Meanjin is Burning: Ella Ganza and the local Ballroom community on the upcoming Alexander Ball. "I want Meanjin to be the capital of Ballroom in Australia."

The Kiki House of Alexander is Meanjin’s pioneering Ballroom House. On Saturday 6 November, they host Meanjin’s second Alexander Ball, one of the most anticipated events of the year. Originally slated to be held as a part of the 2021 Brisbane Festival, the event had to be postponed to this weekend due to COVID-19.

In anticipation of the upcoming Alexander Ball, up-and-coming member of the scene Tristan Niemi (or Priestess 007 as they’re known in the scene) sat down with the Mother of the House of Alexander, Ella Ganza, as well as other members of Meanjin’s Ballroom scene to to get the tea on what expect this weekend at the Alexander Ball. They also discuss what it has been like to build the Meanjin scene from the ground up and the impact Ballroom has had on the fabric of the city’s Queer, arts, and Queer arts communities.

I started my conversation with Ella by asking what Ballroom means to her, both in terms of what it is and how it has changed her life?

The House at the 2020 Sissy Ball. Image: Anna Kucera & Sydney Mardi Gras

Ella: “Ballroom to me is a safe place for Queer People of Colour – specifically Trans Women of Colour – to be authentically ourselves and to thrive. It is one of the only spaces that allows us to thrive as our authentic selves. In terms of what it has done for me, Ballroom has helped me exist in a world that wasn’t built for me, that pushed someone like me out. It has given me confidence. It reminds of worth through the example of the icons and legends. And it has given me purpose and the drive to do for others what the icons and legends have done for me.”

The House of Alexander was founded in 2019 by Mother Ella and Father Josh Alexander and currently boasts a deeply successful membership of over twenty Queer People of Colour. Despite having a five-decade long history internationally, Ballroom is a relatively new scene here in Meanjin as well as Australia at large. 

Ballroom has traditionally been a largely underground community and so the artform doesn’t often receive mainstream recognition. Ella reflected on what the meant for the Ball to be acknowledged and included in such a mainstream program as that of the Brisbane Festival.

Ella: “It means so much. It gives Ballroom the opportunity to be seen by an audience that is beyond my own platform. It gives other communities the chance to witness the magic of Ballroom and what our community – specifically our Queer People of Colour – are actually capable of producing in terms of creativity and talent.”

When they announced the decision to postpone the event, the House of Alexander made the following statement: “This event was created by our community for our community and to allow as many of those in our scene to participate we thought it best to postpone.” It was a difficult decision, but one they made for the community.

The first Alexander Ball. Image: Fluffy

Ella: “The types of things we would have had to do if we kept the original date would have ruined the atmosphere. And I wanted to have this Ball be a kind of gift to our Meanjin scene for all the hard work they’ve put into training and community over the last months.”

Speaking of hard work, the House of Alexander has been on a seemingly endless roll since its founding, especially in the last year. Over the last year the House has hosted a wildly successful monthly training program, a series of phenomenal Vogue Nights and a six-week ‘Introduction to Ballroom’ course at Mad Dance House. They have also performed at various arts events throughout the city and even interstate, including BrisFest’s Auntie’s Fiafia Night.

Respective members of the House have found success in almost every facet of the Meanjin arts world. Luna Thicc is one of the city’s most highly revered Drag performers and alongside Tyson Goddard she mother’s the Drag House of Thicc – Brisbane’s first Drag House for Queen’s of Colour. They’re also half of the Thiccshake Crew, Meanjin’s first hip-hop crew made up of Drag performers, of which Ella is also a member. Neesha Alexander produces Fem Fale the city’s first rave event that centres Queer and Trans People of Colour. Father of House of Alexander, Joshua Taliani, and house member Wanida Serce have found success in the dance world. Yvette Alexander and Rhanjell Villanueva (aka Prince Alexander) are rising up the ranks of the visual and performance arts spheres. Navindra Jayasekera thrives in the realm of activism. And that’s just the stuff I know off the top of my head.

