The Ballroom Scene (also known as the Ballroom community, Ballroom culture, or just Ballroom) is an African-American and

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

underground LGBTQ+

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

that originated in New York City. Beginning in the late 20th century, Black and Latino drag queens began to organize their own pageants in opposition to racism experienced in established drag queen pageant circuits. Though

racially integrated Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity ...

for the participants, the judges of these circuits were mostly white people. While the initial establishment of Ballroom mimicked these drag queen pageants, the inclusion of gay men and trans women would transform the Ballroom scene into what it is today: a multitude of categories that all LGBTQ+ people can participate in. Attendees "walk" these categories for trophies and cash prizes. Most participants in Ballroom belong to groups known as "houses," where chosen families of friends form relationships and communities separate from their families of origin, from which they may be estranged.

Houses

Houses function as alternative families, primarily consisting of Black and

LGBTQ+ individuals, and provide shelter for those who feel ostracized by conventional support systems. Houses are led by "mothers" and "fathers" who are experienced members of the ballroom scene, typically drag queens,

gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...

or transgender women, who provide guidance and support for their house "children". The children of a House are each other's "siblings". All houses were founded in U.S. cities, mostly in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

. These include New York City,

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Philadelphia,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, GA as well as ChicagoRandi Beth Singer, PhD, et al
"Ballroom Icons and the Power to Promote COVID-19 Vaccination Among Black and Brown LGBTQ+ Individuals,"
''American Journal of Public Health'' ( American Public Health Association) vol. 112, #1 (January 2022), pp. 17–20. and Oakland, California. Houses that win trophies and gain recognition through years of participation (usually ten years) reach the rank of legendary. Houses with 20+ years of participation are deemed iconic. Typically, house members adopt the name of their house as their last name. Those currently not in a house carry the last name "007."

Notable Houses

Notable Houses include: * The Royal House of LaBeija (founded by Crystal LaBeija, co-founder of

ballroom culture The Ballroom Scene (also known as the Ballroom community, Ballroom culture, or just Ballroom) is an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in New York City. Beginning in the late 20th century, Black and Latino ...

; and chiefly run by

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

in the 1980s and 1990s)''Paris Is Burning''
(1991), Combustible Celluloid Review * The Gorgeous House of Gucci (founded by Gorgeous Jack Mizrahi Gucci, Kelly Mizrahi Gucci, Marlon Mizrahi Gucci and Trace Gucci) * The House of Amazon (founded by

Leiomy Maldonado Leiomy Maldonado (born April 28, 1987), known as the "Wonder Woman of Vogue", is a transgender Afro-Puerto Rican dancer, instructor, model, activist, and ballroom dancer. She is the founder of the House of Amazon and best known for her voguing. M ...

). * The

House of Aviance The House of Aviance (acronym: HOA) is one of the ''"legendary"'' and major vogue- ball houses in the United States, with its base in New York City. It was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1989 by voguer/dancer, record label owner (CEO/ A&R), nig ...

(founded by

Mother Juan Aviance Mother Juan Aviance (born 1963 in Charleston, South Carolina) is an American secretary, voguer / dancer, music artist, nightclub host / promoter, record label owner, and CEO / A&R.''"Mother Juan Aviance Bio and House of Aviance History"'' i ...

) * The House of Balenciaga (Founded by Harold Balenciaga) * The House of Dupree (founded by Paris Dupree; currently closed). * The House of Ebony (founded by Larry Preylow Ebony and Richard Fears Ebony) * The House of Ferré (founded by Milan Christopher) * The House of Garçon (founded by Whitney and Shannon Garçon) * The

House of Ladosha House of Ladosha is a New York City-based artistic collective and LGBT rap duo including Antonio Blair ("Dosha Devastation aka La Fem LaDosha") and Adam Radakovich ("Cunty Crawford"). Other members include Neon Christina Ladosha (Christopher Udeme ...

