The Latex Ball, annually hosted by GMHC in New York City, has celebrated over 30 years of ballroom magic. The purpose of the Ball is a celebration of life and a tribute to all those we have lost in Ballroom to AIDS-related complications. It is a commitment made in 1993 by GMHC that the Latex Ball and their services are here for the Ballroom community.
We cannot forget the hundreds of Ballroom families that once graced the Latex runway. We cannot forget how a Vjuan Allure beat made us feel, we cannot forget how Derrick Xtravaganza moved us with his mesmerizing voguing moves or how Samantha James made us laugh. As we celebrate music as our theme, we also celebrate our ballroom angels.
House and Ballroom culture was born many decades in Harlem, and now numbers over 20,000 in NYC. The community is made up of houses that act as supportive social structures for LGBTQ+ youth. This structure provides a surrogate family for those whose sexual orientation often results in rejection and homelessness. As a surrogate family, a house has a house mother, a house father, and children who take on the house name as their surname. Balls are events at which members walk (or compete) for cash prizes, trophies or respect. Participants often dance or vogue, whilst others compete across a variety of categories that celebrate fashion, culture and art.
From the margins to the mainstream, from Madonna’s Vogue to Ryan Murphy’s ‘Pose” this community has been a major inspiration for so long, and now The Latex Ball continues this tradition while raising awareness, fighting stigma and providing vital resources
This year we want to celebrate the different music genres and musical artists who have inspired people and left their mark on the world. For some of us, music saved our lives. A song, a lyric, or a melody can help us through good and bad times, through love, loss, and grief. Music is therapeutic. A study once proved that music has a healing effect. Our favorite song can have a positive, immediate impact on our mental state; the feel-good hormone activates pleasure.
The Latex Ball : Music Is My Life JUNE 3rd 2023 Terminal 5 610 West 56 Street NYC https://www.facebook.com/TheLatexBall/
