ABSTRACT
In 2015, organizers for the San Francisco Folsom Street Fair commissioned and posted the video “Fosse meets Fetish,” which uses the stylized aesthetic of American musical theater choreographer/director Bob Fosse to illustrate sexuality and eroticism while exploring gender and BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sadism, Masochism). Directed and produced by Aron Kantor and choreographed by Danny Dolant, “Fosse meets Fetish” features Broadway performer Colon Cunliffe, gender-queer drag queen Grace Towers, and a variety of San Francisco’s performers. The performers embody sexualized femininity, grotesque, and fetish aesthetics through an interpretation of Fosse’s choreography, costuming, makeup, and camera work. The “Fosse meets Fetish” video takes place in an industrial location. Fosse’s methodical and deliberate hyper-feminine, hyper-sexual language serves as a well-suited vehicle for disturbing conservative gender and sexuality norms for the queer and sexually experimental community. Radical sexuality, as seen in queer BDSM culture and choreographed in Kantor’s video, may be crucial for gay political rights.
