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Once I saw the first working scenes from Wolfgang’s documentary, I was even more amazed at how much the relatively simple, posed moves of original 1980s-era “voguing” had evolved into the frighteningly complex and daring dance/runway/movement art form of today. Terms like “exotic,” “futuristic” or even “fierce” don’t even begin to describe the bodies that parade, gyrate, contort, and “dip” down the runway during a ballroom event. The costumes are even more fantastic. What break-dancing did to all forms of dance before it, what hip-hop did to all forms of music before it, so too are the new generation of ballroom “children” doing to as they re-invent, re-assess and mutate all the attitudes, looks and postures of everyday modern humans.

In competition categories like "Executive Realness," "Femme Attitude," "Sex-Siren Effect" and even “Butch Queen Realness,” ballroom contestants perform a kind of outrageous, twice-removed-from-reality take on self-presentation (as in “strike a pose”), impersonating different social classes, sexual orientations, genders, and (as primal as it sounds), even different modes of basic human existence.

As noted by Guy Trebay in a New York Times fashion article on May 22, 2005, “Mordant social commentary has always been at the core of the voguing balls, and long before academia institutionalized the notion that gender is performance, the ball children were tartly making the same point at elaborate fetes where competing groups vied to outdo each other at caricaturing the masks of sex. Wealth and power, it should be mentioned, also tend to come in for some sharp appraisal at these gatherings, critiques the more pointed because ball children have historically possessed little of either”.

And the craze is growing. No longer relegated to inner-cities, the new ballroom generation is flourishing all across the U.S., even in the heartland. The House of Ultra-Omni alone has branches in 10 states and the culture has spawned numerous websites, webzines and newsletters.

Pre-release screenings of How Do I Look, including its effective HIV/AIDS prevention and outreach segment, have already been shown at the prestigious schools like Yale and Oberlin, the HIV Forum at NY University for Black History Month, the Minority Task Force on AIDS, the Hetrick Martin Institute (home of the Harvey Milk High School), the Latino Commissions on AIDS and numerous segments of the African American business community.

Students at universities and high schools who’ve seen How Do I Look are writing about the film in school projects and thus helping to keep the legacy of “Ballroom culture" alive. How Do I Look also inspired superstar Melba Moore to videotape a performance at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall wearing one of HDIL stars David Ultima’s couture evening gowns and matching hat. Additionally, Melba is offering a song from her new Gospel CD for the HDIL film score.

The How Do I Look soundtrack is an exciting gay music compilation unto itself. Busch purposely included song and music input by hot, openly gay musical artists such as Dutchboy, Scandelle, Tori Fixx, DJ Relentless, DJ Naughty Boyy’s, Deadlee, Harmonica Sunbeam, Shane, Johnny Dangerous, Truly and Kevin Aviance.

Among the film’s many stars are dancer Jose Xtravaganza ("Vogue" choreographer for Madonna), who recounts his experience making the famous video); Octavia from Paris Is Burning, who addresses the transgender experience; and Luna Luis Ortiz, who talks about AIDS prevention and of his own experience of contracting HIV at the age of 14.

As filmmaker/activist Wolfgang Busch sums it up, “How Do I Look was also created to empower the Ballroom community. This community is one of the most creative and hardest hit HIV/AIDS communities in the GLBT spectrum, yet it receives no financial support from governmental institutions and politicians. How Do I Look is being used as a tool to create HIV/AIDS awareness, bring the Ballroom community together, gain artistic and human respect, and to improve the quality of life of community members.” In addition to releasing the feature film on DVD, there will be a CD soundtrack, picture book and merchandising are expected to generate royalties that will further empower hundreds of Ballroom community members.

How Do I Look? became available on DVD July 1, and can be seen in select theater screenings across the U.S. Get more information at howdoilooknyc.org

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