by René Melia
A whiff of Givenchy fills the nostrils of anybody around as guest judge Gráinnemir Amir is
overwhelmed by the sauna-like temperature swirling the room, using their score page to fan
off the excess heat. Strobe lights of purple illuminate figures in the dark space, accumulating around the centre stage, anticipating the start of the show. The crowd was entranced by an alluring strut from Haus of Schiaparelli father, Mudo, it became intrusive and demanded everyone’s attention.
The bang of the bedazzled cane ensured it. DJ Kin set the vibe, noting the energy of the audience and blending her mix of Amapiano, House, Dancehall, Soca and Hip Hop out of the speakers and into the ears. MC Peace hypes up the crowd and introduces the guest judges, who all take a moment of spotlight to demonstrate exactly why they’re on the panel.
“There are the institutions of ballroom, which I respect, and I’m always trying to learn from our elders and learn from people in the active scene as to what should be done, the conventions, the rules, but I also like to celebrate the fact that queerness is in itself rebellious. There is a bit of that rebellious nature in the house, ”says Haus daddy, Mudo. As a sort of Punk house, Mudo adds, “I think there’s room for alternatives”.
This isn’t Mudo’s first rodeo socially engaging within her community. Mudo, who reflected a down-to-earth energy, has been involved with community organising for six years. In 2023, Haus of Schiaparelli was born and gained traction as Ireland’s first black-led queer ball at Dublin’ Hen’s Teeth venue.
The beginnings of Ireland’s Ball scene have similar roots to New York’s ballroom culture, which centres black and brown queer people the artistic space to freely express themselves in a way that other queer spaces often don’t, and Mudo says in Haus of Schiaparelli, “community is at the heart of it”.
Haus of Schiaparelli Lovers’ Ball invited participants to fulfil their wedding fantasy in celebration of Pride month and ten years since the Marriage Equality referendum passed in Ireland. With categories such as Ringerfinger (Hands), Bestman, Best dressed, Rich auntie, Blushing Bride (Face), Honeymoon ( Sex Siren), and First Dance, “most of the categories are traditional categories, valid categories, but their interpolations and interpretations of those categories just to make it fun, essentially”.
Mudo wanted to incorporate the wedding theme for queer POC people who don’t have the opportunity to celebrate a wedding within their own culture, “to give something to ourselves that maybe a lot of us won’t get….it’s a little token and love letter to people of colour in the scene. That is why I chose the judges that I did, chosen out of respect for the people that I’ve identified who have done a lot for the scene”.
There are the institutions of ballroom, which I respect, and I’m always trying to learn from our elders and learn from people in the active scene as to what should be done, the conventions, the rules, but I also like to celebrate the fact that queerness is in itself rebellious.
The audience was stunned when a security guard burst through the floor mid ‘Bestman’ category, still wearing his security patch latched onto his bicep, oozy with confidence and charming those watching with his moves – won. Speaking about the marriage equality referendum, Mudo says, “I feel like a lot of our stories weren’t told, and it really did centre on white queerness.
It’s great we got it, but a lot of people were left behind…there are people who came here because they wanted to express their sexuality, express their gender and who they are. We’re still being kept out or discriminated in larger queer spaces. That’s why I wanted an African wedding,” she adds a comment about the poster, “the graphics are corny on purpose” for an “anti antics” effect, she says.
A category Mudo deeply relates to is ‘executive realness’ because the Haus father role provides support, knowledge and camaraderie. ‘realness’ is about being able to blend into the subject of the category, and ‘executive’ is “being about your business, being able to seamlessly be around corporates”. Mudo believes that if she didn’t embody executive realness, she couldn’t have started the scene.
Now Mudo is learning new techniques in the ‘old way’ of voguing – one of the major categories mostly known in Ball culture ‘Old Way’ involves symmetry and precision, movements and poses performed gracefully and fluidly. ‘New way’ evolved from ‘old way’ incorporates far-stretched arms and contortions, creating geometric shapes.
‘Vogue Fem’ is a dramatic and flamboyant, it involves the five elements of voguing, which are ‘hand performance’, ‘duckwalk’, ‘catwalk’, ‘floor performance’, and ‘spins’ and ‘dips’. “I am a disabled person and I used to feel limited as to what my place is in this, but once figuring out your own style and your own way of accommodating your category, I really do believe everyone has a space as well,” added Mudo.
“A lot of ballroom was and is spearheaded by sex workers, which is how we get certain categories like sex siren, which was created to honour the sex workers that have helped shape and build the scene,” says Mudo. For the queer community at the time of the 1980s, New York, sex work became the only option for many LGBTQ+ individuals, primarily black and Latinx, as well as trans women who were rejected by their biological families and society.
Men and women were forced into sex work as a means to provide for themselves, and in doing so, helped preserve the ballroom scene, according to the University Observer. Haus father, Mudo, collaborated with Red Umbrella Éireann, a collective that supports the rights of sex workers, in previous Harlot ball and Lover’s ball.
