Ball culture
Encyclopedia
Ball culture, the house system, the ballroom community and similar terms describe the underground LGBT
subculture
in the United States
in which people "walk" (i.e. compete
) for trophies
and prizes at events known as balls
. Those who walk often also dance and vogue
while others compete in various genres of drag
often trying to pass as a specific gender
and social class
. Most people involved with ball culture belong to "houses" led by a single leader.
houses" or "drag families," are groups composed primarily of the LGBTQ Community, the majority of which are African American
or Latino
, banded together under a respected "house mother" (sometimes a drag queen
or a transgender
person, but not always) or even a "house father."
The best known houses are New York City
groups, especially those such as the House of Garcon, the House of Icon, the House of Khan, the House of Evisu, the House of Karan, the House of Mizrahi, the House of Xtravaganza, the House of Ebony, the House of Revlon, the House of Prodigy, the House of Escada, the House of Omni, the House of Aviance, the House of Legacy, the House of Milan, the House of Princess, the House of Pend'avis, the House of LaBeija, the House of McQueen, and the House of Ninja among others which were shown in the 1990 documentary film
Paris Is Burning
. Other houses function similarly in other states but mainly focused in major cities on the East Coast, in the Midwest and in the South (e.g., House Of Infiniti, House of Mizrahi, House of Aviance)
According to the Village Voice:
Members of the house led by Willi Ninja
, for example, adopt "Ninja" as their surname
within ball culture, members of the house led by Angie Xtravaganza used the surname "Xtravaganza," and members of the house led by Avis Pendavis used the surname Pendavis.
One theme discussed in Paris Is Burning is that people of color, queers
, and poor people
face certain disadvantages and are each a marginalized group
; to qualify as all three makes one a pariah. In response, drag houses are
Under the house parents are
House parents can provide wisdom, guidance and care for young people who otherwise might be homeless
and without a parental figure. An exploratory study of two houses in Newark, New Jersey
employed qualitative research methods including participant observation and in-depth interviewing to discern that:
skill
s, costume
, general appearance, and attitude
. Participants dress according to category in which they are competing and are expected to display appropriate "realness."
Dominated today by contemporary hip hop fashion
and featuring much hip hop music
, these events are actually part of a vivacious and ever-changing culture and are
While these competitive walks may involve crossdressing, in other cases the goal is to accentuate a male participant's masculinity
or a female participant's femininity
so as to give the (almost always false) impression that the walker is heterosexual.
Regarding these competitions and their importance to ball culture and the people involved, one participant wrote:
Having evolved over the years, the largest balls are competitions that can go on as long as ten hours. There can be dozens of categories in a single evening . No longer attracting the same number of spectators, almost everyone comes to compete. Some of the trophies are twelve feet tall and a grand-prize winner can take home $1000 or more.
(or of several countercultures), the origin of ball culture is a story of both necessity and defiance.
winning author Michael Cunningham
, the ball culture of New York City is the product of
In the 1960s, black drag queens started holding their own events in Harlem
where they took the concept to
Eventually the participants in these balls split into factions centered around influential and charismatic leaders:
In 1989 The House of Latex was created as a call to action in the ballroom community to bridge the gap between HIV/STI prevention and the underground ballroom culture. The House of Latex has been led by various leaders. The most influential and memorable was the Legendary Arbert Santana Latex/Evisu, who passed away on March 3, 2011(Big Boys Runway) and Mother Aisha Diori Latex/Prodigy(Legendary Women's Face) who were put in place to educate, provide a safe space, and inspire creativity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth of color involved in the ball scene.
Born in 1989 out of a collaboration between GMHC and members of the ballroom community who were concerned about the growing presence of HIV and AIDS within the ball scene, the House of Latex was committed to outreach and prevention, primarily among LGBT youth of African American and Latino descent, for 20 plus years. The name “Latex” was given to HOL by members of the community because one of the house’s primary functions is to distribute condoms at balls and other events, in addition to participation within the scene. Most other houses are named after famous designers or famed community members.
HOL became an official “house” in 1993 and held its first annual ball, which quickly developed into one of the largest events held by any house in the New York City ballroom community.
One of the famous ball themes for the Latex Ball was The Latrix, a play on the Hollywood blockbuster, “The Matrix.” Mother Aisha Latex, explained that the theme was chosen because the movie is a pop culture classic in which the “reality” of day to day life turns out to be an elaborate façade created by machines that control the “real” world. This relationship, she said, parallels the attitude many people display toward the “machines” of HIV and AIDS—instead of fighting back through prevention and education. Essentially, they deny the truth and passively accept the authority of the disease. The Latrix, the evening’s program explained, aimed at allowing members of the ballroom community to tackle issues such as racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, HIV, and AIDS head-on by competing in over 40 different categories and sharing their talents and creativity with the community.
