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Dante DiFranco, is a charming and
smooth drag king performer. In 1999, he donned drag for the first time while just having fun with his friends. Later, he decided to try it out again, bound his breasts with an ace bandage, put on a pair of brown
corduroys, and a burgundy tank top. He chopped up some of his friends hair and used
Elmer's glue to apply it on his face, and finished the look with a snowboarding hat and a pair of 6 inch platform boots. Little did he know, but this was the beginning of who he would later become, Dante. He went to the local club that night where a drag show was being performed and found out that they were a performer short. He was
instantly recruited! He began his debut that night performing, off the only CD he had in his car, "Meet Virginia". It was that night that he fell in love. He fell in love with something he never expected to fall in love with...the stage.
Continuing to perform, he later changed his name to Wyatt. However, it just didn't seem to click quite right for him. After further contemplation, the name Dante arose. This new name "came to life." The character he evolved into plays is a romantic Italian stallion. Most of the time he is getting himself into trouble or falling hopelessly in love. Along with being a merchant of fine textiles, he has been performing for the last few years as an actor who's dream is to take on a role in a James Bond movie. He has a sick sense of humor, but everyone loves him cause he speaks his mind. Most of the time, you will see Dante dressed sharply and sophisticated. He usually does elaborate performance pieces where his style of dress may range from a priest costume to a pimp suit. You never know what he is going to pull out of his sleeve next. That's what makes him so magically delicious! Ever since that first night of Elmer's Glue and 6-inch platforms, Dante continued to perform and has found his home on the stage. At one point he had developed and maintained the largest drag king list-serve on the Internet through yahoo. His involvement in the drag king community itself deepened as he teamed with the International Drag King Extravaganza as one of the board members. In 2005, he authored and saw published the first historical and how to reference on culture, "The Art of Drag Kinging: 'Drag'ging Out Your Inner King". He went on to become an international performer, touring across the U.S. and Canada in his solo tour "Gender Distortion" as well as with "Club Casanova". He later toured in several countries in Europe, both performing and lecturing on the culture and history of the phenomenon. As of lately, DiFranco is not currently performing anywhere but continues to have such a heart for the community at large. He continues to maintain this website so that others just stepping into this new and imaginative performance art and brotherhood can receive some guidance and inspiration for discovering their own inner king. |
