David Ian Xtravaganza Elements of Vogue (Johnny Dynell Mix)
1989. http://www.discogs.com/release/1859143 Now available in high quality on i-Tunes! http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/elem...
The sleeve notes, by Chi Chi Valenti:
Inside the peeling ballrooms of New York's Harlem and Lower East Side, there are great wars fought monthly, head-to-head battles of attitude, grand gesture and drop-dead style called "house balls." Here, the twenty-odd houses of this netherworld vie for trophies in dozens of categories, from "Femme Queen Face" and "Jailhouse Realness" to a difficult, highly stylized dance called "Vogueing."
Among the houses that compete in, or "walk" these balls, the six year old Latin House of Xtravaganza is feared and respected for its thousand trophies and fierce family pride. House M.C. David Ian Xtravaganza is but one in a galaxy of stars, from house parents Mother Angie and Father David to Jose Xtravaganza, perhaps the greatest competitive voguer of all time.
Vogueing is not one dance, but many; a string of high-fashion poses peppered with gymnastics and martial arts. The difficulty of these poses, and the ease of the transitions between them, are the measures of the voguer's art. Vogue children walk like runway models, then freeze like department-store mannequins: A vogueing competition is the pages of a fashion magazine come to life.
"Elements of Vogue" celebrates more than a dance. Producers and house members Johnny Dynell and David dePino have stayed true to the ballrooms where it all began. Listen, and you will hear the clash of combat...the judges awarding perfect tens, M.C. David Ian goading on the competitors to "give them face" and "hold that pose."
It's as elementary as fake Chanel, a label-conscious Imitation of Life. "Give them face, give them body/Walk in beat, strike a pose/Serving fashion 1990/Elements of Vogue."