{"id":10041,"date":"2023-07-27T09:19:47","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T07:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingkong-mag.com\/?p=10041"},"modified":"2023-08-23T09:47:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T07:47:20","slug":"unique-en-son-genre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingkong-mag.com\/en\/unique-en-son-genre\/","title":{"rendered":"Sandra Van de Kamp and Vakah Profana, drag queens unique in their genre"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nTo celebrate difference and shatter the silence through literature, poetry, words and colours\u2026 This is the goal of the Unique en son genre project, in which both Vakah and Sandra are involved. These two characters, a gentle mix of the sublime and the burlesque, are the alter-egos of artists Guillaume and Andr\u00e9 who, on the terrace of a Brussels caf\u00e9, told me their story. Prepare to be inspired\u2026\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n

First, meet Sandra van de Kamp<\/a>. An announcer by training, Sandra is a funny and zany, eloquent and engaged stay-at-home mum, decked out like a kitsch 1980s pop star. Next, Vakah Profana<\/a>. Some claim that, like Amanda Lear, this mysterious creature with a bewitching voice has her origins in the north-west of Brazil. An actor performing in telenovelas, an Amazonian singer, a sorceress or a cow reincarnated as a human being: the theories concerning her roots are legion. For over a year now, Sandra and Vakah have been travelling back and forth across French-Speaking Belgium to give readings, alongside six other drag artists, in schools, youth centres and cultural venues, as part of the \u2018Unique en son genre<\/a>\u2019 project, which describes itself as: \u2018A drag queen, a drag king, a book, an attentive child and an adult alongside them. Together.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The text is always the trigger leading to discussion. We want the young people to react, ask questions amongst themselves to see what emerges from the themes we touch upon<\/p>\nVakah<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Jos\u00e9phine Devillers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Opening minds through reading<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Created in 2018 at the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre de Li\u00e8ge, the concept is inspired by the Drag Queen Story Hour<\/a>, which emerged in San Francisco in 2015, and the story hours<\/a> which have been taking place in Quebec since 2016, organised by the drag queen Bardaba<\/a>. Inclusive stories, letters, personal testimonies, poems and forums: the tales are adapted to the spectrum of ages (from 3 to 12 years), and question gender stereotypes, explore parental relationships, address different forms of discrimination, including those to which LGBTQIA+ people are subject, and give free rein to the imagination and curiosity \u2013 all within a caring space, devoid of any judgement. \u2018The text is always the trigger leading to discussion. We want the young people to react, ask questions amongst themselves to see what emerges from the themes we touch upon,\u2019 explains Vakah. These readings invariably give rise to unique and sometimes heartwarming moments, such as the time when, \u2018at the end of one session, the children decided to have a group hug\u2019. At other times, they elicit more personal confessions or unexpected reactions, such as the question a teenager asked one day: \u2018What\u2019s your agenda here?\u2019 \u2018We don\u2019t have one,\u2019 replied Vakah, other than sharing a moment of \u2018kindness, tenderness and pleasure.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creatures steeped in the real<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sandra and Vakah are both stage characters, born of the imaginations and personal experiences of Guillaume and Andr\u00e9. \u2018Sandra is not someone who is the complete opposite of me. Basically, she is Guillaume wearing his superhero costume.\u2019 Andr\u00e9 concurs: \u2018Vakah is an exaggerated version of myself. I took aspects from my own biography which I interpreted in the form of mythology and mysticism.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Born in Brazil, Andr\u00e9 moved to Italy at the age of 10, where he grew up in a loving family, in a devout and traditional environment. When he was 16, he became aware of his sexual orientation, and of being \u2018different\u2019 in a milieu of homogenised heterosexuality. \u2018I needed to be a part of a tradition, a line and a culture.\u2019 It was around this time that he started to watch queer films and series, including The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert<\/a>, which had a particularly profound impact on him. Meanwhile, he began to get into theatre, and left to go and study in France. Singing, a private choir, a piano bar\u2026 Andr\u00e9 tried out a number of professions, searching for a vocation, but\u2026 \u2018nothing ever stuck\u2019. He then discovered the world of the clown, which gave him a sense of liberation. \u2018Being a clown is all about working with your alter ego, and that means freeing yourself of all conventions.\u2019 Andr\u00e9 took up drag during lockdown. He developed his character via the internet, by watching tutorials, and recorded himself in a studio with other musicians. On a training course at the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre de Li\u00e8ge, he met S\u00e9bastien Hanesse, who manages the \u2018Unique en son genre\u2019 project. S\u00e9bastien suggested singing at a cabaret evening, and Vakah Profana was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Une publication partag\u00e9e par Unique en son Genre (@uniqueensongenre.be)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>