The Associated Press: Tandi Iman Dupree makes the "greatest" entrance of all time

This year, the fabulous Tandi Iman Dupree attracted the attention of an entertainment reporter, Jake Coyle, who works for the Associated Press.

In a round-up of interesting Web sites that gained notoriety in 2007, Mr. Coyle wrote about the dangerous stunt that was Miss Dupree's stage entrance at the 2001 Miss Black America drag pageant. In his article, Mr. Coyle described Miss Dupree's performance as among the most interesting items on the Internet, which "deserve notice."

Watch Miss Dupree's acrobatic entrance and performance at the Miss Black America pageant. Set to the tune of Bonnie Tyler's Holding Out for a Hero, Miss Dupree delivers an entrance -- and performance -- of a lifetime.

Look for the dips (dance move) by Miss Dupree (the first at 3:02) and by her dancing partner (at 4:33), which are highly characteristic of the dips in "Ball" dancing. Also notice Miss Dupree's use of the runway.

A little bit about Tandi Iman Dupree

UPDATE: Please read this entry on Lady Bunny's blog, where Lady Bunny shares some sad news about Miss Dupree.

Since I posted this message about Tandi Iman Dupree, I've received a few comments asking about biographical information about Miss Dupree. I was able to reach out and get some information about Miss Dupree's life. A friendly member of the Carrie Fairfield community provided me with the following information, which I'm summarizing here:

I haven't been able to confirm any between Miss Dupree and the Ballroom scene. As far as my source knows, Miss Dupree was always a pageant girl. She actually started her dance career in high school, being the co-captain of her high school majorette squad until graduation. She started competing at N-Cognito night club in Memphis, TN, where she created original talents and routines with other dancers in the area. Word of her talent soon got out.

Miss Dupree was dedicated to becoming Miss Black America. She traveled from drag mecca to drag mecca: such as Texas, Florida, DC, Atlanta to promote her self and her dream of becoming Miss Black America. Unfortunately, she passed away before she could realize her dream.

According to my source, Miss Dupree's father is Shun Monro Dupree, and she was the grandchild of Niesha Dupree (a legend in Atlanta) with connections to Tamisha Iman (former Miss Gay USofA), Tanisha Cassidine (former Miss Black America, Miss Black USofA) and has numerous children sisters and brothers.

SIDEBAR: As I try to collect more information about Miss Dupree's life, I promise to keep you updated.

The 'How Do I Look Ball' in Chicago

I found some videos on YouTube, showing the How Do I Look Ball that took place in Chicago with the star Mo'Nique in attendance. In this pair of videos, you can catch a glimpse of the filmmaker Wolfgang Busch shooting his own video footage.

Renaldo Blahnik vs. Raven Mizrahi (dancing) at the How Do I Look Ball.

Legendary Mother Milan MB doin' her "thang" (dancing) at the How Do I Look Ball.

I promise to collect and add more information about the How Do I Look Ball on this post.

Dance and Fashion Show at the Red Ball on World AIDS Day

On World AIDS Day 2007, dancers from the "Ball" community were invited to perform at the Red Ball fundraiser and awards event of the Fifth Annual New York AIDS Film Festival. Before the guests were seated for dinner, Wolfgang Busch (director of the documentary How Do I Look) posed for a picture with two dancers from the House of Ninja.

As some of the personalities arrived, photographers were given an opportunity to snap pics. Here Busch stood next to celebrity designer Richie Rich, of the fashion design house Heatherette.

At another opportunity, the celebrity fashion designer Marc Bouwer joined Busch for a photo-op.

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