Political Dance Floors, with Waana and The Darvish

The Political Dance Floors workshop is an introduction to dance styles which have influenced the queer community.

The first workshop is held by Waana and will be an introduction to Waacking and Vogue, two dance styles that emerged in the heart of the queer communities of the African American and Latino diaspora in the US in the 1960s and 1970s in LA and NY respectively.

In addition to the specificities of the styles, Waana will talk about the political implication of the two dance styles, but also about how participants can love and discover music, understand their bodies, learn to be free and have courage, embrace authenticity.

"I like to think they will leave the gym more confident, bolder, prouder", Waana said.

In waacking and vogue-ing there is also technical rigour; 57 degree angles are measured, geometry is done, balance, precision, musical ear, grace and naturalness, strength and muscle tension are worked on. Waacking is about arms, but also footwork, grooves and style, but mostly about beauty and freedom. And Vogue is about precision, strength, control, fashion and glamour.

The second workshop is supported by The Darvish, a non-binary person, self-taught Syrian dancerx, organizerx of cultural events and parties with performances. After immigrating to Berlin, Germany in 2016, Darvish began to increasingly explore gender identities and artistic expressions, particularly questioning the relationship between social boundaries and performance art.

His persona has been featured in local and international articles and magazines such as Reuters, DW World, BBC World and many more. He is the co-author of the anthology book ZUGZWÄNGE, which deals with the stories of a group of activists, refugees, artists, community changers and writers and their life experiences.

The event is part of Timisoara LGBTQIA+ History Month, organized by Identity.Education.

The project is part of the national cultural programme "Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023" and is funded through the Inside Timișoara 2023 programme, implemented by the Center for Projects Timișoara, with funds allocated from the state budget, through the budget of the Ministry of Culture.

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