This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.
Jenn Freeman was “bouncing around the house” as a child, so they have their ADHD to thank for the start of their dance journey.
“The thing that my mom didn’t tell me until two years ago was that I was actually diagnosed with ADHD or whatever,” they said. “The doctors prescribed me Ritalin, and instead of giving me Ritalin, my mom put me in dance class.”
Years later, Freeman is using their talent for dance to give back to their community.
As the founder of House of the Lorde, Freeman hopes to create a community healing space through activities such as burlesque classes—combined with their love of praise music—and Black feminist reading groups. After growing up in a small town with a Christian family, they’re seeking to create the church experience they longed for.
Freeman started their dance journey between the ages of three and six, growing up in the small town of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. They said they felt grateful for the dance space because it taught them to communicate, be in their body and share what they’re feeling without words.
Ultimately they went off to Columbia College Chicago to study dance—a “culture shock” for Freeman after being raised in a very Christian and sheltered home.
That shock caused Freeman to drop out of school after two years and take time to figure out their own identity. They then came into the burlesque style through a performer friend, and, after seeing a show, felt like it was “[their] language.” It reminded them of the types of dancing and energetic exchange they felt in church growing up.
Now, they consider themselves a performance artist and work full-time in the art sphere. They studied a variety of dance while attending college and currently create work in the burlesque and drag styles, with some nods to modern and Christian praise dance. They said they try to move in a way that’s a “reflection of all [their] experiences.”
As they got into burlesque, Freeman came up with her second name—Po’Chop. They said in burlesque, people who present as women often choose very soft, feminine or demure names, whereas they wanted one that authentically represented them. At 18, a dance teacher told them they needed to cut out their favorite food—their mom’s pork chops—in order to lose weight and make it as a dancer.
Now, they’re Po’Chop. “As a ‘Fuck you’ to that guy,” they said.
Their love for mixing burlesque styles with modern or praise movements helped inspire House of the Lorde. About five years ago, Freeman discovered the poem “A Litany for Survival” and essay “Uses of the Erotic” by Audre Lorde—the practice’s namesake—around the time they felt they were confronting who they were as a queer person who was raised Christian.
Freeman founded House of the Lorde in 2021 after feeling called to share Lorde’s work. They describe the group as one “rooted in Black feminist theory and/or practice … a space that is thinking about the erotic as a spirit, as a compass in which we can live.”
For them, this includes requiring masks and trying to be as COVID-19 safe as possible. Freeman’s larger goal is to eventually reclaim a church building and turn it into a Black feminist sanctuary.
Although they were raised in the church and describe it as something rooted into everything they grew up with, it’s not a practice they continue due to a terrible coming out experience. Now, they said they’re trying to “create a church” or re-imagine what it could be like through House of the Lorde.
With the monthly reading groups, they’ve found the connection they’ve been seeking as they and other people gather to discuss and otherwise engage with various texts. Some specifically come with trauma or other negative experiences growing up in Christianity, and are looking for ways to heal or discover a new relationship with it. Freeman said they believe the majority of attendees are queer.
Parker Haines met Freeman about 13 to 14 years ago while doing an all-Black burlesque and variety show called Jeezy’s Juke Joint. To Haines, “Po’Chop was [their] muse from the very moment [they] saw them on stage.”
The two were core members of the group for 10 years. They’ve performed numerous times together in the burlesque and drag community and have now hosted a Drag King-centered show called Notes on Masculinity at The California Clipper, 1002 N. California Ave., for the last three years.
Haines said just watching Freeman perform can “ignite and encourage” a desire to elevate their own work.
Haines considers Freeman part of their chosen family—the two lived together for a year in Chicago and enjoyed houses full of people while hosting Thanksgivings and Christmases.
According to Haines, Freeman is someone who’s incredibly supportive and “highlights others’ individuality.” Haines said Freeman is someone who puts their authentic self into what they do, and is always striving to be the best version of themselves.
“If I were on a game show and they said, ‘Name your top three favorite people,’ Jenn would be one of them,” Haines said.
In the year ahead, Freeman has a new solo project premiering in March at Columbia College, a full-circle moment for them. As for their other goals, they hope to continue prioritizing rest and a good work-life balance as a freelance artist. Outside of House of the Lorde, they also produce Notes on Maculinity every other month on the second Tuesday.
Working full-time as an artist, they said they’re grateful to be so fortunate that this is their life. They create their own schedule and move how they want, sharing a reflection of themselves through their performance.
“Oftentimes the dancer is viewed as a canvas for somebody else’s ideas to be imprinted on,” Freeman said. “And burlesque and drag felt like I’m not only revealing, especially in burlesque, my skin, I’m also revealing who I am as a person—my own beliefs and lens and way I’m walking through the world.”