STRIKE A POSE
In Pose he plays Lemar Abundance; in life he was a child of the House Of Ninja. Jason Anthony Rodriguez tells Mike Hitch about the art of voguing and the responsibility he shares with Madonna.
In Pose he plays Lemar Abundance; in life he was a child of the House Of Ninja. Jason Anthony Rodriguez talks voguing and the responsibility he shares with Madonna.
When Madonna released Vogue in 1990, the dance style known as voguing became internationally famous overnight. To a lesser extent, the New York Ballroom scene, where voguing originated, was also revealed.
Ballroom culture of the 1980s was populated by the queer and trans people of colour who pioneered the artistic movement, many of whom were living with HIV/AIDS.
Three decades later, Ryan Murphy’s critically acclaimed TV series, Pose recreates that world and celebrates the trans, queer and gender non-conforming Ballroom habitués.
Jason Anthony Rodriguez, better known from Pose as Lemar Abundance/Wintour, is considered one of the best voguers in the world. Initially training at the legendary House Of Ninja under Ballroom legend Benny Ninja, he has since mastered the art and now teaches it, from London to Tokyo to Kentucky.
Rodriguez is on the phone to DNA as he’s hailing a cab. It’s morning in New York City and he’s on his way to his first dance class of the day. He says he prides himself on his ability to multitask. As the only teacher of New Wave Vogue in the United States and a master of all three voguing styles, he’s clearly a man of many talents.
Playing Lemar, a young voguer and Ballroom child of Elektra Abundance (Dominique Jackson) for the past two seasons of Pose has only honed his craft further, he says.
“My favourite experience would be absorbing the skill sets that my other cast members have,” he says. “It’s helped my dancing because it’s helped me tap into a little bit of acting. As dancers we do act, but we don’t have the skill sets of trained actors, so I get to have more performance in my dancing.
“Pose is pretty much my first professional acting job and just being around Angelica (Candy Ferocity) and Billy Porter and the greatness that they are is incredibly important for me,” he says.
Rodriguez found refuge and solace in the Ballroom scene at a young age. “It was a haven for the outcast queer community and particularly for people of colour who have always felt like ‘something else’,” says Rodriguez, now 29-years-old “but still looking like 20”.
“I was born and raised in Washington Heights in New York, which is like the mecca of Dominicans. As a queer Dominican and a person of colour, I would step out of my house and people would be judging me, so I was pretty introverted.”
However, once Rodriguez met and began studying dance under Benny Ninja, everything changed. “That was when things clicked for me. I felt like I had an opportunity to learn what it felt like to be empowered, what it felt like to have a presence, to be seen and unbothered by what other people think of you.”
Benny Ninja was a self-taught vogue artist and father of the House Of Ninja, a crown passed to him by the late Willi Ninja, who features in the documentary Paris Is Burning.
“I saw this person [Benny Ninja] who was so fashion-forward, he vogued, he was Puerto
Rican, he had a shaved head and always wore sunglasses. He was a master in himself. So I learned to be the best myself I can be and, after training, I was working on myself, my identity, my masculinity and my femininity to complete all the layers that I am today.”
Rodriguez attributes Benny Ninja as his inspiration and the person who introduced him to the notion of a Ballroom House as being a chosen queer family.
“Now, because of Pose, a lot of people are interested in the Ballroom scene and want to learn about it. I’m sure that when Madonna came out with Vogue, people were interested in what the dance form was – but Pose has educated the world about what Ballroom culture is about, where it comes from, who the people in it are and what trans women do to exist in this realm.
“It sheds light on that world and the subculture while also creating more acceptability for trans women and queer people of colour. It’s great to have more accessibility, to have more strength, to see themselves on TV and make more of themselves. To give them the message that they’re valuable and they have something to bring to this world.”
However, while Pose has educated millions, Rodriguez says that the series’ most significant educational impact has been within the queer community itself.
“It’s impacted cis-gendered gay white men by correcting their education,” he notes. “When I tell people I vogue, they say, ‘Oh, yeah, that Madonna song!’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s a reference, but she didn’t create it.’ You go to a Ball, and it’s people competing for survival, to make money, to redeem themselves, they might have an issue with somebody and they’re trying to clear it on the dance floor,” he says.
