The Artful Shoe Drop
When you’re a high fashion dancing drag queen and you lose a shoe…
From Monique Jenkinson:
I have so many costume stories…
There was a point at which I realized that what most inspired my dancing was costume, and things just fell into place from there.
I have made so many pieces that relied on costumes working in a specific way. I have made costumes out of newspaper, magazines and fresh flowers. I love the challenge and depth of non-traditional materials.
In 2011, I created Beautility, a piece for the City Hall staircase, in which I performed a 25 minute slow-motion fall/roll down the stairs in a dress with a train made from 100 yards of silk that unfurled perfectly to fit the staircase. Mr. David, couturier and drag queen extraordinaire, made the costume; I knew he was the only person who could or who would undertake such a project. He measured the stairs and made the dress to match the space, and the piece went off without a hitch.
In 2014, I performed in a white leotard, green tights, neon yellow heels and a huge bunch of paint-filled balloons that covered my body and head in Athi-Patra Ruga’s Future White Women of Azania at YBCA/SFMoMA. The balloons were heavy with liquid paint and obscured my vision. I anticipated that they might present a mobility and vision problem as I marched onto the stage, but I did not anticipate that I would march right out of one of my heels! After marching out of my shoe, I kept my foot in mannequin/high heel form as I performed the set choreography with my balloon-laden dancing partner, and then improvised a circle to flawlessly re-unite my foot with my lonely shoe. I was lucky – that time…
