Queer Dance is Sacred began as a performance done at the Queer Rain Art Party in collaboration with the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, and the resulting image was published in Vol. 2 of Queer Rain Magazine. At the Art Party Alma made live drawings in an attempt to collect ephemeral evidence of queerness on the dance floor. Through the act of making these drawings the artist was on their knees in reverence of the queer community that had formed in the space.

The drawings were then taken back to the artist’s studio where they worked with mixed-media to layer and combine elements from the various dancers into one cohesive composition. The colors in the resulting work were taken from prayer cards for the Virgin Mary. This work is deeply inspired by the words of José Esteban Muñoz from his essay Ephemera as Evidence: Introductory Notes to Queer Acts, in which he states, “Queer dance is hard to catch, and it is meant to be hard to catch — it is supposed to slip through the fingers and comprehension of those who would use knowledge against us.” This piece, and the work of making it, serves as an enduring reminder that queer dance will always be sacred.