Liverpool’s “legendary” Vogue Ball is returning to the city this weekend with a special tribute to a Scouse dancer.
The Invisible Wind Factory will be taken over on Saturday, October 7, by The House of Suarez - the organisers of the event - and members of the region’s LGBTQ+ community.
In usual fashion, the event will treat attendees to “a high energy fast pacing rollercoaster of fashion, dance, comedy, and a celebration of inclusivity pulled together like a corset”. However, this year will honour the life of Dean Murphy, a dancer from Kirkby who helped bring the highly stylised modern house dance to the city.
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Ballroom culture dates back to the 1920s and is dedicated to marginalised groups, the ball's organisers say. They say ballroom hailed from Black and Latina trans women and with the likes of mainstream TV shows, such as Pose, it continues to flourish. Originating in New York City, houses competed in balls for their chance of securing a grand prize. Be it voguing, drag, body and more, competitors would go head-to-head in an effort to make their mark and Liverpool's upcoming event will be no different.
Darren Suarez, the founder of the House of Suarez, previously told the ECHO: “I lost my Vogue mother, Dean, earlier this year and usually we do an opening piece which embellishes the theme of the event but this time I am doing a piece for him. For me, I will feel more connected by doing a tribute to him - it will be more of a final goodbye from me to him. He was one of the icons who helped Vogue take off in Liverpool so it just makes sense to dedicate this to him.”
Dean previously told the ECHO how he first discovered the dance in 1989. After living in London for over a year, he decided to move back home and his friend, Paul Lovell, followed suit a few weeks later.
Within a short space of time, Paul remained in London, he learned about a new dance craze which would soon be performed by Madonna. Bringing the dance up north, it wasn’t until the two friends spent the night in the Curzon Club that Dean noticed Paul was moving his arms in a way he had never seen before.
The DJ told the ECHO: “Paul had watched a video on MTV when he was in London, but in those days, no one had MTV, everyone was skint at that stage and on the dole because of Margaret Thatcher. So when someone did have MTV, you would go back to theirs and sit for hours watching it.”
The video in question was the music video to Malcolm McLaren’s Deep in Vogue, which sees three dancers move to the music in such a way as to imitate the characteristic poses struck by a model on a catwalk.
Dean said: “Before the dance, it was all about hip-hop, so when this dance came along it was just fabulous and allowed gay people to have their moment. Initially, it was boys who were doing it first but when girls did see it, they were made up and wanted to learn.
"Whenever we went to the likes of Garlands, they were just blown away by it because we took it dead seriously. It was something new for the community and when it was discovered it was latched onto. When we danced, everyone was watching us, learning from us, and we used to go around to people’s houses to teach each other. It was just like a family with everyone who loved doing it.”
The spirit which Dean talks about with voguing is one Darren wants to feature prominently at this year's ball.
Hosting the event, Ricki Beadle-Blair will direct guests through the night as artists perform routines that explore “some of the most outlandish conspiracy theories on the internet”, all while UK-based Houses compete for bragging rights. Hoping to walk away as winners are Liverpool’s House of Suarez, House of Twisted Stitches and the House of Korrupt. Categories this year include fantasy, solo, lip sync, sex siren and choreography.
Tickets for the event can be bought online.
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