(founded by La Fem LaDosha and Cunty Crawford) * The House of Latex * The House of Maison Margiela (founded by Vini Margiela) * The House of Mizrahi (founded by Andre Mizrahi) * The House of Lanvin (founded by Meechie & Kenny Lanvin) * The House of Mugler (founded by David, Raleigh and Julian Mugler) * The Iconic International House of St. Laurent (founded by Octavia St. Laurent, Christopher Hall, and Robert Marcomeni in 1982) * The House of Ninja (founded by Willi Ninja) * The

House of Xtravaganza Founded in 1982, the House of Xtravaganza is one of the most publicly recognized “houses” to emerge from the New York City underground ballroom scene and among the longest continuously active. House of Xtravaganza members and the collective gr ...

(founded by Hector Valle, and chiefly run by

Hector Xtravaganza Hector Xtravaganza (né Hector Crespo) was a member of the House of Xtravaganza and well-known figure in the NYC Ballroom culture, ballroom life, entertainer, fashion stylist, and public advocate for HIV/AIDS and LGBT, LGBTQ+ organizations. Ear ...

and Angie Xtravaganza in the 1980s) * The Royal House of Nina Oricci (founded by Gillette and Omari Mizrahi Oricci) * The Undeniable House of Basquiat (founded by

Dashaun Wesley Dashaun Wesley is an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and ballroom performer, MC, and commentator. He is known for hosting the voguing competition series ''Legendary'' and for his appearances on the television series '' America's Best Dance ...

) * The House of Revlon (founded by Tony Revlon) * The House of West (founded by James West and Anthony West) * The House of Du'Mure Versailles (founded by Aaliyah Du'Mure Versailles and Scott Alexander Du'Mure Versailles) * The House of Balmain (founded by Rodney Balmain)

Competition

Drag on Ball - Voguing Ball in Berlin 2018 - 1

To compete against each other, Houses walk a plethora of categories at a given ball. Participants dress according to the guidelines of the category in which they are competing. These guidelines are created by the promoters of a Ball and may/may not adhere to an overall theme for the Ball. Regardless, participants are expected to display appropriate adherence to the rules of a category. Balls range in scale from "mini balls" (typically characterized by a small selection of categories, few people walking, and a runtime of 1 to 2 hours) to mainstream events (characterized by the presence of most, if not all, categories in Ballroom, a significant number of participants for each category, and a runtime exceeding 4 hours with the largest of Balls capping at 8 hours).

History

Genny Beemyn wrote in their book ''Trans Bodies, Trans Selves'' that members of the underground LGBTQ+ community in large cities of the late nineteenth century began to organize masquerade balls known as " drags" in direct defiance of laws banning citizens from wearing clothes of the opposite gender.

William Dorsey Swann William Dorsey Swann (March 1860 – c. December 23, 1925) was an American LGBT activist in a time where leadership in the movement was uncommon. An African-American born into slavery, Swann was the first person in the United States to lead ...

, the first person known to describe himself as a drag queen, organized a series of

drag balls Gay balls, cross-dressing balls or drag balls, depending on the place, time, and type, were public or private balls, celebrated mainly in the first third of the twentieth century, where cross-dressing and ballroom dancing with same sex partners wa ...

in Washington, D.C. during the 1880s and 1890s. Most of the attendees of Swann's gatherings were men who were formerly enslaved. Because these events were secretive, invitations were often quietly made at places like the YMCA. Swann was arrested in police raids numerous times, including in the first documented case of arrests for female impersonation in the United States, on April 12, 1888. In his essay "Spectacles of Colors,"

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

describes his experience at a New York drag ball in the 1920s.

