Alexander Vogue Night, Mad Dance Festival | House of Alexander

I’m a newcomer to ballroom. In first sitting for this writing I feel ill prepared and under informed to write about this event, with such a small amount of experience witnessing these comps. Last night I got carried away with being present and took miniscule notes. I was in it. Feeling it. Seeing it all anew and loving the fuck out of it.

The first time I stumbled upon the House of Alexander (HOA) was at a performance event that was presented at Jagera Hall in West End in 2020 called Radical Love, just before the pandemic hit. The HOA family absolutely blew me away and I relished in seeing people like me in this luminescent light combining all the beauty of Pasifika culture with loud and proud Queerness. Up until that time those things for me operated exclusively from each other as separate entities. Pasifika Culture and Religion going hand in hand in what I had been exposed to and was seemingly the only methods of acceptance for Tongans like me. Any hint of validation in Culture meant that you needed to show up to church every Sunday, speak your language and remember all the intricate kinship systems that you belonged to. Urbanised islanders like me haven’t met many of those assumed pre-requisites and find themselves on the outer of the biological family, and then even more so when you come out.

Chosen families are then born, and new spaces developed to not only house them, but to enable growth. Ballroom culture in Australia validates and pays homage to its beginnings from New York City. Trans women of colour creating their own scene after drag queen Crystal LaBeija famously called out the drag community for being racist when she lost to a white drag queen. In response she built her own underground voguing scene, creating the House of LaBeija. Madonna’s 90’s hit Vogue brought this dance movement into the mainstream eye, but even then little was still known about the essence of vogueing.

In Australia, these ‘Balls’ have evolved over time with a strong hold feature of Pasifika and Asian transwomen at the forefront. From the Sissy Ball in Sydney to the Alexander Ball in Brisbane, ballroom culture is the next frontier with a whole slew of LGBTIQP+ communities and allies behind it.

The Alexander Vogue night at Metro Arts last night was craftily held together by Mother of the House of Alexander, Ella Ganza, and Father Joshua Taliani on MC’ing duties: keeping energy high, cueing up DJ Neesha Alexander, and keeping entrants on task. Incredible vocalisations and hype from these two who had knowing audience members cajoling in on the calls. ‘Is there anybody else, is there anybody else, anybody else, anybody else……?’. Countdowns from 10 down encouraged contestants not to overthink it, but to get out there and get walking.

As the nights contestants formed around the runway waiting for their categories to be called, the electricity in the room was hyperbolic. I stood side by side with my lover as we clapped and cheered each bout of runway walking, she was a first timer to a vogueing event, and purely for entertainments sake alone – it delivered an incredible night of dance performance. Like her and many others, when you’re a newbie to ballroom, even without the knowledge of history – you will not leave underwhelmed. But note that being a good audience member requires etiquette. She did her bit in researching the scene prior to attending, a good reminder for all to educate yourselves on this pioneering movement happening in Brisbane atm and get along.

The first category to come out was ‘Pop, Dip + Spin’ old ways. Contestants asked to bring their best poses to their walk. ‘Face OTA (open to all)’ was all about authentic conviction, skin, teeth and structure enamoured, but not a category based on just surface beauty, it’s a whole facial stance kind of deal.  ‘Runway OTA’ all about the ferocity of your walk and entrants’ creativity in this space is often the deal maker or breaker. ‘Non Binary Sex Siren’ all about the essence of sex appeal beyond binaries – exclusively for non-binary folk, savouring the origins of this stage space for those who originally carved the vogue path. This categories key is to be sensual, not overtly sexual through the power of tease and suggestion. The final category for the night was ‘Vogue Femme OTA’ bought through the stylistic musings of each of the entries vogueing capabilities with the five categories of vogue: duck walks, spins and dips, hand performance, floor performance and catwalk, all delivered with Femme Queen energy!

Judges Kendall Brown, Mother Jaye Dynasty and Anaiyah Devine provided enormous amounts of positivity to each entrant, giving ‘10s’ to most. Each walk amped up as they battled out until the final winner was chosen by the judges elegant hands gesturing at the chosen one. Each winner of category takes home a cash prize. I pondered on the cash prize element and thought how much of an incentive this provides for the lay voguer to get their moves together an enter. I wondered about the heteronormative nature of recruitment across industry, I also wondered how many transpeople faced discrimination or mis-gendering in the workforce even though illegal. I know many of the black transwomen in America who were part of ballroom in the 80’s were often sex workers too, not always having a great deal of opportunity out there for other forms of employment. Vogue events are not only a performance space, but a viable source of income for the trans and non-binary communities. Lifting up the low-socio economics with the practicals – money!

On a couple of occasions, the judges would offer up teachable moments for some of the virgin walkers: ‘If you’re gunna come, make sure you’re on the beat’ says Kendall, ‘Don’t be crowding us up here near the table, use the whole runway, we wanna see you work the space’ declares Mother Jaye Dynasty. The educational element of these words had me beaming at how supportive this vogue comp was. It’s not about ‘chopping’ walkers, it’s about asking questions like:

• How do we support these people to bring their best?

• How do we give them the feedback they need without annihilating their confidence?

• How do you acknowledge the courage that they already possess to even just exist on that runway?

The Alexander Vogue night was a re-birthing of belonging for me and I assume others present. To look around the room and not feel like I stood out due to my gender non-conformity. To see others like me giving me that knowing look like – yeah I’ve walked a similar path to you, I see you, you’re beautiful and resilient just like me.

In all honestly, I could never ‘walk’; runway is for the effervescently confident. But I am one hell of an enthusiastic and supportive audience member filled with respect for all present. The calls of Mother Ella Ganza billowing in my temple as I entered the rest of the night ahead ‘energy, energy, energy….’.

Follow House of Alexander’s socials, contribute to Ella’s GoFundMe, get along and support this movement. It’s real, it’s proud and it’s here to stay.