Mixte Magazine

For many queer (and in particular racialised) people around the world, the ballroom – a safe space created in New York by and for Black and Latinx trans and drag women in the 1970s – has proven to be a platform for artistic and self-expression like no other over the course of its history and evolution. The movement has been projected into mainstream culture in recent years thanks to Pose, the superb fictional series broadcast on the American channel FX that traces the history and universe of the New York ballroom scene in the 1980s (with Billy Porter, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, no less), or thanks to the brilliant reality show Legendary broadcast on HBO Max, a competition organised in the form of a TV contest putting different « Houses » of the international ballroom scene in competition. A worldwide echo which has also been met with the enthusiasm of several luxury brands, such as Gucci, Comme des Garçons or Lanvin, who no longer hesitate to collaborate with the Houses bearing their name. A hyper popularity which, under the glamour and the glitter, should not camouflage the true political scope of this movement.

A cult and fundational scene

1967. Minutes after the announcement of the results of the Miss All-America Camp Beauty in New York, a young woman launches into a bloody tirade, calling out the racism of the jurors, pointing the finger at the privileges of the white contestants and the resulting schemes. She is Crystal LaBeija, unforgettable in the final moments of the 1968 documentary The Queen, which recounts the experience of the contestants in this beauty pageant for drag queens and transgender women. With her hair in a glamorous, towering bun, Crystal LaBeija can’t help but shout her anger. « I’m not saying she’s not beautiful, but she wasn’t tonight! She’s nothing like me: look at her make-up, it’s horrible! » she then said of the white winner, Flawless Sabrina. In queer oral culture, these words are often referred to as « legendary ». More than anything, this event was foundational. Exhausted and fed up with the discrimination and injustice they faced in beauty pageants – called « balls » and dating back to 1920s Harlem – Crystal LaBeija and Lottie LaBeija decided to take a different route to celebrate themselves and those like them. In 1972, still in Harlem, they organised the first House of LaBeija Ball, designed to highlight Black and Latinx trans women and drag queens. This was the genesis of the ballroom culture as we know it today, named after the ballrooms where the events were held. LaBeija quickly became an inspiration. Houses such as House of Xtravaganza, House of Dupree and House of Ninja were born. Others followed, named after European fashion houses: House of Miyake-Mugler, House of Chanel, House of Balenciaga, House of Escada… At the Balls, the different members of these Houses compete in what are called « categories », fashion, beauty or dance competitions – including the famous Voguing, which has become increasingly popular and present in the media over the years. Its birth is attributed to Paris Dupree. She is said to have started in nightclubs, inspired by the poses of top models in Vogue magazine, experimenting with rhythm and beats to house music. While the style was popularised in the 1990s with Madonna’s Vogue video, it was Jennie Livingston’s 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning that really revealed the contours and dynamics of this subculture to the general public. 

Novelistic and maternal figures

Although now controversial given the accusations of financial exploitation of the film’s stars by the – white – director, Paris Is Burning shines the spotlight on fictional characters, their dreams and their daily struggles. Trans women, young gay men and real mother figures like Dorian Corey and Pepper LaBeija. Far more than teams tailored for competition, the Houses are above all shelters, new families for young queer people, rejected by their parents because of their identity or orientation. In ballroom culture, substitute « Mothers » and « Fathers » will then ensure the well-being and development of their « kids », building homes of their own. « The ballroom allowed me to find a family that I no longer had, and to have an undeniable support to raise myself, to be myself », confides Nikki Gorgeous Gucci, Queen Mother of the House of the same name. In the early 2010s, it was she and Lasseindra Ninja who developed the ballroom culture in France. At different times, they both experienced it in New York. For Nikki, it was 25 years ago. They passed on the knowledge, the functioning, taught the dance and its techniques, structured the scene and organised the first events in France. “I knew that what we were doing was bigger than us, Nikki says. That it was going to grow and help a lot of people find themselves, accept themselves and take off. » Today, after more than a decade of existence, the French ballroom scene with its hundreds of members and leading figures such as artist, DJ and TV personality, Kiddy Smile, International Mother of the House of Gorgeous Gucci, has nothing to be ashamed of when compared to New York. Balls and other events related to the scene are real spaces of expression, liberation and exploration of their identity for queer people. They’re also able to find new families, support systems in Houses, such as House of Revlon, House of Oricci or House of Ladurée, the first French House, founded in 2013 by Mother Rheeda Ladurée. 

Safe space and escape

Mary-Jo Ladurée is one of its prominent members. « I joined the ballroom scene in 2018, says the endless-legged Amazon. I was at a point in my life where I needed affirmation. I had come out socially to everyone, but deep down I knew something was missing. An accomplishment in my emancipation. I couldn’t figure out how to open that door of liberation of my body and mind to the global. » For Mary-Jo, star of the Runway category – emulating the walk of models on fashion runways, only more intense and dynamic – the ballroom allowed her to cross all the « gender and decency boundaries » that society may impose. « It’s what saved me from this prison of cis heterosexual norms I grew up in, says Mary-Jo, who doesn’t hesitate to navigate and play with gender expressions. I was able to find the strength to be who I really am, unapologetically. » For me, Mary-Jo has been a true mentor in the category that we have been in since the end of 2021. The art of the runway, the floor, as we call the stage where the competitions take place – and the ballroom in general – are outlets, fields of expression where we can sublimate what society considers as flaws, physical or otherwise. Identifying as a gay man, I have never been so proud to be who I am, proud to assume my different gender expressions, to the point of not being afraid to claim a certain fluidity, although the reflection is still ongoing. And therein lies one of the main beauties of this culture. For many, especially trans women – by and for whom this space was created in the first place – the ballroom is a catalyst, as Mother Nikki Gorgeous Gucci reminded us during a discussion on the day of the shoot. It was an almost spiritual moment of exchange between a pioneer of the scene and different generations of kids, and an opportunity for her to get us to see the ballroom as a springboard to give the world the best version of ourselves. Not the one we are expected to be, but the one we intimately wish to be. 

PHOTOGRAPHER : Charlotte NAVIO @FMA Le Bureau / STYLING : Céline LAVIOLETTE / ASSISTANT PHOTO : Quentin COLLAS / DIGITAL OPERATOR: Mahe ELIPE @ Sheriff Projects / DOP VIDEO : Bastien INTERNICOLA

TALENTS : Paulah Gorgeous Gucci, Ariana Gorgeous Gucci, Mary-Jo Ladurée, Lyhnasty Ninja, Nikki Gorgeous Gucci / Eryss Comme des Garçons

HAIR : Antoine ALAN / MAKEUP : Maud EIGENHEER @Wise&Talented / ASSISTANT MAKEUP : Larisse KOUAMEN / ASSISTANT STYLING : Victoria Elleouet