Kerojo at FAAM Awards

I'm a sucker for good production! This show started off magically. Smoke, props, costumes, oh yeah! The only downers were, once again, fashion (uniform clothing, no costume changes). I give this show a B- for good scenery, nice color palette, and good fashion silhouettes. As for the countless queen corps trapezing on the runway, if you're gonna have all that effeminacy on stage, go all out. The ancient Egyptian men (straight and gay) wore make-up, flashy jewelry, and flowing robes. The macho silhouette created from the clothing worn in this show seemed so contrived and out of place on the dainty fairies who wore them. Don't be afraid to take it there guys, you might as well...

YouTube Personality Lonnie and MC RJ Speak Modeling Troupes and Ballroom Culture

My sista' girl directed me to this insightful interview on YouTube and you know I had to post it! *Thanks Sodom* Anyway, this interview was of ballroom MC RJ Balenciaga, who is a commentator and ballroom runway legend. The two discussed, amongst all things, the blurring fusion of modeling troupe and ballroom culture in the DMV area. Now you all know how I am in regards to this subject. I'm a purist and proud of it! So for this to be brought up and discussed is something I, and other traditional performance modeling enthusiasts, love and agree upon. I also can see how disrespectful it can be to label modeling troupe events and participants the same as the ballroom scene, seeing how the latter group has had to suffer for decades to manifests their creative talents. I just pray the troupes in North Carolina will continue to keep the separation between ballroom and performance modeling clear and distinct. They are two different worlds and each have their own rules and guidelines.

Kerojo Presents...Monsters (circa '07-08)

I thought this was a lovely show when it first aired on YouTube way back. I've grown to appreciate it more as time has passed. The fashion was good, they could have expanded the color palette once the music became more club oriented though. Just a thought.

Cute Models Inc. show from '09

Living Legends Entertainment Salt Performance

Here's the video of Living Legends Entertainment's "Salt" show. The opening with the video was cute, and it started off strong, but I lost intrest in the show 3 minutes into it. The music, fashion, and group routines became very stagnant. The energy level remained the same through out the entire show. Not much changed, and you all know how I feel about those uniform outfits in a modeling troupe show...not impressed.

Review: Xquisite Flintstone Scene

Below is the video of Xquisite Models' Flinstone inspired show. A friend sent it to me and asked for my thoughts. I was thoroughly surprised (in a good way) to see such a commitment to fashion from a DMV troupe and even gasped at, of all things to behold, STAGE PROPS! Now ya'll know those troupes up there yonder don't focus on the whole staging aspect of a show at times! Imagine my elation to see some actual commitment to a theatrical aesthetic in this DC based troupe, as opposed to the usual creative outputs from the region (i.e. All you're gonna get is some intricate choreography laced between voguing beats)!

Virginia State University's Kerojo Modeling Troupe - Competition Piece - East Carolina University - 2010

Feast your eyes on this lovely show from Kerojo, one of VSU's modeling troupes. I loved it! The rouines were different and precise, the clothing followed a black and silver color theme but each model had on unique and varied attire which was great. Whoever thought of placing the disk skirt with the train on one of the female models should get a shoe thrown at them for evoking my favorite disco diva, Grace Jones!

Xquisite: Showcase for Chat With Lonnie

Here is a more recent video of Xquisite Models. The intricate and challenging choreography is always on point. Their runway is very simple. The look for the show is redundant. Over all, here you have a classic DMV troupe style. What do you guys think, did Xquisite eat the runway, or what?

Regional Aesthetics (Part 1)

Clearly, performance modeling has been revolutionized by the modeling troupes of the east coast. However, not every troupe is from the same region, and each region has fundamentally different styles. For this post I will talk about the three most dominant regions: DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia), North Carolina, and Florida. I've chosen these regions because of the amount of material they have created and that's viewable on the internet; and because of the sheer presence they have had on the modeling scene.

The Most Creative Region...

In the past 30 years modeling troupes have sprouted all along the east coast. Each region has its own main modeling style, with the DMV area being the vanguard  I don't see why if you will, for the middle southern troupes, and Florida still clinging to the traditions of a more classic era. What region has the most creative troupes in your opinion?

You can fill out the poll on the right column on the blog page. Please be honest!

Modeling Troupe Critiques From A Vlogger

The next video is from Emore'J Couture, a DC fashionista who has a channel on YouTube. Some of his videos are critiques of DC, Virginia, and Maryland area fashion shows. These are a mix of professional runway events and performance modeling productions. His vitriolic delivery will cause you to either be turned on or off, however for the most part he is correct in his critique of some of the less tactful things that happen in the urban fashion world.