The man behind Vogue
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Madonna’s iconic video clip for Vogue turns 25.
Source: Supplied
It’s hard to believe, but we’ve been framing our faces with our hands on the dance floor for 25 years.
And it’s all thanks to Madonna’s iconic video clip for the song “Vogue” — which turns a quarter-of-a-century this week.
With the help of superstar director David Fincher, Madonna brought the dance move into the mainstream. But there were two other people behind the phenomenon.
Jose Gutierrez and Luis Xtravaganza were young dancers from the Harlem “House Ball” community — where vogueing started as an underground movement.
Jose Gutierrez and Madonna. Source: Jose Gutierrez
Source: Supplied
Inspired by the craze, the song was written — but Madonna wanted the video clip to be authentic, with the moves done in the dance halls.
Through mutual friends, Madonna got her hands on a videotape of Jose and Luis.
“A couple of months later she came to New York City and looked us up and she came to the club,” Jose says, talking about the infamous Sound Factory dance club.
“And I was blown away just at meeting her. And we basically danced there for her at the club and everyone else got involved and everyone else who noticed joined a circle — kind of like a battle.
“Everyone in the club, once they realised she was there, started strutting their stuff.”
She gave her approval and began auditioning thousands of other dancers to be in both the clip and her Blonde Ambition world tour.
Salim “Slam” Gauwloos was one of those dancers who made the cut.
Jose Gutierrez (left) and Salim “Slam” Gauwloos (right) in Vogue.
Source: Supplied
He remembers reading the ad in Backstage magazine.
“It said, ‘no wannabes,’” he laughs.
“Usually you’d have to have an agent to get a job like that — she wanted it to be open to everybody”.
Jose and Luis flew to LA and began choreographing the clip — teaching Madonna how to vogue.
But how exactly do you teach vogueing? Isn’t it just moving your hands around your face?
“It’s an expression of artistry — artistic expression,” he says.
Madonna vogueing.
Source: Supplied
“Anyone can vogue — you see gays, straights, kids, nowadays you see it everywhere.
“It’s a feeling and you express those feelings through movement and it comes from not having a lot — its an urban dance — it’s a raw dance.
“It’s what you feel in the moment and you express that through movement. Whatever it may be — the shrug of a shoulder, you’re expressing what you feel.”
Jose remembers the weekend they shot the video — directed by David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fight Club, Gone Girl).
“At the time I didn’t know he was ‘hot director guy’ — he was great with us and we shot all weekend,” he says.
Madonna with dancers on the Blonde Ambition tour. Source: Salim “Slam” Gauwloos
Source: Supplied
“We had these great outfits that were designed by Gaultier — so I was already ecstatic over that.”
Twenty-five years later, the clip — and the move — has become a cultural reference. But Jose says he couldn’t have predicted the impact.
“If I’d known, I would have taken credit for it a long time ago and capitalised on it,” he laughs.
“This is this thing that I did on the West Side on the piers of New York City.
“The dancer in me is always gonna vogue — I’ll be 90 and probably vogueing.”