"Strangest and gaudiest of all Harlem spectacles in the '20s, and still the strangest and gaudiest, is the annual Hamilton Club Lodge Ball at Rockland Palace Casino. I once attended as a guest of A'Lelia Walker. It is the ball where men dress as women and women dress as men. During the height of the New Negro era and the tourist invasion of Harlem, it was fashionable for the intelligentsia and social leaders of both Harlem and the downtown area to occupy boxes at this ball and look down from above at the queerly assorted throng on the dancing floor, males in flowing gowns and feathered headdresses and females in tuxedoes and box-back suits." —Langston Hughes

The first known ball at the Hamilton Lodge was integrated, at a time where racial segregation was upheld in the United States. Although the ball was integrated, racism was still present. Few Black performers received prizes. There were no Black judges and many believed that the balls were rigged so that only Whites could win. This racial discrimination prompted Black and Latino attendees to form their own balls, and modern ballroom culture began to develop out of Harlem in the late 1960s, and expanded rapidly to other major cities. In New Orleans in the 1950s, they appeared at

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

celebrations as krewes. '' The Sons of Tennessee Williams'', a documentary by Tim Wolff released in 2010, follows their history. Ball culture was first captured and shown to a mainstream audience in Jennie Livingston's documentary ''

Paris is Burning Paris Is Burning may refer to: * ''Paris Is Burning'' (film), a 1990 documentary film * "Paris Is Burning" (''Gilmore Girls''), the eleventh episode of ''Gilmore Girls first season * "Paris Is Burning", a song from the 1983 album '' Breaking the Ch ...

'' (1990). With the rise of social media, ball culture has migrated to such countries as Canada,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and the UK.

Cities with prominent ball culture

New York City

New York City is the center of the world's drag ball culture.

Cross dressing ball Gay balls, cross-dressing balls or drag balls, depending on the place, time, and type, were public or private balls, celebrated mainly in the first third of the twentieth century, where cross-dressing and ballroom dancing with same sex partners wa ...

s have existed in the city since the 1920s, consisting of primarily white men. They competed in fashion shows in bars two or three times a year. Black queens would sometimes participate but rarely won prizes due to discrimination. In the 1970s, Black queens Crystal LaBeija and her friend, Lottie, began their own drag ball titled House of LaBeija, kickstarting the current ballroom scene in New York. Crystal and Lottie are credited with founding the first House in ballroom. In 1989, The House of Latex was created as a call to action in the ballroom community to bridge the gap between HIV and STI prevention and ballroom culture.

Washington, DC

organized a series of drag balls in the DC area during the 1880s and 1890s. This account from the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area describes how ball culture and drag houses developed about 1960: The dance styles which later characterized drag houses had not been developed; competitions between houses involved standard drag performances in which entertainers lip-synced or, rarely, sang. In contrast to the New York houses in ''

Paris Is Burning Paris Is Burning may refer to: * ''Paris Is Burning'' (film), a 1990 documentary film * "Paris Is Burning" (''Gilmore Girls''), the eleventh episode of ''Gilmore Girls first season * "Paris Is Burning", a song from the 1983 album '' Breaking the Ch ...

'', some of the Washington, D.C. house mothers were white. African-American drag queens were a prominent part of the community: The Washington, D.C. ball community consists primarily of African-American and Latino participants, and has adopted many attributes seen in ''Paris Is Burning''. Nineteen-sixties-style drag shows and competitions still exist, with their own audience. Ball patrons will find similar categories (such as "banjee thug realness" and "vogue") as an audience member. The Washington ballroom scene was created by Icon Founder Lowell Khanh (Lowell Thomas Hickman, (1987)) and Icon Eric Christian-Bazaar. The House of Khanh was the first House outside of New York that wasn't a part of a New York house. From the House of Khanh came the House of Milan. During the 1990s, more houses appeared in the area due to the efforts of Twain Miyake-Mugler ("father" of the House of Miyake Mugler, D.C. Chapter), Icon Harold Balenciaga (founder of the house of Balenciaga), Icons Shannon Garcon and Whitney Garcon (founders of the House of Garcon and charter members of The Legendary House of Miyake-Mugler). The city hosts a series of annual balls, in which contestants compete for trophies and cash prizes.

