Some hip action. The current form of a ball goes back to the 1970s, when well-known drag queens and pre-op transgender women in New York City formed the first houses to compete in drag balls. Some estimate theres some 3,000 people nation-wide in the ballroom scene.
Starr auditions his voguing in front of Nikki Richmond, the House of Richmond West Coast Chapter mother, in Nikkis Hayward apartment
Starr now lives at a housing program for LGBT kids in the Castro.
Starrs friend, Jojo, competed in the virgin runway category at the recent ball. It was her first ball, having recently moved to the Bay Area from Houston.
Gerrick Malicdem, 19, from Vallejo (on the right) was one of two finalists in the virgin runway category. He walked in some spandex pants, stiletto heels, and trippy make-up.
Legendary Kool-Aid Mizrahi is one of the most well-known commentators in the ballroom scene, and having him in the Bay Area for the first time lent national cachet to the ball.
Kool-Aid and Jack Mizrahi (in the background) chant peoples names during the Stars, Statements, and Legends. The ball went with few hitches until a Chanel house member tried to snatch off the wig of an Oakland competitor during a vogue competition, ripping her down with it. A fight erupted up on the runway, and Jack announced the ball was over, We are constantly labeled a subculture community because of things like this. Get your trashy asses out!
Captions by Lauren Smiley.
