On the 31st of August 2021, I picked up an ex-student, Dani García, in my car. I was one of his teachers at the high school, and I can tell he had always been a special guy with fresh ideas, charisma, and talent.
We both live in the north of Tenerife, so we headed towards the south of the island, where he usually meets his family to train and spend some time with. Dani had accepted my proposal to take some photos of his dancing family. In the car, he explained to me everything he could about the history of the ballroom scene, the voguing movement, and so on. With profound respect and humbleness, he tried that I had an idea about what he does with his group. It’s more complex than it may seem, but what I got clear is that they feel total admiration for this scene and its pioneers.
There is a feeling of appreciation for the ballroom scene, and though they follow this culture, they are conscious of the changes in society since the beginnings of this until now, and the responsibilities that convey to be part of this movement. That is why to have good advice and counseling, they establish contacts with different mentors from the scene. Their idea of belonging to this scene is cautious and prudent. There is also a great sense of esteem for the veterans, and the time they have spent in it. Experience is valued in this group. Everyone is welcomed and accepted. They feel free to grow and know themselves better, as oppose to what happens in society, differences are embraced, and this empowers them. They encourage themselves to improve their dancing skills. They also care for each other. This photo-narrative shows a meeting of this group from the Tenerife Vogue dancers as a hint of their training, relation, and interactions.
Voguing Dancers: Dani García (@dani_jgg16) Mario García (@emegm._) José Flores (@an0ther_we1rd0) Gabriel García (@gabri5ggg) Aridane Cabrera (@aridane.cg) Sobeida Gómez (@sobeidasg)
About Seigar
Seigar is a passionate travel, street, social-documentary, conceptual, and pop visual artist based in Tenerife, Spain. He feels obsessed with the pop culture that he shows in his works. He is a fetishist for reflections, saturated colors, curious finds, and religious icons. He has explored photography, video art, and collage. He also writes for some media. His main inspirations are traveling and people. His aim as an artist is to tell tales with his camera, creating a continuous storyline from his trips, encounters, and experiences. His most ambitious projects so far are his Plastic People, a study on anthropology and sociology that focuses on the humanization of the mannequins he finds in the shop windows all over the world, and his Tales of a City, an ongoing urban photo-narrative project taken in London. He is a philologist and works as a secondary school teacher. He is a self-taught visual artist, though he has done a two years course in advanced photography and one in cinema and television. He has participated in several exhibitions and his works have been featured in many publications. He has collaborated with different media such as VICE and WAG1. He writes for Dodho, The Cultural, and Intra Mag about pop culture. Lately, he has experimented deeply with video forms. His last interest is documenting identity. Recently, he received the Rafael Ramos García International Photography Award. He also shares art and culture in his blog: Pop Sonality. [Official Website]