Baltimore

has a well-established ball community. In 1931, the newspaper '' Baltimore Afro-American'' covered a local drag ball. The article detailed the "coming out of new debutantes into gay society." By the 1930s, the drag ball culture was starting to emerge in the Black communities in major cities such as

, Chicago, and New York. ''The Afro'' reported that "The coming out of new debutantes into homosexual society was the outstanding feature of Baltimore's eighth annual frolic of the pansies when the art club was host to the neuter gender at the Elks' Hall."

Philadelphia

Philadelphia has a well-established ball community. Philadelphia's first ball was the Oynx Ball which took place in August 1989. The documentary '' How Do I Look'' partially focused on the ball community in Philadelphia.

Atlanta

Atlanta has the most prominent ball community south of Washington, D.C. Several balls are held in Atlanta each year. Also several major houses established in other major cities have opened chapters in Atlanta.

St. Louis

Most of St. Louis' ballroom scene is intertwined within the drag scene since the ballroom scene is not as major as the other metropolitation cities like Chicago, Atlanta, New York, etc. According to Mapping LGBTQ STL, the first ball in St. Louis, was called 'Miss Fannie's Artists' Ball', which was organized by the Jolly Jesters Social Group, and the ball helped to raise funds for charitable institutions in the Black community. This was at a time where those participating were called 'female impersonators' which we refer today as drag performers. Now there is a distinct separation of both drag culture and performers and ball culture and performers, even though as stated previously, most artists and performers participate in both. There is also a Kiki scene in St. Louis, smaller than both the drag and ballroom scene, but emerging. One of the organizers for the Kiki and mainstream balls is Maven Logik Lee and one of the commentators/MC is Meko Lee Burr. A major ballroom house in the scene is the House of Ebony, St. Louis chapter, founded by Spirit Ebony.

HIV/AIDS epidemic

The ball community has been heavily impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic as transgender people of color and men who have sex with men (MSM) are the highest risk communities for contracting the virus in the U.S. Out of all estimated HIV diagnoses in males, MSM make up 78%. In the United States, MSM represent 61% of all diagnosis of HIV. Young black men are especially at risk for contracting the virus. In 2009, the percentage of black MSM, aged 13–29, who were diagnosed with HIV increased by 48%.Alio, Amina P et al
"Project VOGUE: A partnership for increasing HIV knowledge and HIV vaccine trial awareness among House Ball leaders in Western New York."
''Journal of gay & lesbian social services'' vol. 26,3 (2014): 336–354. doi:10.1080/10538720.2014.924892 Many health care providers and medical service professionals have since reached out to the community to perform research, teach sex education, offer free testing, and host balls to promote safe sex, such as the Latex Ball that is hosted by the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) in New York.Barksdale, Aaron.
The Latex Ball's HIV Advocacy Highlights Young Queer People of Color.
" ''Vice'', VICE, August 2, 2017 Researchers with ProjectVOGUE also reached out to the ball community for assistance with vaccine trials and testing because minority participation is generally very low. This low participation stems from a historical distrust that African-Americans and Latinos have had of the government, that results from government-sponsored projects such as the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. ProjectVOGUE is led by researchers and professionals from the

University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), now known as UR Medicine, is located in Rochester, New York, is one of the main campuses of the University of Rochester and comprises the university's primary medical education, research and pat ...

, Florida International University, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and the MOCHA (Men of Color Health Association) Center. They aimed to create a partnership with the Western New York ball community and held monthly meetings where safe sex methods were taught along with information about the HIV trial vaccine. Community members were initially incentivized to attend with $25 gift cards and transportation vouchers. These joint meeting sessions also branched out to cover topics such as substance abuse, STI prevention, violence within the ball community, and more. ProjectVOGUE researchers utilized the House "family" structure by taking 15 "mothers," "fathers," founders, and more on a retreat to gauge the community's knowledge of HIV, while encouraging them to teach their "children" about HIV prevention. At the end of the study, participants had an increased knowledge about HIV, HIV vaccine research, and were more likely to participate in a study. This is just one of the many partnerships that have formed across the country between the health care industry and the ball community to encourage HIV prevention. Overall, HIV/AIDS took, and continues to take, the lives of many ball participants, but that trauma has caused the community to grow tighter as members mourned, grieved, and celebrated the lives of their friends together.