“Our chances lie in the acknowledgement of these issues,” the program read. “If we free our whole community we can survive. There is hope.” “The House of Latex works in partnerships,” stressed Arbert Santana “Our partnerships with other agencies are very important.”
HOL’s partners include People of Color in Crisis and Gay Men of African Descent, among others who were present to distribute literature and safe sex packets. The David Geffen Testing Center at GMHC was also on hand to provide free HIV testing. At 10:30, the runway came to life with several performances by members of the community who are trying to make it as entertainers outside the ball scene. Performers included singer/dancer Harliquin, fashion diva Princess Xtravaganza, rapper Inhance, and the punk rock sounds of Blue Doll. This was followed by a short awards ceremony in which allies of HOL were awarded for their activism and creative use of their talents. One notable award went to Selvyn Givenchy, who won the Eric Christian Bizarre Lifetime Achievement Award, which is bestowed upon a community member who carries on the legacy of the late Eric Christian Bazaar, a renowned ballroom commentator who died of AIDS in 2001.
Before actual competitions commenced, HOL held its “Grand March,” which is the traditional way for the host house of a ball to present itself and its theme to the community. The Grand March for The Latrix 2003 featured HOL members dressed as characters from “The Matrix” parading their elaborate costumes down the runway and acting out a skit which featured HIV and AIDS as the enemy to be destroyed through awareness and education. Following the Grand March, members of the community competed in dozens of categories (competitions continued until almost 4 a.m.) with the goal of freeing the most souls in order to win the Grand Prize. That night’s Grand Prize went to the House of Allure. Mother Aisha Latex was quick to point out that HOL goal in all this fun is to get the community involved in promoting AIDS awareness, intervention, and prevention. One category Santana was particularly proud of was the Mini Grand Prize for the best safer sex poster.
In addition to its annual ball, HOL also “walks” balls throughout the year, handing out educational pamphlets and safer sex packets, did outreach on the streets and in clubs, and provided peer space for LGBT youth by holding discussion groups, or “House Talk,” twice a month. Santana explained that HOL specifically focuses on youth of color between the ages of 15 and 25, because “if we are able to provide intervention at an earlier age, we can stop the spread of HIV and AIDS.” The House of Latex has changed its direction from a walking house to primarily service/drop in resource for the LGBTQ house ballroom community, since Mother Aisha Latex moved on to create and implement the KiKi Ballroom initiative targeted at LGBTQ youth and young adults involved in the mainstream ballroom scene. The Kiki ballroom scene created by Mother Aisha Latex is being replicated nationwide via various CBOs.
describes how ball culture and drag houses developed there around 1960:
At this early date, the styles of dance that came to characterize drag houses had not been developed and competitions between drag houses involved more usual drag performance in which entertainers lip synced or, more rarely, sang.
It contrast to the NYC houses shown in Paris Is Burning, some of the Washington, DC house mothers were white
. Still, African-American drag queens were a prominent part of this community:
Today in Washington, D.C.
, the ball community consist of mainly African American and Latino participants and has taken on a lot of the attributes of the NYC houses shown in Paris Is Burning. While the drag shows and competitions of the 1960s era still exist, they have created their own audience and scene in itself. Ball patrons will find a lot of the same categories such as "banjee thug realness" and "vogue" as an audience member.
The founding members of the Washington, D.C.
ballroom scene in 1986, are Icon Lowell Adonis-Khanh and Icon Eric Christian-Bazaar. From 1986 through the 90's Icon Lowell Adonis-Khanh fought with fire, brimstone, temperament, and frustration to put the Washington, D.C.
ballroom scene on the map. In the 90's more houses appeared in Washington, D.C.
thanks to Twain Miyake-Mugler ("father" of the House of Miyake Mugler, DC Chapter), Legendary Shannon Garcon and Icon Whitney Garcon (founders of the House of Garcon and original members of the The Legendary House of Miyake-Mugler, NY-DC Chapter). Washington, D.C.
has become a leading ball city within the past few years through the contributions of successful houses and leaders within the scene such as Legendary Harold Balenciaga (founder of the House of Balenciaga, who was formerly a Mugler). The first N.Y. house to have a chapter in Washington D.C was the Iconic House of Ebony (ca. 1979) in the middle 80s. Through networking and introducing new and innovative talent to the area, these ball culture figures have managed to make the nations capitol one of the ballroom capitols as well. Washington is now hosting an annual D.C Awards Ball in which contestants from all over the world come to the capitol to compete. D.C also host an annual series of balls. Contestants in these balls compete for trophies and cash prizes. They are then able to be nominated for the title of "Of The Year" (E.G.- Vogue Femme Of The Year), which simply means they have dominated their prospective category for that year similar to an athletic conference MVP. Before the Awards ball, each house selects two leaders. These leaders will then vote for who they think should be "Of the Year" for their category. The winner is announced at the ball. These titles are a new trend in a ball culture that is becoming a lot more mainstream and easier to access in post Paris Is Burning
days, where websites such as www.walk4mewednesdays.com makes ball culture more accessible.