Madonna is still a figure of some contention within the Ballroom scene, regarded by some as a cultural appropriator.
Rodriguez rejects this view and believes Madonna’s “boost” to queer culture has had ongoing positive effects.
Her Vogue was a whole year behind Malcolm McLaren’s tribute to the great Ballroom Houses on his 1989 album Waltz Darling with its iconic single Deep In Vogue featuring Willi Ninja himself. However, while a modest commercial success, Waltz Darling had nowhere near the broad cultural impact of Vogue, which became one of Madonna’s biggest hits. Madonna also had a greater affinity with the gay community, as it was then, than McLaren did.
Rodriguez believes the global success of Vogue was instrumental in establishing artistic careers for Ballroom scene members.
“While we had seen it in music videos before, this was the first moment it was a hot-shot pop sensation who had this dance form in her music videos,” he says. “I mean, seeing Luis and Jose Xtravaganza touring the world – these are people who were competing out on the streets – and now they had a full-on careers!”
Luis and Jose were among the dancers who toured in Madonna’s Blonde Ambition and became famous through the In Bed With Madonna documentary. They also performed in the Vogue video and at the MTV awards with her.
“I give her credit. She could’ve done that with white men, she could’ve done it with Bollywood, but she chose vogue, and it had a major impact on our community.”
Madonna’s close connection to the House Of Ninja and Billy Ninja himself have shaped Rodriguez’ opinions. “He helped her to vogue, and she gave opportunities back to the Ballroom individuals who helped her. So, yeah, I’ll give her snaps!
“I wouldn’t say she appropriated the culture – I think it’s more that the culture simplified what the dance form is about.”
Rodriguez understands that the House Of Ninja legacy is not only carried by him but by Madonna – a responsibility the two now inadvertently share.
“We are definitely carrying his legacy and that of the people who trained him. Richard Ninja and Willi Ninja and Javier Ninja – all these people poured their time and energy into me. I carry them in all the movements I have. All the lines, all the poses – it all comes from them, but drawn through my creative perspective.”
Billy Ninja helped Madonna to vogue, and she gave opportunities back to Ballroom individuals… So, yeah, I’ll give her snaps!
Rodriguez cites a wide range of other influences, from fashion to architecture to anime. “Anything that’s empowering I try to incorporate in my movement. The lines that ballet dancers make with their legs – I try to make with my arms. That’s the simple basics of vogue; creating lines and shapes while framing your face. It’s seen in all three styles of vogueing,” he says.
“Old Wave Vogue is the first style you saw in New York City. Then there’s New Wave Vogue, the style Jose Xtravaganza and Benny Ninja do, which takes Old Wave and adds stretches and contortionism. Then you have Vogue Femme, which you see all over the place; it’s very feminine, dropping into dips and just going crazy.
New Wave Vogue is Rodriguez’ preferred style and can be seen in Paris Is Burning. Along with catwalk, it takes inspiration from ancient hieroglyphic shapes.
“The hieroglyphs create lines and boxes with the arms, which creates an extension of who you are. You walk into a ball and you’re like, ‘I’m here, my arms are up, and I’m about to step onto the floor’,” he shouts excitedly, snapping his fingers.
Rodriguez feels that he is not only passing on his knowledge through instruction but also creating a collective memory through his performances on Pose.
“It’s tough. Not many people are trained in the style, so I feel like my mission right now is to take on individuals and train them so I can keep nurturing these seeds that’ll continue to expand this type of vogue.”
The survival of voguing and the existence of Pose is empowering young queer people of colour, Rodriguez believes. “I’m trying to be present for the ones who show up and learn a dance from their culture and their community. It can help them figure out life and the people they want to be. It’s also important for them to turn on the TV and see someone that represents them; makes them feel like they can seek a gay mother or gay father to give them options that help them with their identity.”
In the future, Rodriguez wants to lead his current house, The House Of Xtravaganza, as their Father, caring for and educating the house “children”.
“I hope to be a father of a house and a father within my own home someday. I already have ‘children’ right now who I take care of and that’s great practice for the future,” he says as he enters his dance studio to warm up for the beginning of practice.
“They give me headaches, they waste my money, I have to pick up the phone every time they call, but I love being that person. It’s the best money ever spent, the best time ever spent and the best me that I can be at this moment.”