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Vogue

Dance
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A stylized dance form inspired by fashion poses and ballroom culture. In poetry, it can symbolize performance, self-fashioning, and queer resilience.

Detailed Definition
Vogue is a highly stylized dance form developed in Black and Latino queer ballroom communities, using angular poses, runway gestures, dramatic lines, and competitive presentation. Its movements draw on fashion imagery while transforming pose into an assertion of presence. In poetry, vogue can represent self-invention, glamour under pressure, or a body claiming space in a hostile world. A reference to vogue may also evoke ballroom's chosen families and its language of categories, competition, and recognition. Its sharp shapes suit poems concerned with image, survival, and visibility.
Example
Example in poetry:
The speaker practices vogue poses before a mirror, turning self-invention into a poem’s central action; Vogue can evoke ballroom culture, where stylized movement creates beauty, confidence, and chosen family; Sharp line breaks and bold visual images can imitate vogue’s angular poses and dramatic freezes; A poem about vogue may honor queer resilience by showing dancers claiming space beneath bright lights
Additional Notes
Vogue emerged from Black and Latino LGBTQ+ ballroom communities, especially in New York City. Its angular poses and runway imagery can express self-invention, visibility, competition, glamour, and queer resilience; it should be referenced with attention to its cultural roots.
Also Known As
Voguing Vogue Dance
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