Influences

New York's ballroom culture has had a highly significant cultural impact from the 1980s to the present day.

Dance

The most notable influence of ball culture on mainstream society is

voguing Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" (1990), ...

, a dance style originating in Harlem ballrooms during the latter half of the 20th century. It appeared in the video for

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...

's ''

Deep in Vogue "Deep in Vogue" is a 1989 dance single by Malcolm McLaren and the Bootzilla Orchestra featuring Lourdes Maria Morales and Willie Ninja, with additional production and remix by Mark Moore and William Orbit, sampling the 1973 MFSB song " Love is th ...

'', released in 1989, and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's " Vogue," released in 1990 (one year before the documentary ''

''). The dance group Vogue Evolution, from ''

America's Best Dance Crew ''America's Best Dance Crew'', often abbreviated as ''ABDC'', was an American competitive dance reality television series that features both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former ''Am ...

'', has again sparked interest in voguing. Voguing started in Drag Balls held by the queer community of color. The competitions were divided up into Houses that then competed in different categories, in which one of the categories was voguing. Named after '' Vogue'' magazine, voguing required dancers to mirror the poses held by models, with emphasis placed on arm and hand movements. Dancers would play out elaborate scenes such as applying makeup or taking phone calls while dancing down the catwalk. Dancer and choreographer Willi Ninja has been recognized as the "Grandfather of Vogue" and the dance, as well as Ninja himself, were covered in the documentary ''Paris is Burning''.

Language

The legacy of ball culture on current drag is extensive. Language that grew out of it is common among the LGBTQ+ community as a whole (terms such as "reading" and "shade" meaning insults used in battles of wit, and "spilling tea" meaning gossiping). The use of categories and judging can be seen on popular reality TV programs such as '' RuPaul's Drag Race''. The structure of Houses is widely used among drag queens today, as well as associated notions of community and family. Attitudes of defiance and subversion that were necessary for black, Latino, queer, and trans participants, as they navigated discrimination, exclusion, and the ravages of the AIDS epidemic, form an essential part of drag culture as a whole. Ballroom dialect became more widely used in gay slang, fashion industry jargon and mainstream colloquial language. * Reading: to read a person is to highlight and exaggerate all of the flaws of a person, from their ridiculous clothes, to their flawed makeup and anything else the reader can come up with. It is a battle of wit, in which the winner is one who gets the crowd to laugh the most. * Shade: shade is an art form that developed from ''reading''. Rather than the aim to insult, someone works with the medium of backhanded compliments. An example is to suggest that someone's beautiful dress makes people almost forget that she has

five o'clock shadow Designer stubble is a facial hair style which is a short growth of beard, aimed to affect a rugged masculine or deliberately unkempt appearance. Initially made popular in the 1980s by singer George Michael and actor Don Johnson, the style la ...

. * Voguing: dance invented in 1970s Harlem and performed notably by Willi Ninja * Walking: walking to acquire the admiration of ball contestants * Mopping: shoplifting, usually clothes to walk in at a ball * Werk: an exclamatory phrase used to connote admiration and content with someone's actions * Fierce: similar to "work", meaning something to admire and celebrate *

Butch queen ''Butch Queen'' is the tenth studio album from singer and drag queen RuPaul. It was released on March 4, 2016, just three days prior to the eighth season premiere of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. The album features guest appearances from Ellis Miah, ...

