By Je’Don Holloway-Talley | For The Birmingham Times
At the Code Red Ribbon KiKi Ball held recently at Bosses Private Lounge in downtown Birmingham, The Birmingham Times had a front-row seat to observe the Ballroom scene, or just Ballroom.
A Black and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture, “Ballroom consists of two primary features: anchoring family-like structures, called Houses, and … flamboyant competitive Balls,” according to a 2009 article in the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services.
Houses, often named after famous fashion brands and retail brands —Balenciaga, Gucci, Von Dutch, Old Navy, and others — offer social support, a network of friends, and a social setting that allows free … expression. Balls have been described as “extravagant competitions … where house members vie for trophies and cash prizes in a series of runway competitions and performance-art battles.”
Outside the Birmingham venue, AIDS Alabama, which helped sponsor the event, had set up its mobile testing unit in the parking lot, serving as a reminder that beneath the glamour and excitement, health and community care remain central.
Inside, love, support, and showmanship filled the air as competing Houses settled into their corners. A key component of Ballroom is the “chosen family” — nonbiological kinship bonds, whether legally recognized or not, deliberately chosen for mutual support and love — due to some being disowned or ostracized from their biological ones, or as a refuge or respite from a world where they feel misunderstood and underrepresented.
These families, or Houses, are led by “mothers” and “fathers,” usually older members of the Ballroom scene, who provide guidance and support for their House “children.” There are even godparents, who gladly fill the role of mother or father when needed.
“As a founding mother, anytime anybody calls, I try my best to always be there and help them in any way I can,” said Za’Niya “Von Dutch” Blanco, a founding mother of The Captivating House of Von Dutch, which was established in Birmingham in May 2021. “They need to feel that I’m there, that they’re loved, that they’re heard.”
Ballroom Roots
“Since its beginnings in Harlem, New York, … Ballroom culture has expanded rapidly to every major city in the United States …,” the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services explained. Events are held year-round all over the country, including almost every weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, and on planned occasions in Birmingham.
Emerging in the 1920s, Ballroom evolved into a dynamic realm of performance, blending fashion, dance, artistry, and the concept of chosen family. Black and Latino LGBTQ+ individuals were excluded from white-dominated drag pageants.
By the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ballroom had grown into a thriving subculture with its own rules, hierarchies, and traditions. Dancers competing in categories like “Realness,” “Face,” and “Runway” were judged by their peers on how convincingly they embodied the roles they portrayed.
A Night at The Ball
During The Times’s visit, which came six weeks ahead of Pride Month which began June 1, we found that the emcee, known in Ballroom as the “commentator,” is the voice of the night, cutting through blaring bass to call categories, cue dancers, and keep the energy high with sharp commentary and clever remarks. Phrases like “Tens! Tens across the board!” or “This queen is serving realness” could be heard at any given moment.
Category participants are required to ‘walk’ one by one to receive full approval from all judges, known as ‘receiving your 10s’ — which isn’t guaranteed.
The Code Red Ribbon KiKi Ball attracted performers far and wide, such as Texans Brian Dunnam and Jacoby Brisbon, who are part of the Texas/Gulf Coast chapter of the House of Von Dutch.
Dunnam, who performs under the moniker “Nizhoni Von Dutch,” and Brisbon, who goes by “B-Moore Von Dutch,” drove from the Lone Star State to attend the Magic City event.
Dunnam, 32, who identifies as a queer male, said, “Ballroom itself is like a chosen family because you spend a lot of time together. We’re always hanging out, grabbing dinner, practicing, and doing different things. It’s your family, so you’re going to talk, argue, kiki, laugh, … and that’s what makes it so beautiful.” (Kiki, according to Merriam-Webster.com, is an informal gathering among close friends, typically involving laughter and gossip.)
Dunnam has been doing drag for about 10 years, “but I’ve been following the Ballroom scene for about three years,” he said.
“I stepped into Ballroom and started being a drag face girl. It’s for [drag] girls who have really pretty structure, skin, teeth, all of that. I just do the drag version of it. I’m a boy who dresses up as a woman for art.”
“A Safe Haven”
Baltimore, Maryland, native Brisbon, 38, a transgender male, who’s been part of the House of Von Dutch for the past three years, said, “Ballroom is a safe haven, an outlet where we can let our hair down. … We live in a world that doesn’t accept us. … Here, there’s no judgment, and we get to live out our fantasies.”
Asked why he chose the House of Von Dutch, Brisbon summed up what the culture is about: “My first time meeting the Texas chapter, I knew Von Dutch was the house for me. I experienced a family dynamic I had been missing ever since I moved to Texas 14 years ago. They made me feel welcomed and comfortable to be myself. … We shared so much in that short weekend that I knew I had found my family.”
The Code Red Ribbon KiKi Ball, which started around 7:30 p.m., wrapped up around 2 a.m. With the competition behind them, participants mixed and mingled in the parking lot outside while the venue cleared.
“Even though people are part of different Houses, at the end of the day we are still part of a family,” said Karina “Ashanti Von Dutch” Harris — the Von Dutch family’s newly appointed Alabama Godmother.
