Ballroom: Come one, Come All
Elissa Francois
Paris is Burning (1990) is a documentary that shines a humane light on shunned communities in New York City. The black and brown queer men and transgender women of ballroom and the originators and innovators of the dance style, vogue. It was an especially progressive plight during the 80s by the director Jennie Livingston, where members of the LGBTQ+ community were targeted and dying off due to violent hate crimes and the lack of AIDS relief during the AIDS crisis over the course of Ronald Reagan's reign as president. This documentary was a cultural stride for its time as it was many people's introduction to the ballroom scene and still is a highly regarded film within the queer community whose cast terminology and quotes are used today.
Image Credit: Michel Comte
Ballrooms allowed for the celebration of those usually shunned by society. The features typically condemned or told to be dulled were encouraged. The plus-sized, darker-skinned, and/or visibly queer individuals were given tens, were given applause, and were being told that they were beautiful. Those whose talents are disregarded due to those reasons were elevated. Youths that are kicked out of their homes due to their queer dispositions are now given new ones by their peers who may be House mothers or fathers.
It gives space for those who wish to model in luxurious evening gowns, to walk the runway category and potentially win a couple of dollars to buy the gown that they were renting. It gives space for women to express their sexuality whether it be in a manner that is classy or downright crass without fear of getting slutshamed and receiving harm as a result.
Attending a vogue event or watching one digitally will demonstrate the energy exchange with the audience, the voguers, the commentators, and the judges. There is something satisfying about seeing two vogueing competitors match energy for a moment in time as if they're a team and you and the audience catching on, clapping on the beat as the commentators switch up their momentum in their chants, only for the voguers to go back to shading each other with finger waves and blocking one another's performance from the judges.
Still from Livingston, Paris is Burning
The ballroom scene has only grown with industries recognizing that it is the foundation for a lot of what the public gravitates to regarding pop culture. The doors that were shut for them are now wide enough for them to put their foot in to be the stars that they believed that they had little to no chance of being. Ballroom's exposure to the general public is evident by the release of Legendary on MAX (2020-2022), a reality competition show that demonstrates Houses--established and new--going head to head to win $100,000. They have legendary performers of Vogue starring, such as Leiomy Meladonado the “Wonder Woman of Vogue” and Dashaun Wesley the “King of Vogue” which gives the series some form of credence to one of the purposes, which is to provide a spotlight on people in ballroom. There is an influx of hope that the spotlight will continue to shine bright on the ballroom community.
Leiomy Meladonado. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Entertainment
It is come one, come all in the ballroom scene. Whether you're in sweats or a gimp suit.
Strike Out,
Elissa Francois
Editor: Carla Mendez
Francois is a first-year student at Florida International University, majoring in PRAAC. She takes a grave interest in other people and how their past informs their current actions. She is also a passionate lover of multiple art forms and has had an appreciation for storytelling since she first read The Very Hungry Caterpillar at 6 years old. This has led her down a path of desire to tell her own stories with dreams of being a well-regarded author. She aims to compose resonant experiences that are not just her own, but others as well.