Leading houses in the D.C. area include the House of Khan, House of Balenciaga, House of Comme des Garcon, House of Miyake Mugler, House of Ebony, House of Milan, House of Evisu, House of Prodigy, House of Revlon, House of Allure, House of Manolo Blahnik and House of Xcellence.
," a dance style originating in Harlem ballrooms in the first half of the 20th century and popularized worldwide by the video for Vogue, a song released by Madonna
in 1990, the same year as Paris Is Burning
. One source asserts that "many people only know of underground ballroom culture from Madonna's 'Vogue' or the film 'Paris Is Burning'." More recently, the dance group Vogue Evolution from America's Best Dance Crew
brought voguing to domestic and international popularity once again.
Terms like "fierce" and "fiercenes," "work it" and "working it," "fabulous" and "fabulousness" and so forth are all part of the argot heard in Paris Is Burning and were central to the lyrics of "Supermodel (You Better Work)
," a hit released in 1992 by drag queen
Ru Paul. These terms quickly entered gay slang
, fashion industry jargon
and the mainstream colloquial
vernacular
.
and electronic dance music
through famous DJs
like Junior Vasquez
, Danny Tenaglia
, Johnny Dynell
. Well-known contemporary DJs and producers include DJ Sedrick, DJ Carlton, Vjuan Allure, MikeQ, DJ Lucky, Kevin JZ Prodigy, Jay R Neutron and more.
at New York University
said this: "Today’s queer
mania for ghetto fabulous
ness and bling masks its elemental but silent relationship to even more queer impulses toward fabulousness in the 1960s and 1970s.
, whose appearances include Flawless, The Tyra Banks Show
and America's Next Top Model
, is a member of the House of Aviance founded 1989 in Washington, DC. Poet (Def Poetry
), author (Christ Like), actor (The Ski Trip
), and activist Emanuel Xavier
was involved with the Houses during his time out on the streets and writes a lot about his experiences. One of his most famous poems, "Legendary," is a tribute to ball culture and was remixed into a house music
record and released as a digital download
single from his spoken word
compilation CD, Legendary- The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier.
told a reporter from The Independent
"how inspired she's been by the whole drag-house circuit in the States, an unsung part of black American culture where working-class gay men channel ultra-glamour in mocked-up catwalk shows. 'I still have that in me,' she says of the confidence and the fire you see on stage..."
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in which people "walk" (i.e. compete
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
) for trophies
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
and prizes at events known as balls
Ball (dance)
A ball is a formal dance. The word 'ball' is derived from the Latin word "ballare", meaning 'to dance'; the term also derived into "bailar", which is the Spanish and Portuguese word for dance . In Catalan it is the same word, 'ball', for the dance event.Attendees wear evening attire, which is...
. Those who walk often also dance and vogue
Vogue (dance)
Vogue or voguing is a highly stylized, modern house dance that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene in the 1960s. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" , and when showcased in the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning...
while others compete in various genres of drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
often trying to pass as a specific gender
Passing (gender)
Passing refers to a person's ability to be regarded as a member of the sex or gender with which they physically present. Typically, passing involves a mixture of physical gender cues as well as certain behavioral attributes that tend to be culturally associated with a particular gender...
and social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
. Most people involved with ball culture belong to "houses" led by a single leader.
Houses
"Houses," also called "dragDrag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
houses" or "drag families," are groups composed primarily of the LGBTQ Community, the majority of which are African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
, banded together under a respected "house mother" (sometimes a drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
or a transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
person, but not always) or even a "house father."
The best known houses are New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
groups, especially those such as the House of Garcon, the House of Icon, the House of Khan, the House of Evisu, the House of Karan, the House of Mizrahi, the House of Xtravaganza, the House of Ebony, the House of Revlon, the House of Prodigy, the House of Escada, the House of Omni, the House of Aviance, the House of Legacy, the House of Milan, the House of Princess, the House of Pend'avis, the House of LaBeija, the House of McQueen, and the House of Ninja among others which were shown in the 1990 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Paris Is Burning
Paris is Burning (film)
Paris Is Burning is a 1990 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 involved in it...
. Other houses function similarly in other states but mainly focused in major cities on the East Coast, in the Midwest and in the South (e.g., House Of Infiniti, House of Mizrahi, House of Aviance)
According to the Village Voice:
...houses are loose-knit, typically same sex, confederacies of "children" who adopt a family name, usually swiped from a fashion designer, and adhere to rules set up by a presiding "mother" and "father."
