Music / Bristol
Review: Bristol Burns, Trinity Centre
“When I heard about Bristol Burns, I was intrigued but slightly sceptical. Bristol’s vogue scene is very new. Would it just be people mincing about to disco music in outfits stuck together with a glue gun and a prayer? Arriving at Trinity, it soon became a clear that a lot of thought went into this event. This is due mostly to organiser Lottie Ball who is the force behind the now thriving vogue scene in Bristol. I have attended her fabulous classes on Thursday evenings and they aren’t just about learning steps but creating a welcoming community for all to learn the history of vogue.
This historical legacy was well showcased by the screening of Paris is Burning. There’s a delicious irony in a documentary about queer culture playing in a church! Watching the bittersweet lives of the people in downtown New York who came from such strife creating this now iconic dance scene was humbling. Paris is Burning was released 27 years ago and it was poignant to see the essence of vogue still living through all the people in the room.
The second portion of the night was hosted by local drag royalty Dis Charge who did a wonderful job of keeping things moving whilst also being entertaining and slaying in a floor length red velvet gown. Fellow drag queen Carmen Monoxide warmed the crowd up with a confidently sung rendition of Crazy in Love, complete with plenty of hair swishing and frenetic booty shaking.
is needed now More than ever
Then came the runway competition, the moment I was most looking forward to. What the competitors lacked in polish at times (one inebriated man in a dress made from flip flops came down the runway as if he was stumbling back home from pub golf) they certainly made up for in verve and energy. Indeed, the slight chaos of it all made it feel more true to the nature of queer spaces. This was a night to let ourselves go, to be brash and bold and unashamed of the bodies we’re in. There were also some voguer’s who’d clearly spent time perfecting their moves who were stunning to watch. Although it was a competition, the sense of camaraderie was clear – the vibe was celebratory rather than catty.
Things rounded off with a DJ set from Felix Anderson who played a mix of house, electro and disco music. Entertainment kept coming in the form of male pole dancers and sporadic voguing from the winners of the runway. The Trinity Centre was the perfect venue: central, spacious and unpretentious. The space felt truly inclusive – evidently a haven for people from the LGBTQ+ community, but it was generally an eclectic mix of people all joined by their love of putting on a fancy outfit and throwing out some crazy shapes. As a straight woman, it felt liberating to enjoy dancing without the often predatory atmosphere in ‘straight’ clubs. Bristol Burns was a joyful event that has decisively placed Bristol’s vogue scene on the map. I have only one question: when’s the next one?
For more information about Bristol Vogue, visit www.hamiltonhouse.org/voguebristol
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