Watch the 7 Best 'Legendary' Voguing Performances (and Battles)
| 05/25/21
MikelleStreet
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Legendary has brought so many things into our lives: Leiomy's legendary finger clap, Dashaun Wesley's dashing good looks, and Law Roach "love to hate him" quotables. The show has been the latest iteration of the ballroom scene being ushered into the mainstream, finally putting ballroom competition at the forefront. And though the series clearly looks to include many of the scene's varied categories, the houses certainly live and die by vogue performance.
Two hallmarks of every episode of Legendary -- since season one, in fact -- are the all-house production, which features vogue performance, and head-to-head redemption battle. This starts in episode one where houses put on a Grand March, where they show who they are via an all-house performance. But it also ends this way given that the season one finale featured an all-house redemption battle where each member had to face off against a member from the opposing house in one voguing element. All of this boils down to one thing: what we see in terms of voguing on the show, is some of the best the contestants have.
Though the judges give their scores, we all have our own opinions of what was and was not a legendary performance on the show. Here, we wade through our absolute favorites of the series, that keep us wanting more.
Talk about leaving it all on the floor.
We aren't going to play games here: this was not the best voguing necessarily. Let's just call a spade a spade. That said, when you're trying to keep your house in the running for $100,000 sometimes you just have to put it all on the line, and you turn into a ball of unbridled energy. They gave you stunts, shows, and a bit of team assistance, all while defying gravity.
Sure, the five elements weren't their priority but the sixth -- the element of surprise -- certainly was.
Off the back of landing in the bottom, the House of Lanvin had something to prove, and prove it they did. The team pulled off a pitch-perfect performance with a clear storyline, looks, and utilizing Mikayla Lanvin in the best way possible.
"And on that note: we're baaaaack," the track said. Back indeed.
Note: this clip also includes the Gucci performance after Lanvin.
You want to talk about clean performance?
With an icon at the helm (Father Arturo Miyake-Mugler,) two legends (Prince Miyake-Mugler and Diego Miyake-Mugler,) and two statements (Tati Miyake-Mugler and Malik Miyake-Mugler,) the bar was absolutely high for the house. And with what was undoubtedly the most precisely executed performance of the night, that featured each member of the house in addition to featuring all of the five elements, they sailed past it.
The thing about a performance that transcends is that there needs to be a level of theatricality to it. There needs to be highs and lows. Ideally, it should transport you somewhere and in the process move you. Balenciaga gave you all of that and more with their Tinseltown performance.
\u201cHouse of Balenciaga Tinseltown Hollywood Ball w/ Nicco Annan | Legendary HBO Max Season 2\n\nFULL: https://t.co/s0XT8ZTows\n\nHouse of Balenciaga:\n\nMother Shannon Balenciaga\nKalik Balenciaga\nJupiter Love Balenciaga\nHoney Balenciaga\nCha Cha Balenciaga\n\n#LegendaryMax #Ballroom #Vogue\u201d— GreenBottle (@GreenBottle) 1620445353
While theatricality and levels are a hallmark of performance, so is narrative. In this performance, Tisci kept the audience smiling along while also leaving room for the ultimate reveal: Simone Tisci's perfect face. There's a reason it was the first perfect score of the season.
\u201cHouse of Tisci Tinseltown Hollywood Theme w/ Nicco Annan | Legendary HBO Max Season 2\n\nFULL VID w/ Judges: https://t.co/K0HsjW9p1S\n\n\ud835\udc07\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2c \ud835\uddfc\ud835\udc1f \ud835\udc13\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc22:\n\nMother Gia Tisci\nTravon Tisci\nDrot Tisci\nSimone Tisci\nStanley Tisci\n\n#LegendaryMax #Ballroom #Vogue\u201d— GreenBottle (@GreenBottle) 1620449610
There is no reason for me to try to explain this one. Just watch it.
IT'S TISCI, DUH!
\u201cHaus of Tisci Pop Tart Ball w/ Taraji P. Henson | Legendary HBO Max Season 2\n\nFULL VID w/ Judges: https://t.co/IF1T90IsZI\n\n\ud835\udc07\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2c \ud835\uddfc\ud835\udc1f \ud835\udc13\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc22:\nMother Gia Tisci\nTray Tisci\nDro Tisci\nSimone Tisci\nStanley Tisci\n\n#LegendaryMax #LegendaryHBOmax #ballroom\u201d— GreenBottle (@GreenBottle) 1621521375
It's a true battle.
In the perfect mesh between voguing skill, percision, elements, as well as passion, Malik and Jamil battled in what is inarguably one of the best face-offs of the show so far. They may not have flipped off of walls or done handstands, but they both left it all on the floor while staying squarely within the essence of vogue. This was a battle.
Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.
Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.