Members of the house led by Willi Ninja
Willi Ninja
Willi Ninja was an American dancer and choreographer best known for his appearance in the documentary film Paris is Burning....
, for example, adopt "Ninja" as their surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
within ball culture, members of the house led by Angie Xtravaganza used the surname "Xtravaganza," and members of the house led by Avis Pendavis used the surname Pendavis.
One theme discussed in Paris Is Burning is that people of color, queers
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
, and poor people
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
face certain disadvantages and are each a marginalized group
Marginalization
In sociology, marginalisation , or marginalization , is the social process of becoming or being made marginal or relegated to the fringe of society e.g.; "the marginalization of the underclass", "marginalisation of intellect", etc.-Individual:Marginalization at the individual level results in an...
; to qualify as all three makes one a pariah. In response, drag houses are
...a whole new way of living, one that's highly structured and self-protective. The structure consists of system of houses where the young men function as apprentices. Reflecting a minorityMinority groupA minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
coping with hatred, the houses are associations of friends, presided over by a "mother," [...] that provide a substitute for biological families.
Under the house parents are
...a big raucous band of "children": drag queens, butch queens, transsexuals—mostly MTF but some FTM, a few non-trans girls and one or two straight guys. The smattering of girls and straight guys notwithstanding, the houses are, essentially, cabals of young black and Hispanic men obsessed with being fashionable and fabulous.
House parents can provide wisdom, guidance and care for young people who otherwise might be homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
and without a parental figure. An exploratory study of two houses in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
employed qualitative research methods including participant observation and in-depth interviewing to discern that:
Strategies employed by "house parents" have had an impact on the choices made by children of the houses regarding HIVHIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
risk behaviors. These strategies can be adapted for use by well-established community-based HIV prevention programs when they are staff who mirror the characteristics of "house parents" and engage in relationships that parallel this alternative family structure.
Competition
Besides providing a support system for their members, the main function of these houses is to "walk" or compete against one another in "balls" in which they are judged on danceDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
skill
Skill
A skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills...
s, costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
, general appearance, and attitude
Attitude (psychology)
An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or dislike for something. Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event— this is often referred to as the attitude object...
. Participants dress according to category in which they are competing and are expected to display appropriate "realness."
Dominated today by contemporary hip hop fashion
Hip hop fashion
Hip hop fashion is a distinctive style of dress originating with African American youth on the scene of New York City, Los Angeles, Orlando, Chicago, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Detroit, Memphis, Atlanta, St. Louis, Jersey City, Miami, Toronto and Vancouver among others. Each city...
and featuring much hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, these events are actually part of a vivacious and ever-changing culture and are
...a tradition dating back to the 19th century and going strong into the 21st. Balls continue to be held at barsBar (establishment)A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
or Masonic hallFreemasonryFreemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
s or other improbable venues. Across the country and throughout the five boroughs legends are still being born.
While these competitive walks may involve crossdressing, in other cases the goal is to accentuate a male participant's masculinity
Masculinity
Masculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
or a female participant's femininity
Femininity
Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...
so as to give the (almost always false) impression that the walker is heterosexual.
Some Categories and their descriptions
- Butch Queen Vogue Femme/Female Figure Performance — Give a stunning performance using the five elements of vogue: hands, catwalk, duckwalk, floor performance, and spins and dips
- BQ Realness — Judged on participants' ability to blend in with heterosexuals by giving Thug, Pretty Boy, School Boy, or Executive
- FQ Realness — Judged on participants' ability to blend in with female heterosexuals
- Realness With a Twist (Twister) — Judged on participants' ability to blend in with heterosexuals, then come back and vogue fem
- BQ/FQ/FF Runway — Judged on participants' ability to catwalk, usually with a requested outfit or color
- Bizarre — Judged on participants' creativity to design a costume based on what the category asks for
- Labels — Judged on how many of the year labels a participant is wearing and their authenticity
- BQ/FQ/FF Face — Showing off your clean, perfect, smooth face
- BQ/FQ/FF Sex Siren — Giving sex appeal mostly in sexy underwear such as thongs, briefs, or bikinis
- Commentator vs. Commentator' — Allows aspiring and current MCs to showcase their chanting ability to the music and ability to hype the crowd
- Dipology — Like Vogue Femme but involves spins into dips only
- European Runway — Often a Butch Queen Category, European runway is brought in over the top effects that are more likely to be seen in a high-cost European fashion show; the person walking walks like a female or feminine model, not like the male models of America.
- American Runway — Much like European Runway, American Runway is usually a Butch Queen Category but is often walked by TransMen and Butches/Studs, but the models walk as a masculine models from America, not feminine models like in European Runway.
