The art of flagging dance, often called flag spinning, flag dancing, or rag spinning, but more commonly referred to as flagging, is the undulation, spinning and waving of flags in a rhythmic fashion to music. Practitioners of this form of performance art and dance are usually referred to as "flaggers" and "flag dancers", though until the 1990s this mostly referred to those waving flags to aid transportation professions (flag semaphore

Flag semaphore

Semaphore Flags is the system for conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags, rods, disks, paddles, or occasionally bare or gloved hands. Information is encoded by the position of the flags; it is read when the flag is in a fixed position...

).

"Flow Affair" is the first feature length LGBT Historic Art Documentary about flagging and flow arts released in 2011 by Art From The Heart, director Wolfgang Busch, more information at (www.FlowAffair.org) and (www.ArtFromTheHeartnyc.org).

Origins

The origins of flag dancing are said to reach as far back as the development of the earliest neanderthals, though it is unclear if any actual studies have ever been done on the subject. Some point to evidence of flagging in Chinese folklore dating back three thousand yearshttp://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=247&catid=7&subcatid=41. Others refer to the Maori spooky tribes of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Today, there are many Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 flagger troupes tracing their flagging history to the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. The lack of hard studies aside, it is reasonable to accept that artistic flagging has probably been around as long as flags themselves.

In addition, it is likely that contemporary flag dancing also drew inspiration from the classic art of fan dancing.

Contemporary flags

The added weights to the otherwise loose fabric made it possible for the new flaggers to spin and move the fabric through the air in ways similar to fan dancing, but with the added maneuverability of a very flexible material. Flags used by these new flaggers can be of almost any fabric, but silk, organza and lamé are preponderant, with silk being the most favored. Silk flags are usually dyed in vibrant, ultraviolet

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

 fluorescent colors, creating an almost hypnotic spectacle when waved rhythmically to music.

Note that this type of flagging, while similar, is distinct from the waving of flags on poles or rods as one would encounter in a color guard

Color guard

In the military of the United States and other militaries, the color guard carries the National Color and other flags appropriate to its position in the chain of command. Typically these include a unit flag and a departmental flag...

 unit of a high school or in the military; or for that matter, the Sbandieratori group.

Flagger troupes

Flagger groups formed in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and San Francisco in the late 1990s, and were often part of the backdrop of circuit party events. These were soon followed by the formation of troupes in Minneapolis, Seattle, and Houston in the United States, and in Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Of these, two operate today as choreographed performance troupes, similar to dance troupes: Axis Danz, founded in New York in 1998 by George Jagatic, and in Texas, the Flyboys of Flag Troupe Houston, founded in 2002.

Flagger events

Performances and conferences have begun forming in various cities, including New York, San Francisco and Dallas. Conferences and workshops happened in 2 or 3 full day events, and taught various techniques from beginner to advanced. A short list of leaders in the community often traveled to most or all of the events, becoming known internationally as contemporary instructors in Flag Dancing.

The annual SpinOut event in San Franscisco includes a series of flagger performances.

The annual Texas Flagger Weekend ran from 2003 - 2009. The event consisted of growing number of flaggers from around the world, peaking in 2008 with 80+ participants. The event had various tracks, from beginners to advanced. In later years, the Weekend expanded to include multiple tracks, a circuit party

Circuit party

A circuit party is a large dance event, extending through a night and into the following day, almost always with a number of affiliated events in the days leading up to and following the main event...

 and a SpinOut performance of their own, inspired by the San Francisco events. The Texas Flagger Weekend was founded by Patric Nast and Phillip Bryan in Dallas in 2003.

Flagger traditions

The art of flagging is usually disseminated from one person to another, one acting as a mentor, and the other as an apprentice, though one can find classes offered in cities with strong flagger presence such as New York, Houston, Dallas and San Francisco. Some flaggers report rapture

Rapture

The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....

 in the midst of a flagging dance. Flagging is often used to express art, emotion and spiritual connection in the community. In Brazil, the English words "flagger" and "flagging" are now used to specifically refer to this type of dance or performance art.

Sources

• Genre Magazine, June 2004
• New York Blade, February 6, 2004
• Edge Magazine, review of Flow Affair documentary by Jim Hauk, August 3rd, 2011.

External links

• Flow Affair; Flagging, Fanning, Poi and Floguing Dance documentary
• Art From The Heart Films, Flow Arts/ LGBT Historic Art Films
• Genre Magazine
• New York Blade
• Axis Danz
• Flyboys of Flag Troupe Houston
• Spin Tribe - Flagger Forum
• Flagger Central - Flagger Resources
• Flagger Boy - Flagger Resources
• Flagger in Brazil