have defined the sound of ballroom. Ballroom culture, of course, originates from the underground subculture in the 1920s in Harlem where queer communities would congregate and ‘walk’ for trophies and various prizes. This culture, later popularized through the film Paris is Burning (1990) and more recently, FX’s Pose (2018) has since become widespread and a source of inspiration for queer communities everywhere. Vogue Nights Jozi— the inclusive movement where music meets fashion, art and dance — was created in the same spirit. It functions as a space that redefines culture and shifts cultural norms where members of the queer community can find expression.

Coinciding with pride month, the first staging of a virtual Vogue Night (taking the name; The Solo Ball in collaboration with the National Arts Festival) took place on Friday the 26th; hosted by performance artist and choreographer Tandile Mbatsha together with MC Tutu Zondo and DJ Lelowhatsgood. The socially distanced gathering coalesced music and performance, allowing audience participation through competition. As with many balls, participants could elect to walk a particular category such as runway, African realness, hand performance, Vogue Femme and old way, while navigating the difficult challenges of internet connectivity and stable data transmission. As host to this event, Mbatsha, whose work centres around notions of emerging, allowed the space to articulate different forms of emerging — making visible those who might otherwise not be visible. Emergence as empowerment. As one participant noted after her performance, “I have a designer dress, fake Louboutins and a lot of nerve!”

As we’re all reflecting on isolation and closeness as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to remember that all over the world there exist people for whom isolation is an ongoing and normal state of affairs. Black, poor and queer bodies are amongst the most marginalised groups in our society, experiencing discrimination, violence and exclusion on a daily basis. And so although spaces such as The Solo Ball might present themselves as mere parties, one should also remember that they function as safe spaces for many people, who might otherwise be completely isolated. The Solo Ball is more than just a ball — it is community and communion, it is love, it is hope and it is being together in and through difficult times.  It is an important space for resistance where people can be celebrated and accepted for who they are, where regimes of what is considered “normal” can be stretched and ultimately broken.

Although the Solo Ball was a once-off live event, the queer community remains connected and visible digitally through social media. Cunty Power and Vogue Nights Jozi are hosting a virtual party in support of important initiatives including; victoryoftheword (a fundraising campaign cofounded by Athi-Patra Ruga and Lesoko Seabe), Sex Workers Education & Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) and Black Lives Matter. The event will take place via Zoom on the 27th June at 8pm.