“The category is not an opportunity to take the piss. And just ripping off your clothes and being unseemly. The category is supposed to be a smouldering kind of walk, and with a sort of dignity and sensuality…sex workers are really important to the scene. It’s important we have these categories and these ways of honouring the participants and the renegades of ballroom as well”.
MC Peace announced the Sex Siren (honeymoon) category, stating no recording or photographs were allowed “I like to keep the mystery of that”, says Mudo. The lights dimmed and changed to a sultry red. Mudo appeared from the right of the stage slowly, her lace wedding gown gliding across her skin and eyes, foxy. She charmed the judges, smirking, unveiling lingerie. Other participants joined on the floor, embodying confidence and irresistible charm, another carrying a belt and tying up their hands performatively.
…you go into the ballroom scene, and you feel accepted and welcomed. The feeling of having a family, of having a group of people you belong to, people you can resonate with. That is something I never expected to get out of ballroom…
When Mudo spoke to friends she has within the sex worker community about the sex siren category, and from their feedback, she said, “I thought it best to try and honour the traditional sense of what a sex siren looks like and also to honour my friends and a pocket of how sex work is done in Ireland”.
“Ballroom is intertwined with sexuality. It is the feeling of being free. The feeling of expressing who we are. That’s fu*king incredible,” says commentator of the night, Peace. Ballroom guided peace to create his own family who accepted who he is. Peace explains that he’s out of touch with his parents because of his sexual orientation, “you go into the ballroom scene, and you feel accepted and welcomed. The feeling of having a family, of having a group of people you belong to, people you can resonate with. That is something I never expected to get out of ballroom”.
Four years have passed since Peace began the art of drag (Drag is adjacent to ballroom) and has always expressed himself through body movement. “Ballroom is a celebration of body movement, a celebration of who we are”. Comparing his experience of watching ballroom content since he was young, Peace didn’t expect to have a strong connection with people in his community.
“Seeing it live in person and experiencing that, you never expect that to happen. [now] I can obviously do that for someone else, like in my daily life. That’s definitely the feeling of acceptance and having a family”. Peace is ecstatic that the scene has reached Ireland, and that those who are part of the ball scene can experience it on their own soil without travelling abroad.
Peace continues to add that he wants ballroom in Dublin to be open to all, “Especially the one for us here in Dublin, I wanted people, white people, that are not people of colour, they shouldn’t feel scared to come to these things; to express themselves as well, to be able to feel what we feel, of feeling accepted. We also want everyone to feel that, not just people of colour.”
DJ Kin Soul, from London, is bouncy; she moves to her groovy music, she’s happy and clear on motivating the roots of community to seep down into the land of ballroom as her tunes trickle across the crowd; she begins describing the culture outside of Ireland, “It’s very political and very catty. And the house system really is not what it used to be. It’s not a place of community…you don’t even pick your category. I’m a dancer and I was put in a walking category of All-Americans”.
All-Americans is a walking category where those participating embody their masculinity. Kin reflects on how a former House Father made her feel for respecting the idea of community, she believes it’s what brought her to ballroom, “That’s why we’re here. Community, safety, somewhere we can feel we belong”. Speaking about Haus of Schiaparelli, she said, “I like the spirit here, it makes me feel good”.
Haus father, Mudo, is pushing forward a kiki scene in Haus of Schiaparelli, a youth-led component of the ball culture that is less competitive and encourages youth to find their footing and confidence in the scene. As Ireland is new to the scene, Mudo says that it is important to establish technique before entering the global competitive ballroom community.
“Not to say that we couldn’t give it everything we have, especially when it comes to the fashion categories, for instance. I really feel that we could rock it, with our own personal sense of style, especially because as Irish people we do have a history of theatrics and pantomime…when we get it, we will be competition-ready. I also feel that as a black and brown community in Ireland, it’s important to emphasise fun”.
Ajay Kumar captured the crowd’s heart, stealing a passionate kiss from his partner after he was engulfed with awestruck for his original bridal piece. Acclimating Indian and Western bridal style, the wedding gown was draped in a deep red fabric saree, jewels, a white sheer tophalf and a double slit down the forefront of the legs, and an extravagant spiked headpiece.
Fashion, art, and philosophy have no gender. Express yourself. Express yourself in a way the world will see, and they will adore you. They will remember you. Maybe not today. Maybe tomorrow…
The ‘blindfold’ on his face is intentional with colours of the LGBTQ+ flag, “I’m seeing the world through the colours”. His first ball, Kumar channelled the bridal runway – taking home the cash prize of €250. “I feel liberated. I feel freedom. This is what I can do best, I love fashion, I love designing, but society has a stigma that men cannot do [fashion], women can. No. Fashion, art, and philosophy have no gender. Express yourself. Express yourself in a way the world will see, and they will adore you. They will remember you. Maybe not today. Maybe tomorrow,” said Ajay. Speaking on what ballroom and Kiki mean to Ajay, he said, “It gives me power, it gives me confidence”.
As the night comes to an end, the dancefloor is submerged with figures basking in the light and embodying the music, exchanging socials or offering compliments to those who braced the categories. The confidence everyone exuded from floor to ceiling was impossible to capture, yet tangible enough to feel.