Street & Club Dance

Voguing

Voguing is a stylized dance of poses, hand performance, catwalk, duckwalk, spins and dips from the Black and Latino LGBTQ+ ballroom scene.

120–132 BPM Solo / group ≈316 kcal/hr
Voguing dancers
Image: S Pakhrin from DC, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Origin
Harlem ballroom scene
Era
1960s–80s – present
Time signature
4/4
Tempo
120–132 BPM
Difficulty
Studios listing it
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What is voguing?

Voguing is a stylized dance of poses, hand performance, catwalk, duckwalk, spins and dips from the Black and Latino LGBTQ+ ballroom scene. Old Way, New Way and Vogue Femme are its main forms, judged in "balls" where houses compete in categories.

History

Voguing developed in Harlem's ballroom culture, inspired by fashion-magazine poses. The documentary Paris Is Burning (1990) and Madonna's song Vogue (1990) brought it to the mainstream; TV series such as Pose and Legendary celebrate it today.

Basic technique

  1. Hands, catwalk, duckwalk, floor performance, spins and dips (Vogue Femme elements)
  2. Clean lines and symmetrical shapes (Old and New Way)
  3. Performing to the ballroom beat

Music & tempo

Ballroom beats and house music, about 120–132 BPM.

4080120160200240280320 BPM

Songs for voguing

SongArtistBPMKeyYear
Devil in MePurple Disco Machine feat. Joe Killington & Duane Harden120C# minor2017
Dying for YouMystery Skulls ft. Snowblood120A minor2019
Mawa SillahZumba Fitness120D major2012
Love FoundationDJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ120A# major2020
Street LifePurple Disco Machine120C# minor2013
OdysseyAritus x FIBRE122F# minor2016
End of the WorldMr. Oizo feat. Skrillex122A# minor2016
W.T.F.Moon Boots122A# minor2019
Lost CityMoon Boots124A minor2019
MamacitaBanaroo124E major2006

BPM as measured by audio analysis; some tracks read at half or double the danced tempo.

All 28 voguing songs by BPM →

What to wear

Anything that lets you dip and duckwalk; knee pads help.

How to get started

Look for vogue classes and kiki ball nights in your city.

Recent research

More voguing research →

Books about voguing

Full reading list →

Encyclopedia summary

Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s. It is inspired by the poses of models in fashion magazines, especially the American magazine Vogue, which gave the dance its name.

It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" (1990), and when showcased in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning (which went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival). In its modern form, this dance has become a global phenomenon that continues to evolve both stylistically and demographically.

From the Wikipedia article “Vogue (dance)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Frequently asked questions

What is a ball?

A competitive event in ballroom culture where members of houses walk categories for trophies.

What BPM is Voguing?

Voguing is usually danced to music between 120 and 132 beats per minute. Browse 28 songs that fit on our Voguing music page.

How many calories does voguing burn?

About 316 calories per hour for a 155-lb (70 kg) person, based on a MET value of 4.3 from the Compendium of Physical Activities. See calories burned voguing for every body weight.

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Last reviewed October 2026 · Editorial policy