- Butch Queen up in Pumps — Basically the same as Labels or Runway but you must wear heels usually six inches or more
- FQ/BQ in Drag Female Figure Performance — Give a performance (usually lip-synched) of a famous female figure
- Hands Performance — Give a voguing performance using hands only
- Virgin Vogue Femme — The same as vogue femme but for participants who have been voguing for less than one year, as per Legendary Icon Selvin Khan
- Virgin Runway — The same as Runway but for participants who have been walking Runway for less than one year, as per Legendary Icon Selvin Khan
- Best Dressed — self explanatory
- Legendary/Iconic Categories - Only the legends and icons of the ballroom scene can participate in categories such as Face, Runway, Realness, Performance (all voguing categories), etc.
Regarding these competitions and their importance to ball culture and the people involved, one participant wrote:
There is more to the ballroom scene than chopping, mopping, "fierceness" and shade; and there is more to vogueingVogue (dance)Vogue or voguing is a highly stylized, modern house dance that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene in the 1960s. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" , and when showcased in the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning...
[sic] than striking a pose. [...] Drag is a form of control. By looking good one can feel good. By looking powerful, one can feel powerful. One can be powerful. Therefore, beauty begets control. Artifice equals power. [...] Then again, it may just be a bunch of bitches competing for trophies. Either way, its fun. There is of course a distinction between the casual runway that would erupt at a "normal" club, and the formal runway of a ball, where there are judges and prizes and actual vogueing.
Having evolved over the years, the largest balls are competitions that can go on as long as ten hours. There can be dozens of categories in a single evening . No longer attracting the same number of spectators, almost everyone comes to compete. Some of the trophies are twelve feet tall and a grand-prize winner can take home $1000 or more.
History
As a phenomenon of a countercultureCounterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
(or of several countercultures), the origin of ball culture is a story of both necessity and defiance.
New York City
As told by Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning author Michael Cunningham
Michael Cunningham
Michael Cunningham is an American writer, best known for his 1998 novel The Hours, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999.-Early life and education:...
, the ball culture of New York City is the product of
...the underground drag balls that had been going on in and around New York City since the thirties. Those balls were merely drag fashion showFashion showA fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of clothing during Fashion Week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons. This is where the latest fashion trends are made...
s staged by white men two or three times a year in gay barGay barA gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
s, with prizes given for the most outrageous costumes. Black queens sometimes showed up but they were expected to whiten their faces and they rarely won a prize.
In the 1960s, black drag queens started holding their own events in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
where they took the concept to
...heights undreamed of by the little gangs of white men parading around in frocks in basement tavernTavernA tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
s. In a burst of liberated zeal they rented big places like the Elks LodgeBenevolent and Protective Order of ElksThe Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
on 160 West 129th Street, and they turned up in dresses Madame Pompadour herself might have thought twice about. Word spread around Harlem that a retinue of drag queens was putting together outfits bigger and grander than Rose Parade floats, and the balls began to attract spectators, first by the dozens and then by the hundreds, gay and straight alike. People brought liquor with them, sandwiches, buckets of chicken. As the audiences grew, the queens gave them more and more for their money. Cleopatra on her bargeCleopatra (1934 film)Cleopatra is a 1934 epic film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and distributed by Paramount Pictures, which retells the story of Cleopatra VII of Egypt....
, all in gold laméLaméIn fencing, a lamé is an electrically conductive jacket worn by foil and sabre fencers in order to define the scoring area . Foil lamés, although traditionally a metallic grey, are becoming more and more popular in an array of colors. In foil, the lamé extends on the torso from the shoulders to...
, with a half dozen attendants waving white, glittering palm frondFrondThe term frond refers to a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group...
s. Faux fashion models in feathered coats lined with mylar, so that when the coat was thrown open and a two-thousand-watt incandescent lamp suddenly lit, the people in the first few rows were blinded for minutes afterward.
Eventually the participants in these balls split into factions centered around influential and charismatic leaders:
In 1977 an imperious, elegant queen named Crystal LaBeija announced that a ball she’d helped put together was being given by the House of LaBeija, as in House of Chanel or House of DiorChristian DiorChristian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
. It was a p.r. gimmickPublic relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
, something to add a little more panache and, not incidentally, to increase the luster of Crystal LaBeija. The concept caught on, and suddenly every ball was being given by a house. Some queens named their house after themselves, like Avis Pendavis’ House of Pendavis or Dorian Corey’s House of Corey. Others took the names of established designers like ChanelChanelChanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
or St. Laurent. [...] By the early eighties younger, less experienced drag queens were declaring themselves members of this house or that house, and competing in balls under the house name. Some went to court and had their last names legally changed, to Pendavis or Corey or Chanel or St. Laurent. [...] Houses came to be ruled by their biggest stars, who were known as mothers and who exhorted their members—their children—to accumulate as many prizes as possible for the greater glory of the house.
