02. Three Phases of Collection

The MBS’s current structural development is divided into three phases, each with a different method and criteria for collecting exhibition material. In the first phase, find cultural domains (Spradley, 1980) such as families, houses and dissemination into the literary material (Figure 1) crafted by the influential figure Co-Madrota Franka Polari (2014), and explore how his ideas shaped the MBS, while from the critical perspective analyse Klitgård (2019) and Tenorio (2021) about HoA social interactions in concrete. This exploration is enriched by the collaboration of Oscar Sánchez, a Mexican photographer who meticulously documented the period from 2015 to 2019 and focused on the HoA as initiators of Ballroom Culture in Mexico City. This collaboration has left a unique and uncategorised visual archive. This material provides a rich ground for analysis from a visual anthropological (Pink, 2009) perspective. Thus, the criteria related to Franka Polari’s literary material involve the selection of fragments that convey a message of creating a legacy by transmitting ideals which are neither patriarchal nor matrilineal. Those texts that have researched that stage can also provide illustrations for the questions that have attracted scholars (Klitgård, 2019 and Tenorio, 2021) to pay attention to the manifestation of Ballroom Culture during that period. On the visual side, the collaboration with Sánchez seeks to investigate the construction and transformation of the legacy of a nascent and small scene. The material initially constructed seeks to confirm the structural changes in the scene and its separation from the North American Ballroom Culture towards an adaptation to the Mexican context.

Figure 1. Franka Polari’s literary material

The second phase involves a fascinating process of generating a digital archive from social networks, particularly Facebook and Instagram. Through a method known as Netography (Kozinets, 2010), researchers delve into existing profiles such as @afectosBallroom, @ballroomcdmx, and @ballroomexicano, as well as profiles of the various houses of MBS. These profiles have generated a wealth of audiovisual material, documented their activities, and provided invaluable insights into events, practices, and personalities from the MBS (Figure 2). The principal aim is to collect all the material distributed through social networks and the Internet. This criterion includes everything written and published by people from the community and by interested individuals. Their contributions have been instrumental in attracting new generations to the Ballroom Culture. The selection will come from profiles of houses (in operation or defunct) to complete a bridge to the third phase.

Figure 2. Digital Advertisement from Kiki Orgullo# Pride from Incendio 007 Instagram Profile

As a third phase, the selection comes from ethnographical material collected, such as thick descriptions (Geertz, 1971), video recordings of dance realisations (Bakka and Karoblis, 2010) and interview transcriptions during the period of fieldwork for Choreomundus: International Master in Dance Knowledge, Practices and Heritage[1] in the Pride’s month 2023 in Mexico City. This section exposes audiovisual material (Figure 3) related to Balls, Conferences and Ballroom Public Practices (BPP) deployed by the Ballroom scene in Mexico City, focusing on open-ended semi-structured (Skinner, 2012) and elicitation face-to-face interviews (Gore and Mæland, 2015) regarding personal testimonies of the research participants, such as The Iconic House of Revlon, HoA and House of Magdalenas, House of Ubetta, Haus of Mvtante, House of Karnalas, House of Valentino, House of Kaoz, and House of Lovas. For the final stage, the selection is linked to videos made during eight of the most relevant ballroom events. These video realisations and open-ended semi-structured and elicitation interviews with participating researchers demonstrate a deep understanding of the significance of the changes and evolutions of the MBS and the dynamic nature of the community. It places particular emphasis on the audiovisual material selected from the dissemination strategies currently used by the community in Mexico City, as it reflects the dynamic nature of the culture.