International vogue star Dashaun Wesley, in the midst of touring with Rihanna on her Anti World Tour, took the time to speak with Get Out! on the subject he knows best: dancing.
Having recently returned from Russia, and having been on NBC’s “The Wiz Live” this past December, Wesley is one of the few vogue dance teachers in the country. Besides Rihanna, he has taught celebrities such as Channing Tatum (“Magic Mike”) how to vogue. As usual, it is always a joy to speak with him. He’s blessed with an amazing sense of humor, a world traveler’s knowledge and a sincerity that touches one’s soul.
Dashaun, what is it like touring with Rihanna?
It happened! I auditioned for it, and I got the opportunity to vogue for her world tour. Right now I’m in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s amazing; she’s very nice. She makes everyone feel comfortable. It’s a family, I’ll tell you that one.
How cool. How exciting was that for you?
You know, it was rough auditioning for it, but once I got through after the audition, it was amazing.
Why was it rough; were you nervous?
I never auditioned for a tour with someone knowing that they were looking for voguers. It was a little bit tough. You want to get something so bad, so I think once I got it, it became much more lighter rather than thinking of wanting it so bad.
So tell me about voguing abroad. I know that you love to go to Russia, and that you go there quite often, but where else have you danced?
Besides Russia, I’ve been to Paris, Germany, London, Iceland, Sweden, Finland. I go to places all the time.
What do they think about voguing abroad?
Oh, they love it. I think each country has its own way of learning the culture of vogue and have taken their own experience of vogue or ballroom itself and made it their own.
How do you feel about the closing of Escuelita, and how do you feel it will affect the ballroom and vogue community?
Oh, yeah. Within the ballroom culture, I think there is always a place where everyone will go to for different generations. My generation experienced Escuelita, and for it to close, it’s kind of tough, because we spent so many years growing within this culture at that club. For it to close, we lost a baby right now. We’ve gotta move forward onto something else. The Party was moved over to 42West (512 W. 42nd St.) on Mondays from 8pm – midnight.
There are more and more vogue classes popping up, however.
Yeah, there are.
Are you teaching them?
Because I’m on tour right now, I can’t teach, but the fact that there are classes in New York City, there are classes in L.A., and there are a lot of classes abroad that are happening…
How about the fact that there is more casting openings for vogue dancers?
Besides myself who is doing something with the vogue culture, there are three other people who are traveling and doing something with the vogue culture. That’s Danielle, Javier and Leiomy Maldonado.
Are they on the same level as you?
I think we are on the same level in different areas, if you wanna say that. Leiomy is a trans woman who is traveling the world teaching the culture. Danielle is a real woman, and Javier teaches a different style of vogue.
What do you think about the reemergence of voguing in pop culture?
Now it’s more sustainable for people to put it in their performances. Now artists like Jennifer Lopez has it in her residency. Ariana Grande just did it, I believe, on “Saturday Night Live.” She had some voguers up on her show too. It’s becoming the norm. It’s on its way within the mainstream as is, so I think that every celebrity will wanna get their hands on it, until it dries out. So it’s coming back out there since the Madonna days.
Who is the biggest celebrity that you have ever taught to vogue?
Rihanna now.
So you are actually teaching her?
Not specifically teaching her, but there was stuff that we had to do for staging purposes, so I had to show her just a little bit. She’s very familiar with the culture. It’s between her and Channing Tatum.
And where else are you going with Rihanna on the tour?
I just left Cincinnati last night. I’m in Charlotte now, and after tonight I’ll be going to D.C. Then we go from city to city to city.
That must be why you sound so tired.
I’m in my bunker right now.
Is there anything that you would like to say? You have free rein.
Get lots of sleep and eat right, cause baby, when you experience something like this, it’s an amazing experience, but if you don’t know how to take care of your body, you can’t put yourself through it all.
What’s involved for you in keeping in shape? Do you go to the gym?
I’m never a frequent gym goer, but if I have time I’ll go. But because of dancing, my metabolism is always running, so I feel like I don’t need the gym at times. I try to eat correct. I don’t eat pork; that’s one thing I’ve never picked up. I’m a chicken, fish and turkey person, and I’ve been increasing my green intake.
When you get up in the morning, what’s the first thing you want to do?
What I wanna do is get up and get back in bed. I love getting up and stretching, but I keep looking at that bed, and walking away is the worst thing ever. Doing this tour I have to stretch before I go on, because we put in a good workout.
How many numbers do you do?
We do three numbers, and it’s back to back, so…
Do you have any costume changes?
Oh no, I just wear one outfit; it’s a sparkly, glittery cat suit. I love it, because I look like a human penny. It’s very shiny. It’s a sequined cat suit. We wear those every day, and we are on stage, off stage, on stage, off stage and right back on. It’s awesome.
Dashaunwesley.com