In 1989 The House of Latex was created as a call to action in the ballroom community to bridge the gap between HIV/STI prevention and the underground ballroom culture. The House of Latex has been led by various leaders. The most influential and memorable was the Legendary Arbert Santana Latex/Evisu, who passed away on March 3, 2011(Big Boys Runway) and Mother Aisha Diori Latex/Prodigy(Legendary Women's Face) who were put in place to educate, provide a safe space, and inspire creativity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth of color involved in the ball scene.
Born in 1989 out of a collaboration between GMHC and members of the ballroom community who were concerned about the growing presence of HIV and AIDS within the ball scene, the House of Latex was committed to outreach and prevention, primarily among LGBT youth of African American and Latino descent, for 20 plus years. The name “Latex” was given to HOL by members of the community because one of the house’s primary functions is to distribute condoms at balls and other events, in addition to participation within the scene. Most other houses are named after famous designers or famed community members.
HOL became an official “house” in 1993 and held its first annual ball, which quickly developed into one of the largest events held by any house in the New York City ballroom community.
One of the famous ball themes for the Latex Ball was The Latrix, a play on the Hollywood blockbuster, “The Matrix.” Mother Aisha Latex, explained that the theme was chosen because the movie is a pop culture classic in which the “reality” of day to day life turns out to be an elaborate façade created by machines that control the “real” world. This relationship, she said, parallels the attitude many people display toward the “machines” of HIV and AIDS—instead of fighting back through prevention and education. Essentially, they deny the truth and passively accept the authority of the disease. The Latrix, the evening’s program explained, aimed at allowing members of the ballroom community to tackle issues such as racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, HIV, and AIDS head-on by competing in over 40 different categories and sharing their talents and creativity with the community.
“Our chances lie in the acknowledgement of these issues,” the program read. “If we free our whole community we can survive. There is hope.” “The House of Latex works in partnerships,” stressed Arbert Santana “Our partnerships with other agencies are very important.”
HOL’s partners include People of Color in Crisis and Gay Men of African Descent, among others who were present to distribute literature and safe sex packets. The David Geffen Testing Center at GMHC was also on hand to provide free HIV testing. At 10:30, the runway came to life with several performances by members of the community who are trying to make it as entertainers outside the ball scene. Performers included singer/dancer Harliquin, fashion diva Princess Xtravaganza, rapper Inhance, and the punk rock sounds of Blue Doll. This was followed by a short awards ceremony in which allies of HOL were awarded for their activism and creative use of their talents. One notable award went to Selvyn Givenchy, who won the Eric Christian Bizarre Lifetime Achievement Award, which is bestowed upon a community member who carries on the legacy of the late Eric Christian Bazaar, a renowned ballroom commentator who died of AIDS in 2001.
Before actual competitions commenced, HOL held its “Grand March,” which is the traditional way for the host house of a ball to present itself and its theme to the community. The Grand March for The Latrix 2003 featured HOL members dressed as characters from “The Matrix” parading their elaborate costumes down the runway and acting out a skit which featured HIV and AIDS as the enemy to be destroyed through awareness and education. Following the Grand March, members of the community competed in dozens of categories (competitions continued until almost 4 a.m.) with the goal of freeing the most souls in order to win the Grand Prize. That night’s Grand Prize went to the House of Allure. Mother Aisha Latex was quick to point out that HOL goal in all this fun is to get the community involved in promoting AIDS awareness, intervention, and prevention. One category Santana was particularly proud of was the Mini Grand Prize for the best safer sex poster.
In addition to its annual ball, HOL also “walks” balls throughout the year, handing out educational pamphlets and safer sex packets, did outreach on the streets and in clubs, and provided peer space for LGBT youth by holding discussion groups, or “House Talk,” twice a month. Santana explained that HOL specifically focuses on youth of color between the ages of 15 and 25, because “if we are able to provide intervention at an earlier age, we can stop the spread of HIV and AIDS.” The House of Latex has changed its direction from a walking house to primarily service/drop in resource for the LGBTQ house ballroom community, since Mother Aisha Latex moved on to create and implement the KiKi Ballroom initiative targeted at LGBTQ youth and young adults involved in the mainstream ballroom scene. The Kiki ballroom scene created by Mother Aisha Latex is being replicated nationwide via various CBOs.
Washington, DC
This account from the metropolitan Washington, DC areaWashington Metropolitan Area
The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...
describes how ball culture and drag houses developed there around 1960:
Some regular house parties became institutionalized as drag "houses" and "families." The leader, or "mother," often provided not only the opportunity for parties but also instruction and mentoring in the arts of make-up, selecting clothes, lip-synchingLip syncLip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals...