: an androgynous gay male person or a masculine-looking drag queen * Mother: the matriarch of a house, often taking a mentoring role for members of the house, typically a "Legend" in the ballroom scene * House: a group of individuals that compete in balls under the same name. Often, they are your chosen family. * Dip: iconic drop done by vogue dancers, also known as a deathdrop or shawam in pop culture * Chop: when the person competing is disqualified by one of the judges * Legendary, or "Legend": a title added before an individual's name meaning years of hard work * Iconic, or "Icon": similar to "Legend", this is the highest achievement in ballroom. It means countless trophies have been won and memorable moments have been made by this individual * 007: a person who is not a member of a House

Music

A key element of balls is also the music, which is typically characterized by distinct, up tempo beats that are overlaid with the "raps" of commentators or emcees. Lyrics are just as stylized as the beats and often praise queerness and femininity through typically vulgar language and usage of words like "cunt" and "pussy". Historically, the music featured at balls has been whatever is popular within the black LGBT community at the time, ranging from disco, to club music, to house, to rap and R&B. House music, the primary sound of the balls, is always upwards of 120 beats per minute and has African roots, which is reflected in the rhythm.Bailey, Marlon M. ''Butch Queens up in Pumps: Gender, Performance, and Ballroom Culture in Detroit''. The University of Michigan Press, 2013. Today, it is common for older house classics like "Work This Pussy" by Ellis D, "Cunty" by

Kevin Aviance Kevin Aviance (born Eric Snead on June 22, 1968) is an American drag queen, club/dance musician, fashion designer and nightclub personality. He is a personality in New York City's gay scene and has performed throughout North America, Europe and ...

, and "The Ha Dance" by

Masters at Work Masters at Work is the American garage house production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. The duo has produced music together under the names MAW, KenLou, Sole Fusion, Hardrive, and Nuyorican Soul. They have been r ...

to be remixed into new hits by the current wave of DJs and producers. Djs Vjuan Allure, a ballroom pioneer, and MikeQ were some of the DJs considered to have developed the ballroom sound. Overall, ball culture has been fertile ground for new forms of

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

and other genres of electronic dance music through its

DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

. According to PBS Sound Field interview with MikeQ, one of ball music pioneers, ball music started as house music being played at ballroom parties. Over time, distinct features of ball music emerged, for instance the "Ha" crash, being placed on the every fourth of 4 beats and the minimal repetitive vocals, provided by ball commentators. The "Ha" crash cymbals often signify the time for ball dancers to strike a pose or hit the floor. Modern vogue music, along with house, incroporates elements of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, hip hop, contemporary R&B, Jersey club and other electronic music. The culture has also influenced a wave of queer hip hop artists such as Zebra Katz,

, and Le1f."We Invented Swag: NYC's Queer Rap"
. Pitchfork, March 21, 2012.

Fashion

Ball culture has influenced "the über-puffed-up peacock sexuality" of contemporary mainstream hip hop. A professor at New York University said about gay black culture, "Today's

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

mania for ghetto fabulousness and bling masks its elemental but silent relationship to even more queer impulses toward fabulousness in the 1980s."

Mainstream entertainment

In September 2006,

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

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...'"

In the media

Most of the New York-based houses of the time appeared in the 1990 documentary film ''

''. In 1997,

Emanuel Xavier Emanuel Xavier (born May 3, 1970), is an American poet, spoken word artist, author, editor, and LGBTQ activist born and raised in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. Associated with the East Village, Manhattan arts scene in New York City, he emerged f ...

published a seminal poetry manifesto titled '' Pier Queen'' and, in 1999, his novel '' Christ Like'' featured the first fictional main character involved with the Houses. The 2016 film ''

Kiki Kiki or Ki Ki may refer to: Places * Ki Ki, South Australia, Australia, a village * Ki Ki, Iran, a village * Kiai, Iran, a village also known as Kiki * Kiki, Łask County, Poland, a village * Kiki, Poddębice County, Poland, a village * Kiki ...

