Chantal Regnault is a French photographer. She is known for photographing the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

ballroom scene.

Early life

Regnault was born in France. She left France for

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

after the May 1968 uprisings. She later lived in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

until the

2010 earthquake Earthquakes in 2010 resulted in nearly 165,000 fatalities. Most of these were due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which caused an estimated 160,000 deaths, making it the 8th deadliest earthquake in recorded history. Other deadly quakes occurred in ...

caused her to leave.

Education

Regnault studied

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

before turning to photography.https://dominiquefiat.com/en/artists/chantal-regnault/#:~:text=Chantal%20Regnault%20is%20French%20and,place%20of%20life%20and%20research. Once she began pursuing photography, she started out as a street photographer, capturing

breakdancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...

and

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

. Later, some of her ballroom subjects were Octavia St. Laurent,

Pepper LaBeija Pepper LaBeija (November 5, 1948 – May 14, 2003) was an American drag queen and fashion designer. She was known as "the last remaining queen of the Harlem drag balls". Early life and career Born in the Bronx in 1948, Pepper LaBeija first arr ...

Freddie Pendavis ''Paris Is Burning'' is a 1990 American documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involv ...

Angie Xtravaganza Angie Xtravaganza (October 17, 1964 – March 31, 1993) was a co-founder and Mother of the House of Xtravaganza. A prominent transgender performer in New York City, New York City's Ball culture, gay ball culture, Xtravanganza featured in the acc ...

, Paris Dupree, and

Dorian Corey Dorian Corey (June 6, 1937 – August 29, 1993) was an American drag performer and fashion designer. She appeared in ''Wigstock'' and was featured in Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary '' Paris Is Burning''. Early life and education ...

Career

Regnault began photographing the Harlem ballroom scene in the late 1980s; her themes were fashion, dance, and identity.

Bibliography

* ''Voguing and the House Ballroom Scene of New York City 1989-92'', Soul Jazz Books, 2011. ISBN 978-0955481765.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regnault, Chantal 20th-century French photographers 20th-century French women photographers 21st-century French photographers 21st-century French women photographers Photographers from New York City LGBTQ history Living people