Music
Here's everything you need to know about Toronto's ballroom scene
From pop and R&B hits to RuPaul’s Drag Race, vogue and ballroom cultural’s visibility in the mainstream has come a long way from the 1980s New York City underground scene.
In the 80’s, being a marginalized queer person meant you couldn’t simply find community, you had to make one all on your own. As chronicled in Jennie Livingston’s famous 1990’s documentary Paris Is Burning, the ballroom culture was rooted in necessity.
This world was forged by queer and trans people of colour, those in need of love and safety, all banding together for strength and acceptance. As these networks grew, people gathered with their chosen families at large events to compete and showcase their skills, fiercest outfits and ability to tap into parts of their gender and sexuality that were only celebrated in the bustling underground. These families are called “houses” and the event that brings this glamorous spectacle to light is what we know today as “the ball”.
In essence, this is one of simplest ways to describe the foundations of ballroom culture, a movement that’s risen from the underground and helped inform more than 20 years of pop culture and identity. While Livingston’s depiction in the documentary looks at the subcultures roots mostly in 1980’s New York, the ballroom scene spans more than 15 cities in the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area, to name a few. In pop culture today, drag pioneers like RuPaul draw influence from the culture, having began his career right in the thick of New York’s blooming nightlife, eventually making drag queen culture and ballroom language a global fixture through the hit series RuPaul's Drag Race.
Ballroom's underground ethos is still very strong in developing scenes who’ve used the history of its predecessors to create the next wave of jaw-dropping competitors. While still in its infancy, the Canadian ballroom scene has established itself a slew of formidable dancers, judges and killer MCs. In Toronto, Montreal and parts of West Coast Canada, the creation of various balls throughout the country has seen the culture reignite and give new life to the scene at large. With The Great Canadian Ball approaching as part of Red Bull Music Festival Toronto, it’s important to know your way around the house. Beyond its basic history, there’s sub-divisions, there’s important language and overall cues about style, performance, competition and etiquette required for those in attendance.
How the house is built
Within the ballroom community, the houses enter and throw balls, and are meant to serve as a system of support. A traditional house is headed by a mother and father, which are genderless roles. As the leader of the house, they have an important role in providing support, knowledge and camaraderie to the house’s children. The houses often name themselves after prominent fashion labels or icons. Depending on the house, the performers can have various skill sets. It’s not unordinary for houses to recruit 007’s, which is the name used for performers who are free agents in the community. With the evolution of the Kiki scene in recent years, performers have been known to split their time between their mainstream house and their Kiki houses.
Understanding the Kiki scene
The Kiki scene originated from social gatherings at health outreach organizations. A Kiki, by definition a low-key function, sometimes includes dancing and friendly competition – always fun, never serious. Kiki is focused heavily on community and events are often run by up-and-comers. Members of the ballroom community use these events to practice for the mainstream balls, but also form smaller houses and balls within the group. Kiki has allowed younger performers to harness their craft in a smaller setting. These houses are forming everywhere now and it has given lots of opportunities for younger queers to compete and showcase their skills.
Vogue Ball at Red Bull Music Festival NYC in 2014
© Drew Gurian
The Ballroom Bible: A list of terms you need to know
The Ball: An event where competitors face off against their rival houses for money and glory.
Battle: When a performer challenges another in and out of the ball.
Butch Queen: A gay man. Performance categories with this description are usually for cis-gendered gay men only.
Butch Queen In Drag: A gay man who’s presenting a female illusion. This description is used for categories in balls for men who dress in drag.
Category: Categories are created based on various themes, skills, and techniques. Some are open to all performers to compete in, depending on the type of ball. (Kiki balls are known to sometimes have open categories).
Chants: Clever rhymes and raps used to hype up a performance. Some of the most legendary MCs use a unique mix of references and word play over a house beat to create the soundtrack for the battle.
Chop: To be eliminated in a ball as a contestant. Judges will often say “Thank you, but that’s a chop”.
Clocked: To be called out or have emphasis put on something you’re wearing or doing (ie. “I’m glad you clocked Tasha for that hair. It looked terrible”).
Effect: A prop or set of items that maximizes the impact of your visual performance. These vary depending on your aesthetic or the category you’re walking.
Femme Queen: A transwoman. Categories with this description are for transwomen only.
Legendary Children: Up-and-coming members of the ballroom community.
Live: Immense joy. (ie. “Did you see the new Beyonce video ? I’m living for it”.)
Open To All (OTA): When a category does not designate gender. However, there may still be other requirements to compete (ie. props or costume).
Ovah: A variation of “over”. Usually used to describe excellence.
Pay It: Ignore and move on. Often used when dealing with something negative or unfavourable. (ie. “Who cares what she said about your moves. You did amazing. Pay it no mind”.)
Realness: The ability to blend into a group that’s not your own. For example, if a category for a ball is executive realness, the challenge will be to present your most high-class business attire on the runway.