, portraying a personality, walking, and related skills. Those taught became "drag daughters," who in turn mentored others, creating entire "drag families." Drag houses became the first social support groups in the city’s gay and lesbian community. House names often came from addresses of the house ‘mother’, such as Mother Billy Bonhill’s Belmont House at 15th and Belmont NW, or associations with the "mother’s" chosen personality, as Mame Dennis’s Beekman Place.
At this early date, the styles of dance that came to characterize drag houses had not been developed and competitions between drag houses involved more usual drag performance in which entertainers lip synced or, more rarely, sang.
It contrast to the NYC houses shown in Paris Is Burning, some of the Washington, DC house mothers were white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
. Still, African-American drag queens were a prominent part of this community:
Venues for drag shows and competitions were a constant challenge in the 1960s. The Uptown Lounge sponsored monthly drag contests, an event later duplicated at Johnnie’s on Capitol Hill. Chunga’s drag shows at the Golden Key Club in North Beach, MD were a popular Sunday event. The major hotels’ resistance to drag events was not broken until February 1968 when African-American drag impresario Black Pearl staged the gala Black Pearl International Awards at the Washington HiltonHilton HotelsHilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
. It was the drag event of the year.
Today in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the ball community consist of mainly African American and Latino participants and has taken on a lot of the attributes of the NYC houses shown in Paris Is Burning. While the drag shows and competitions of the 1960s era still exist, they have created their own audience and scene in itself. Ball patrons will find a lot of the same categories such as "banjee thug realness" and "vogue" as an audience member.
The founding members of the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
ballroom scene in 1986, are Icon Lowell Adonis-Khanh and Icon Eric Christian-Bazaar. From 1986 through the 90's Icon Lowell Adonis-Khanh fought with fire, brimstone, temperament, and frustration to put the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
ballroom scene on the map. In the 90's more houses appeared in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
thanks to Twain Miyake-Mugler ("father" of the House of Miyake Mugler, DC Chapter), Legendary Shannon Garcon and Icon Whitney Garcon (founders of the House of Garcon and original members of the The Legendary House of Miyake-Mugler, NY-DC Chapter). Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
has become a leading ball city within the past few years through the contributions of successful houses and leaders within the scene such as Legendary Harold Balenciaga (founder of the House of Balenciaga, who was formerly a Mugler). The first N.Y. house to have a chapter in Washington D.C was the Iconic House of Ebony (ca. 1979) in the middle 80s. Through networking and introducing new and innovative talent to the area, these ball culture figures have managed to make the nations capitol one of the ballroom capitols as well. Washington is now hosting an annual D.C Awards Ball in which contestants from all over the world come to the capitol to compete. D.C also host an annual series of balls. Contestants in these balls compete for trophies and cash prizes. They are then able to be nominated for the title of "Of The Year" (E.G.- Vogue Femme Of The Year), which simply means they have dominated their prospective category for that year similar to an athletic conference MVP. Before the Awards ball, each house selects two leaders. These leaders will then vote for who they think should be "Of the Year" for their category. The winner is announced at the ball. These titles are a new trend in a ball culture that is becoming a lot more mainstream and easier to access in post Paris Is Burning
Paris is Burning (film)
Paris Is Burning is a 1990 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 involved in it...
days, where websites such as www.walk4mewednesdays.com makes ball culture more accessible.
Leading houses in the D.C. area include the House of Khan, House of Balenciaga, House of Comme des Garcon, House of Miyake Mugler, House of Ebony, House of Milan, House of Evisu, House of Prodigy, House of Revlon, House of Allure, House of Manolo Blahnik and House of Xcellence.
Influence
While still very much an underground phenomenon, ball culture has had a wide influence on notable individuals and on mainstream culture including the following:Dance
The most recognized influence that ball culture has had on mainstream society is its creation of "voguingVogue (dance)
Vogue or voguing is a highly stylized, modern house dance that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene in the 1960s. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" , and when showcased in the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning...
," a dance style originating in Harlem ballrooms in the first half of the 20th century and popularized worldwide by the video for Vogue, a song released by Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
in 1990, the same year as Paris Is Burning
Paris is Burning (film)
Paris Is Burning is a 1990 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 involved in it...
. One source asserts that "many people only know of underground ballroom culture from Madonna's 'Vogue' or the film 'Paris Is Burning'." More recently, the dance group Vogue Evolution from America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew, often abbreviated as ABDC, is an American competitive dance reality television series that features street dance crews from the United States and around the world. It is produced by American Idol judge Randy Jackson and airs on MTV...
brought voguing to domestic and international popularity once again.
