Not Your Usual Ballroom Dance

Tebogo Ninja competed in the Vogue Femme category at the LEGACY Love Pride Ball at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock on Saturday.

The word “ballroom” may evoke images of people in evening wear dancing hand-in-hand. But a ballroom event in Cape Town on Saturday, 7 February, was nothing of the sort.

Ballroom culture in the queer community has its origins in the US, where it developed throughout the 20th Century as an underground LGBT+ subculture in African-American and Latin communities.

The LEGACY Love Pride Ball at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock saw people from different “houses” strutting their stuff on a runway in extravagant costumes. It is one of many ballroom events held throughout the year. There are LEGACY balls every two months.

There were no waltzes, tangos or foxtrots. Instead, participants competed before a panel of judges in categories such as Vogue Femme, a stylised and technical dance form; Face, in which the participant’s face becomes the main feature of the performance; and Sex Siren, where sex appeal, confidence and allure are on display.

“The ballroom community for me, it’s all about family … It’s [about] supporting one another [and] expressing yourself in whatever way you feel,” said Maxine Wild, a drag queen and trans woman.

She is also the mother of “The House of Wild”, one of the many houses in Cape Town’s ballroom scene. Although people compete individually, they are often members of houses, which are almost like sports teams, providing support with preparation for performances, including dance classes and workshops.

Houses are also seen as “chosen families” because of the social support they provide. Wild says many of the members of her house come from places where their queerness is shunned. Some have been kicked out by their families.

Ballroom creates a space where “you can create your own family, your chosen family,” said Wild. “Sometimes your chosen family means way more to you than your biological family.”

The LEGACY balls were started by Rori Bingham and Léa Debbah. The events are organised by Edition Events.

The first event was in 2021, but a ballroom culture has existed in Cape Town for more than eight years. There are also active ballroom scenes in Johannesburg and Gqeberha.

“There are various queer communities that are now coming together under one roof … to celebrate queerness in its entirety, and that is something very special,” says Bingham.

Bingham says he started the event after the death of Kirvan Fortuin, a dancer, choreographer and LGBT+ activist who was murdered in 2020.

Fortuin was the founder of the House of Le Cap, of which Bingham was a member. After Fortuin’s murder, Bingham wanted to honour the legacy of his friend, so he called the event LEGACY.

Bingham’s dream is to connect queer communities across South Africa, bringing them together to participate in Legacy functions. He also wants to make ballroom classes and events more accessible for poorer communities.

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