Runway participants show off their style at the Vogue Ball. Photography by Donia Varghese
In their pointy heels, shiny makeup and colourful clothes, participants at the Vogue Ball entertained audiences with their sexy walking styles and flamboyant dance moves.
The event on Saturday (February 1) was held to celebrate the beginning of this year’s World Stage season at the Harbourfront Centre.
The House of Nuance and World Stage worked together to come up with a fun yet intense dance competition to help give people a unique opportunity to walk the runway and strut their stuff.
Tina Rasmussen, the artistic director of World Stage, was inspired to throw the #artlive Vogue Ball after she was asked to be a guest judge at the Bizarre Ball presented by the House of Nuance at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre last summer. Rasmussen also wanted a stylish celebratory launch of the World Stage by having a social interaction of communities.
Under the lights of a spinning disco ball, a few participants practiced their moves ahead of the show and were cheered on by attendees. For those who came unprepared but were tempted to walk on the runway, there was even a makeup station at the entrance.
When we think of a ball, we imagine it to be some sort of a fancy party but there’s much more to the ball scene than that. The history of the ball culture can be traced back to the 1930s in Harlem where gay communities staged drag pageants and stunning performances to prove to themselves as well as to others that they could be anything they wanted.
Young gay people who left their homes in search of love and acceptance were welcomed into the ball community by its older, more experienced members. These groups called ‘Houses’ had ‘Mothers’ and ‘Fathers’ who were selected to be the leaders and ‘Children’ who were welcomed into the group just like a real-life family. Participants would walk in different styles to compete with other Houses for trophies and cash prizes and were judged on the basis of dance skills, costume, appearance and attitude.
A participant in the Hairography Category whips his hair for effect. Photography by Donia Varghese
The Vogue Ball kicked off with a short introduction by Tina Rasmussen and an explanation of the rules and categories by Mother Trouble of the House of Nuance.
Participants for the Hairography category whipped their hair around and danced with braids while those who competed for the Sex Siren category thrilled the audience with a very racy performance. Some of the other categories included Best Dressed, Bizarre, Face (for those with perfect cheekbones and flawless skin), Realness (ability to blend in with heterosexuals) and Hand Performance where the artistic movement of the hands are vital in order to bag a prize.
If the judges liked a certain performance, they held up a green board which meant the participant got their ’10s’ and could move on to the next round. Sometimes the judges gave a ‘chop’ and the participant had to exit the runway as he/she had failed to impress or meet the requirements of the category. In the second round, contestants walked with others who were selected and the judges picked their favourites. The rounds continued until a winner was chosen.
The lucky winners were given naked Barbie trophies with the category stamped on it.
Ballrooms usually have commentators who would hype-up the crowd and encourage the performers on the runway to do their best by chanting their House names or praising their traits. Mother TKO Monroe of the House of Monroe did a fabulous job at the Vogue Ball by tirelessly chanting and helping performers get into the groove.
Winners of the various categories were given naked Barbie trophies for their performance. Photography by Donia Varghese
Different walking styles such as the duckwalk, catwalk, floorwork, spins and dips are what make the ball scene a wonderful spectacle.
Another dance style that evolved out of the underground ball scene is ‘voguing’ which was pretty much unnoticed until Madonna popularized it in her 1990 hit single, Vogue.
The ball scene started to gain attention in the early ’80s and more people became aware of it through the 1990 documentary film Paris Is Burning directed by Jennie Livingston. The documentary explores the ball competitions in New York and the involvement of gay African-American and Latino men in the ball community.
Toronto was introduced to the ballroom scene after the House of Monroe was formed in 2006 and became the first Canadian House. The Toronto Kiki Ballroom Alliance was launched shortly after and trains younger participants who wish to perfect the walk and compete at balls. The House of Nuance was started in 2012 and encourages those in the ball community to find their authentic self.
At the Vogue Ball, anybody was welcome to participate. There was only one thing to do: Leave your inhibitions and have a fun time. “You don’t need to come with any walking experience, but we’re telling you now, you’ll probably leave with some“, World Stage stated on its social media. For some participants, it was a runway experience they would never forget.
For those who missed the event, check out the amazing video recap of the Vogue Ball by Habourfront Centre.
