ens across the board!”, “Category is…” Phrases like these have “Tns become instantly recognisable in queer spaces. We hit the dance floor when Renaissance plays and find our hands framing our face; voguing almost instinctive. Yet, little is know of the Ballroom origins of queer vernacular. Shows like HBO’s Legendary and Ryan Murphy’s Pose have turned the spotlight on the once underground Ballroom scene, and the Black trans women who established it are finally being celebrated by mainstream audiences. But make no mistake, after the final credits roll, Ballroom’s story is far from over. “Without the balls, pop culture as it is today wouldn’t exist, we wouldn’t have all of the amazing music we have and the creative side of the queer community wouldn’t exist in the way it does now,” says Cole Banton, a 24-year-old digital marketer. Decades after the conception of the ball, the legacy of Ballroom’s founding mothers lives on, oceans away from where it all began. In London today, the Ballroom scene is thriving with organisations like Vogue Rites and house parents around the city continuing to throw balls, offering up beautifully queer havens tucked away amongst ordinary highstreets. So, to pay homage to the Ballroom scene and all it has given us,