'' provided an updated portrait of the ball culture scene. In 2017, as part of a documentary series on New Zealand cultural identity, Vice Media produced an episode about New Zealand's ball culture, entitled "FAFSWAG: Auckland's Underground Vogue Scene". In 2009, Logo TV aired the reality television series '' RuPaul's Drag Race'', a competition show where drag queens face off in a series of challenges heavily inspired by competitions commonly seen in ballroom culture. Created by prominent drag queen

RuPaul Charles RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

, competitors sew, act, sing, and lip sync for a chance to win $100,000, a one-year supply of

Anastasia Beverly Hills Anastasia Beverly Hills, also known as ABH, is an American cosmetics company best known for its eyebrow products. The company was founded by Romanian-born Anastasia Soare in 1997 in Beverly Hills, California. Soare's daughter Claudia Soare, al ...

cosmetics, and the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". The show has won a plethora of

awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

and spawned several spin-off series. The competition format, slang, and type of drag exhibited on the show is heavily influenced by ball culture. In 2018, Viceland aired a docuseries, '' My House'', following six people in the New York City ball culture. In the spring of 2018, the television series ''

Pose Human positions refer to the different physical configurations that the human body can take. There are several synonyms that refer to human positioning, often used interchangeably, but having specific nuances of meaning. *''Position'' is a gen ...

'' premiered, set in New York and following participants in ball culture, as well as others in 1980s Manhattan. The show was created by

Steven Canals Steven Canals (born September 14, 1980) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for co-creating and executive-producing the FX television show ''Pose''. Early life and education Canals grew up in the Housing Projects in Ca ...

, Brad Falchuk, and Ryan Murphy. On April 18, 2019, it was announced that the premiere of the feature film ''

Port Authority In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other t ...

'', a New York love story between a black trans woman from the ballroom scene and a cisgender man from the Midwest would compete in the ''Un Certain Regard'' competition at the prestigious

2019 Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president. The Palme d'Or went to the South Korean film ''Parasite'', directed by Bong Joon-ho; Bong became t ...

. It was backed and produced by Martin Scorsese and RT Features.

Leyna Bloom Leyna Bloom is an American actress, model, dancer, and activist. She has attracted press as a trailblazer for transgender women in the entertainment and fashion industries. In 2019, Bloom made her feature film acting debut in ''Port Authority'', ...

's debut in ''Port Authority'' was the first time in the festival's history that a trans woman of color was featured in a leading role. The film is credited with authentic casting and representation. ''Port Authority'' features scenes at balls, as well as during rehearsals and of queer youths' chosen family. Almost every actor that plays a role of significance in the ballroom scenes in the film, including competitors, judges, and house members, are active members of the ballroom scene today. Prior to being cast,

became known internationally as a model and dancer, and she is active in the mainstream ballroom scene as New York City mother of the House of Miyake-Mugler. She is known in ball culture as the "Polynesian Princess," having made an international name for herself walking the category of face. In 2020, the

reality competition web series '' Legendary'' premiered on the HBO Max streaming service. The series follows members of eight prominent houses as they navigate their way through nine balls (dancing, voguing, etc.), with a $100,000 prize awarded to the winner. In 2022, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation premiered the web series '' CBX: Canadian Ballroom Extravaganza'', which challenged teams consisting of one ballroom performer and one emerging filmmaker to create short films highlighting performances in each of five ballroom categories."CBX: Canadian Ballroom Extravaganza is a new kind of ballroom competition — and it's getting fierce"
CBC Arts, March 9, 2022.

References

External links

* – feature-length documentary * ' (1989) – short documentary * Weems, M. (2008). A History of Festive Homosexuality: 1700–1969 CE. In The Fierce Tribe: Masculine Identity and Performance in the Circuit (pp. 81–100). Logan, Utah: University Press of Colorado. doi:10.2307/j.ctt4cgq6k.14 {{Drag performance African-American culture Drag (clothing) Culture of New York City LGBT culture in the United States LGBT African-American culture African-American LGBT organizations LGBT Hispanic and Latino American culture Nightlife in New York City Transgender culture