I listed these achievements to Ella, and she beamed with pride as I did. And when I asked her how it felt to see her House and her children cement themselves as pillars of Meanjin’s Queer night scene and the Meanjin arts sector in general she became slightly emotional before saying:

Ella: “Oh my God, I don’t even wanna get into it. I’m gonna cry just listening to this. It’s been incredible. Starting the House hasn’t been easy. Being a Mother of a House is not an easy task. But seeing all my children rise up in their own industries has always been a goal for me as a Mother. To really push them to pursue their callings and to see them blossom as Queer POCs. And I feel it comes from Ballroom. That’s why Ballroom is so important for people like us. It gives us that confidence to go out and pursue everything we want even though the world tells us not to. It’s really hard to explain,n but Ballroom really is that magic that makes us believe we can do it. And seeing them do it is even more of a gag. Those achievements are my trophies as a Mother. In Ballroom we have trophies for Houses to collect, but in all honesty, those are my trophies.”

The first Alexander Ball. Image: Fluffy

As Ella has stated, Ballroom is about more than the artistry. It is about safety and elevating the voices of those who would otherwise be dismissed by the colonial project. I spoke briefly with Pisces Alexander, a Butch-Queen and one of the latest additions to the House’s ranks to discover exactly what it is about this community that draws in newcomers.

Pisces Alexander: “Being a part of the Ballroom scene here in Meanjin means a lot to me. Having a platform, a movement, and a style with which to freely express myself… that is the tea babe. That is the tea. Also, finding a community of people that have similar pathways to you, have been brought up in similar ways, and know the same struggle and the same pain. Being able to reflect with them on that is super helpful mentally and spiritually. The more time I spend in the community the more time I want to spend there creating that safe space and being freely who I am.”

It should be noted that the impact of the House of Alexander extends beyond its members. Numerous members of the scene that I spoke to have attested to the transformative power of simply having access to Ballroom culture.

Jay 007: “Access to Ballroom means access to real Queer history: the people who lived and breathed and danced and loved, and the way what it meant to live and breathe and dance and love changed and evolved overtime. It’s traceable, it exists outside of the framework of cishetero institutions. It connects me to a long line of transcestors whose energies and legacies are present in the room every time we meet.”

Tiger 007: Having access to the ballroom scene gives me a sense of belonging and makes me feel safe but also ignites a certain sense of self and confidence considering the overall Queer community can be very cutthroat, racist, ableist etc.

I asked Ella what it meant to her to know that she is directly responsible for the transformations described above.

Ella: Thankful. Grateful. Full of purpose. To know that I and the House have had an impact on others as well is just – honestly, my darling, there are no words until you’re actually in it and when you have people that are grateful to you. There are no words to really express the honest feeling. And that feeling is what drives me, it pushes me to keep going. I just can’t wait to see our Meanjin scene grow even more. I want Meanjin, in my mind, to be the capital of Ballroom in Australia.

The first Alexander Ball. Image: Fluffy

As someone who has attended and walked the Vogue Nights the House has held over the last few months, I have a sturdy idea of what to expect on November 6th. Regardless, I double-checked with Ella, because I was also sure it would be on an entirely different level than anything I’d ever seen at a Vogue Night.

Ella: Ballroom and the Ball is everything that is fashion, that is high-energy. It is going to be that event you never knew you needed until you go. You don’t have to be a Queer person, a Person of Colour, or a Queer Person of Colour to appreciate Ballroom. Because what it also stands for individuality. We don’t want another so-and-so. We want you to be authentically you. That’s why for me Ballroom is that one place where you are guaranteed to be jaw-dropped. You’ll leave saying you never knew how much you needed it in your life.

I finished by asking Ella about her dreams for her House and what we can expect from the House of Alexander after the ball from the members themselves and the House as a whole. 

Ella: I would love to see financial stability and stable employment for my children. I wanna help the girls with their medical transitions. Stability with housing. You know a lot of my children help each other. For instance, two of my sons are housing four of my daughters. I just wanna see them be financially free individuals. As a House in terms of Ballroom, obviously we’ve done our own Ball. I would like to see us travel, and not just interstate because we’ve done that and we will continue to, but to travel overseas to a Ball. I mean, I have some things up my sleeve. But I can see some of our House possibly becoming a part of major Ballroom Houses in the next year.

The Alexander Ball takes over The Tivoli from 6:00pm this Saturday, November 6th. You can follow Ella on Instagram at @ella_ganzaaa and the House of Alexander @houseofalexander__.

Cover image: Joel Devereux