Language
Occasionally, certain ball culture terms discussed above are used in more general ways. For example, "drag mother" may be applied to any drag queen in the role of mentor, and "drag house" sometimes refers to any group of drag performers allied together personally or professionally.Terms like "fierce" and "fiercenes," "work it" and "working it," "fabulous" and "fabulousness" and so forth are all part of the argot heard in Paris Is Burning and were central to the lyrics of "Supermodel (You Better Work)
Supermodel (You Better Work)
"Supermodel " is the title of a 1992 song by the dance music singer and drag queen RuPaul. It was the third single from his album Supermodel of the World...
," a hit released in 1992 by drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
Ru Paul. These terms quickly entered gay slang
Gay slang
LGBT slang, LGBT speak or gay slang is a set of slang used predominantly among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. It has been used in various languages, including English and Japanese since the early 1900s as a means by members of the LGBT community as a group to self-advertise as a...
, fashion industry jargon
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
and the mainstream colloquial
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
.
Music
Ball culture has long been a fertile ground for new forms of house musicHouse music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
through famous DJs
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
like Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
, Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia is a New York-based DJ and Grammy nominated record producer.-Early life:At the age of ten, Tenaglia first started to collect records. In 1979 he began going to nightclub Paradise Garage, where DJ Larry Levan's genre-less blend of music appealed to him...
, Johnny Dynell
Johnny Dynell
Johnny Dynell is a New York City DJ and recording artist. A favorite of New York's downtown art and fashion crowds, Dynell started his DJ career at the seminal Mudd Club in 1980 and has worked at many New York nightclub since including Danceteria, The Pyramid Club, Club 57, Area, Boybar, The...
. Well-known contemporary DJs and producers include DJ Sedrick, DJ Carlton, Vjuan Allure, MikeQ, DJ Lucky, Kevin JZ Prodigy, Jay R Neutron and more.
Fashion
Arguably, the fashions and manner of depicting masculinity in ball culture has influenced "the über-puffed-up peacock sexuality" of contemporary, mainstream hip hop." Regarding this interchange between gay black culture and the mainstream, a professorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
said this: "Today’s queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
mania for ghetto fabulous
Ghetto fabulous
Ghetto fabulous is an expression believed to have originated among African-Americans living in poor urban areas.It specifically refers to the mentality and lifestyle of some American ghetto inhabitants and vaguely to the mentality and lifestyle of poor African- American urbanites.-In the media...
ness and bling masks its elemental but silent relationship to even more queer impulses toward fabulousness in the 1960s and 1970s.
Personality
Kevin AvianceKevin Aviance
Kevin Aviance is an American female impressionist, Club/Dance musician, and fashion designer and nightclub personality. He is a very popular personality in New York City's gay scene and has performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He is a member of the House of Aviance, a local gay...
, whose appearances include Flawless, The Tyra Banks Show
The Tyra Banks Show
The Tyra Banks Show, also known as and shortened to Tyra or The Tyra Show, is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks. The last new episode aired on Friday, May 28, 2010.-2005-2009: Syndication:...
and America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
, is a member of the House of Aviance founded 1989 in Washington, DC. Poet (Def Poetry
Def Poetry
Def Poetry, also known as Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry or Def Poetry Jam, which was co-founded by Bruce George, Danny Simmons and Deborah Pointer, is an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons. The series presents performances by established spoken word...
), author (Christ Like), actor (The Ski Trip
The Ski Trip
The Ski Trip is a 2004 LGBT independent romantic comedy movie written and directed by openly gay entertainer Maurice Jamal. It stars Maurice Jamal, Daren Fleming, Cassandra Cruz, Haaz Sleiman, Emanuel Xavier and Nathan Hale. It was rated R by the MPAA for sexual content and language...
), and activist Emanuel Xavier
Emanuel Xavier
In 2005, Suspect Thoughts Press published Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry, a collection Emanuel Xavier edited. The anthology featured the work of thirteen openly queer spoken word artists and new work by the editor himself including: "Legendary", "Outside" and "A Simple Poem." The...
was involved with the Houses during his time out on the streets and writes a lot about his experiences. One of his most famous poems, "Legendary," is a tribute to ball culture and was remixed into a house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
record and released as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
single from his spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
compilation CD, Legendary- The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier.
Mainstream influence
In 2006, Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
told a reporter from The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
"how inspired she's been by the whole drag-house circuit in the States, an unsung part of black American culture where working-class gay men channel ultra-glamour in mocked-up catwalk shows. 'I still have that in me,' she says of the confidence and the fire you see on stage..."
External links
- House of Khan
- House of Blahnik
- House of Garavani
- House of Aviance
- House of Beigen
- House of Comme des Garcons
- House of Diabolique
- House of Enigma
- House of LaPerla
- House of Parangon
- http://vjthedj.podomatic.com
- House of Efficacy
- House of Infiniti
- How do i look -documentary
- Legends of the Ball -Article
- Paris is burning -documentary
- Slap of Love -Article