The Ephemeral Forever
Shenandoah
18 November 2022
B. “Dance always leaves traces,” agrees Lydia Okrent in the introduction to Mariana Valencia’s Bouquet. One queer man, one queer woman, both dancing, both resisting the vanishing point. I understand why dancing is so fundamental to queer theory because I’ve lived that, both getting to know my body while dressed like the boys in ballet class and releasing it in the ecstasy of hole-in-the-wall electro-cumbia dance floors, surrounded by glitter and tattoos. But what I want to know is: Why does the ephemeral have to be such a crucial force in living a queer life? And how do we hold on to those traces?
Shenandoah
18 November 2022
B. “Dance always leaves traces,” agrees Lydia Okrent in the introduction to Mariana Valencia’s Bouquet. One queer man, one queer woman, both dancing, both resisting the vanishing point. I understand why dancing is so fundamental to queer theory because I’ve lived that, both getting to know my body while dressed like the boys in ballet class and releasing it in the ecstasy of hole-in-the-wall electro-cumbia dance floors, surrounded by glitter and tattoos. But what I want to know is: Why does the ephemeral have to be such a crucial force in living a queer life? And how do we hold on to those traces?
Photo: Christine Lennard/Gondwana Gallery