Reading: The art of insults. A good read should never be overtly bitchy. You find a flaw in your opponent and verbally exaggerate it.
Serve/Serving: Bringing 110% attitude and confidence to your performance. If you’re “serving” an outfit, you’re strutting your stuff and living your best life.
Shade: An underhanded jab that’s slightly insulting and usually an inside joke. (ie. “Did you catch that shade Rob was throwing at Vicky?”)
Tea: Aka the news, the scoop, the latest gossip. (ie. “I'm waiting for Kelsey to spill the tea about what happened at Victor’s party”.)
10s: Receiving perfect reviews from the judges in a ball, which means you’ll proceed to the next round of the competition.
Turn It: When a performer stuns the audience with their performance at the ball. (ie. “She turned it with that outfit on the runway”). Words like “serve” and “work” can also be used here.
Virgin: A first-timer, who’s never walked or performed in any category before.
Vogue Femme: A dance style that adds a twist to femme queen technique. Execution can be very soft or severe.
Walking: Is simply the act of competing in a certain category at the ball.
A brief history of legendary categories walked at a ball
Realness
“Realness” is walked with the theme in mind. In the history of this category, judges look for you to embody every facet of the aesthetic. The key is to really sell the illusion, to the point that you could convince anyone that you are whatever role you’re performing in the moment. If you’re walking “thug realness” for example (as shown in the video above), your props, your music, swagger and look all have to be on point. Every variation has a specific set of requirements, which allows you to properly prepare to walk the category when the time comes.
(Some popular variations of the category: Butch Queen In Drag Realness, Executive Realness)
Sex Siren
When a competitor walks “sex siren”, the mission is to hit the runway and ooze sex appeal. Showcase your body, your walk, your face. Give it everything you got! The key is to be sensual, not sexual, through tease and suggestion. A flirty hair flip, bedroom eyes, showing off your abs, a light striptease and even a little booty clap are all fair game when it comes to winning the judges over. Bringing your props and effect together in a way that entices everyone in the room, including the judges, is the mark of a true sex siren. Hotness is nothing in this category if you don’t know how to sell the entire package.
Face
Face is a category that can be very tricky. Judges want it all. Eyes, cheek bones, teeth, head tilts. If that’s not enough, both your entire outfit and props all work as an effect to heighten your performance. You won’t make it through with just a pretty face. The mission is to sell from head to toe, but mostly head! Fix your face and bring it to the runway.
(Some variations could be: Butch Queen Face, Femme Queen Face)
Hands Performance
In this category, performers can only vogue with their hands and nothing else. The key is to focus on intricate wrist movements, hand tricks and illusions. Performers with great dexterity and coordination will most likely do very well in the category.
Best Dressed
When this category opens, your only goal is to showcase your “best dressed”. Don’t come out in a fancy Halloween costume. You need to sell it like it’s runway couture. Whether it’s an artsy weirdo look, otherworldly glam, or that vintage gem you’ve dressed up to look high fashion, the judges want to see your ingenuity and conceptualization brought to the runway.
American Runway/European Runway
Both categories are very similar, but utilize different effects. Often walked by butch queens and trans men, each runway requires you to put together your interpretation of a runway outfit seen at either a European or American fashion show. Like every category, how these looks are sold go a long way with the judges. Creativity and confidence are often the make-or-break factor here.
Virgin Vogue
Virgin categories are reserved for performers who’ve been walking for less than a year. This is an opportunity for newcomers to bring everything they’ve learned to the runway and serve it up for the judges.
Etiquette for the ball: Some tips for performers and audience members
Ball competitors
© Drew Durian
Keep the same energy all night
The performers and MCs are the heart of the performance, but the audience needs to give the runway life too! Let the performers know you are present throughout the night. Applaud, snap, cheer. Give the children all your energy and they’ll return it tenfold.
The judges have final say
For performers coming through for the first time walking open categories, the judges can be relentless. Like any competition, some will love you and others will hate you. Don’t take it personally, don’t lose your cool. Just bring your best performance and keep it moving.
Respect the performers
As audience members, it’s important to watch and engage without being disruptive. Give the performers space to move and vibe. Be a spectator, never a back-up dancer. It may feel like a party, but it’s still a performance.
Do your research
For anyone attending the ball, knowing the history, the categories and the music isn’t super urgent, but it’ll make for a better experience if you have some idea about what you’ll be seeing. If you’re feeling really adventurous, it never hurts to scroll through YouTube and get familiar with how the legends have stormed these categories at different balls over the years. It’ll only inspire you, spark your creative juices and maybe help you get into walking balls in the future.
Practice makes perfect
The dips, flips and death drops you see at the ball may look really cool, but they require a lot of skill and dedication. If you leave the ball with a newfound fire to one day join a house and perform, that’s cool! However, it’s probably best that you ask around to see how you can begin to learn the craft. In most cities with a solid queer scene, there’s at least a few Kiki houses that host open practices for anyone looking to hone their skills and learn how to vogue. Do some research and see how you can connect with people in the community.