noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 57 August 2008 - Index

Flagger NatioN
Dallas’ Flagging weekend v highlights
the new state of fanners & flaggers
Text and Photos by Dan Tyler
I first encountered flagging during
Boston Gay Pride, summer 2000.
Boston’s gay ghetto, between Back
Bay and the South End, was roped
off for a street festival, and a bunch
of muscle-boys had taken over the
stage, twirling and fanning brightly-colored
silk scarves in the most
fascinating patterns and waves,
musically flapping in the wind—and
entrancing a certain green-behindthe-ears,
newly out-of-the-closet kid
from Montana: me.
I sidled up to the stage and shyly
asked one of the guys if I could
try out what he was doing with a
pair of purple-sequined flags. He
tried to show me how to hold the
3-by-4-foot pieces of fabric. I could
feel the weights sewn into the hems
along two of the edges, which he
explained were designed to let the
flags flare when whirled through
the air.
I enthusiastically emulated the other
flaggers, but my flags promptly
tangled themselves into a knot. He
patiently showed me how to shake
out the knot and urged me to try
again. I crisscrossed my arms frantically
and nearly took out my boyfriend’s
eye with the weighted tip of
one of the flags.
At one time or another, all of us have
been captivated by the UV-reactive
glowing fabrics twirling above our heads
like a cloud of benevolent nuclear radiation.
Hypnotic and entrancing, for those
onlookers in an “altered state,” gazing
into the swirl of colors can be something
akin to a holy—or at the least, highly
sensory—experience that has become
an integral part of what makes our party
scene so special.
Alternately loved or hated, flaggers
have taken their place on the dance
floor. Some promoters actively discourage
them; conversely, special stages and
platforms at New York City’s Pier Dance
and Black Party are built especially to
accommodate them.
The history of flagging began with the
first modern dancer, an American les-
46
Healthy Am I! Happy Am I! holy Am I!
In the early 20th
century, Mary
Louise Fuller (or
"Loie") used flags
and lights to create
trippy patterns
set to music.