About a month and a half ago, Lyle asked me if I had heard of Sissy Bounce. My response was a raised eyebrow and a shake of the head, no. We then looked up performances on Youtube, most which featured the most visual figures of the gender bending dance movement; Big Freedia and Katey Red.


Watching the homemade videos, my eyes widened as I saw the bootay bouncin’, heard the beats and saw the audience response. So Lyle then proceeded to do a photo reportage for the New York Times, and then when he informed me that Big Freedia would be at PS1 Warm Up, I figured it was time for me to “break fast” and go for the first time this summer.


Joined by my friend and studio mate Melissa, along with her two out of town guests from Scotland, we arrived at Warm Up hoping to shake some tail. The crowd was slow to enter the frame of the dance floor and a few brave souls rocked some solo moves. We took a detour viewing Greater NY (for the second time) and then worked our back outside for some Sissy Bounce.


Sissy Bounce commenced in New Orleans and on the cusp of the fifth anniversary of Katrina, its nice to see the area in a hearty revival. I’d almost wonder if the dance was formed as a reactionary response brought on by the transformation of the city.


Lastly, during our tour of Greater NY, I came across this drawing, Make Ryan a Dancer, by Ryan McNamara, 2010. I met Ryan years ago and also witnessed the dance performance that went on during the opening. Ironically, a figure in the drawing looks like my graphite doppelganger so I took a detail above.

More soon!
xo

— Posted from my iPhone
Http://www.katyhamer.com