Building a Ballroom: LGBTQ Cultural space in Edmonton
Photo couresty of Brendan Roy (@brendanroy.photographer)
A modest community hall in Edmonton known as the Ukrainian Centre has been hosting the development of a cultural revolution every Tuesday for the past year. Ballroom culture has arrived in the city. The history of queer culture is present in Edmonton, despite Alberta being jokingly known as “the Texas of Canada” due to its popularly conservative views. While Edmonton’s queer culture and history is comparatively less rich than other North American cities where Ballroom exists such as New York City or Montreal, the organization known as YEG Ballroom is bringing Ballroom culture to Edmonton and creating queer history.
Through YEG Ballroom’s open sessions, volunteer leaders Mayhem 007, Andrew 007, and Marco 007 (being referred to here by their Ballroom monikers) combine discussions focused on Ballroom history with informal guidance on vital aspects of Ballroom such as Runway, Vogue Fem Performance, and throwing shade while battling. A Ball is an event where members of the Ballroom community have the chance to compete against one another either as individuals or as a house representative. Because Edmonton is so early in its Ballroom scene, YEG Ballroom has only thrown Kiki Ball, a less formal version of a Ball, with lower stakes within the greater Ballroom community and is more about community-building than being competitive.
YEG Ballroom leaders (from left to right) Marco 007, Mayhem 007, and Andrew 007
The first seed of Ballroom was planted in Edmonton in November 2023 by local Edmonton drag and burlesque performer Lucian LaPearl, and its roots have been growing ever since. With the help of Fruit Loop, a local social enterprise that provides social events, media resources, and community for Alberta’s 2SLBTQ+ community, LaPearl applied for a grant from Edmonton Arts Council to begin YEG Ballroom, hosting classes that teach about the history of Ballroom culture. After hosting and organizing Edmonton’s first Ball, the Spring Dream Mini Kiki Ball, LaPearl stepped down from their leadership position with YEG Ballroom and their position was honourably taken up by the three volunteer leaders. The 007 suffix that the volunteers use is for any member of the Ballroom community who is not a part of a “house.” Due to queer identities still not being widely accepted, the YEG Ballroom leaders have chosen to provide their Ballroom monikers in order to protect their identity. A “house” is a collective of Ballroom members who support each other within the Ball as well as outside; members within may provide each other with shelter, clothing, food, and other basic necessities.
Ballroom culture was originated by Black and Latinx queer and trans people in New York and primarily developed in the 1970s. “Our main goal with sharing information in our open sessions is to make sure that there is respect given and honour given to the people who originated this culture which, for the majority, are Black and Latin trans women,” said Mayhem 007, emphasizing this point. “[YEG Ballroom] wants to make sure that things are represented correctly […] for the folks who have birthed, breathed, and bled and died for this culture,” said Andrew 007, “because this [was] started by Black trans folks who are queer, by Latinx folks, by Black Latinx folks, and [Ballroom] is theirs.”
YEG Ballroom hosted the Spring Dream Mini Kiki Ball in April of 2024. With the development of Ballroom in Edmonton, it is important to remember its unique position as a culture that despite its growth in the city, it is not yet established. “There won’t be any real Ballroom established here,” Said Mayhem, “until we’re about five years in. So this is YEG Ballroom’s kind of first year, because [a city’s] Ballroom history starts the day of your first Ball. We’re not even at a year mark, but it’ll have such a big impact in the future if we can keep with it.” Ballroom is a widespread culture throughout North America; community members have spent years of their lives committing their energy to supporting it as well as others within the culture in order to ensure that the history is never lost, serving as a reminder to queer people everywhere how hard fought-for their modern rights and freedoms were.
Having a community in this city that is focused on the support of queer people be open to growth and interaction is vital to the lives of queer people who were not privileged with being born into an accepting community and instead have to go looking for it. YEG Ballroom aims to simplify the search for that community. “It’s important to have Ballroom in Edmonton because there’s not enough queer and trans spaces that are celebratory,” said Mayhem, “it feels like we’re being watched more than we’re being uplifted and centered in our community spaces, so it’s been really nice to have a racialized, trans and queer space that celebrates the origins of Ballroom as a culture but also really wants to share it with everybody who’s willing to learn.”
Despite YEG Ballroom’s doors being open to anyone who is willing to learn about Ballroom culture, and maybe even participate in it, Andrew wants people to remember that there is a deeper history behind Ballroom culture than the crumbs of it that do appear in mainstream culture and media.
“It’s necessary […] that we minimize ‘culture vultures’ and appropriation of the forms that are in ballroom because it happens; it happens on the largest platforms on Earth, you might see mainstream shows, you might see things on Rupaul’s Drag Race,” said Andrew. “We want to gatekeep [the history of Black and Latinx Trans and queer people] and keep it from folks who just want to make [a] quick buck on it or who want to wear it as a costume or as a status symbol and throw it out later,” he said, “it’s not a costume, it’s not a moment, it is the moment. If we don’t gatekeep it, it’s everyone’s.”
While these rules could be perceived as strict, the creativity within Ballroom does not suffer in any way. “Balls are about survival and adhering to cisgender heteronormative standards,” said Mayhem, detailing that balls were created by Trans and queer people as a way to give one another feedback on whether or not they could “pass” in mainstream society. This creates a safe haven and not a safe space, which means that YEG Ballroom accepts everyone but reserves the right to give feedback. YEG Ballroom’s Spring Dream Mini Kiki Ball completely sold out as members of the Ballroom scene from different cities across Canada and even a large crowd of curious and enthusiastic Edmontonians came out to immerse themselves in a fresh and ambitious display of what it means to be a community.
As fresh as YEG Ballroom is, the future of the organization is looking green, bountiful, and prospective. Mayhem, Andrew, and Marco have been putting their heart and soul as leaders into this community, made evident by how consistent, eager, and numerous the YEG Ballroom community members are.
