{"id":448362,"date":"2026-01-30T23:31:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448362\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T23:31:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:31:29","slug":"ballroom-community-takes-over-state-library-of-victoria-for-lgbtqia-fantasy-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448362\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballroom community takes over State Library of Victoria for LGBTQIA+ Fantasy Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

A dozen performers donning angelic white and crimson outfits dance along a runway to thunderous applause from the crowd and chants of “Hey hey what’s up, Furia f*** it up!”<\/p>\n

This is not a conventional Saturday night for the State Library Victoria.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Normally a space of quiet reading, the 172-year-old institution was transformed into the Fantasy Ball, a queer pageant-like event where attendees from across the country come to watch participants “walk” in eight categories.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

Ballroom is a burgeoning subculture with roots in late 20th-century Harlem, New York, created to foster community and safety for LGBTQIA+ people of colour, particularly trans women.<\/p>\n

The subject of the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning and the hit drama series Pose, ballroom has since found its way to Australian cities.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Founding mother of the House of Furia, Angel, says the Fantasy Ball is about allowing queer people to live out their dreams. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

Fantasy Ball curator Angel Furia says ballroom provided a space for queer people living on the margins to experience their fantasy.<\/p>\n

“In ballroom, the fantasy of walking a category is usually walking a category that does not exist in your everyday life,” Angel says.<\/p>\n

“The fantasy is creating that visual representation of yourself. It’s almost like manifesting for yourself who you can be.”‘Vogue fem’<\/p>\n

In the beginners’ performance category, participants dressed as fairies fly down the runway performing “vogue fem”, a high-energy dance characterised by fluid, feminine movement.<\/p>\n

\"Vogue<\/p>\n

Vogue fem is a dance style integral to ballroom, with five elements including duck walks and dips. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

Competitors weave their arms in flamboyant patterns, and synchronise their dips to drops in the backing music, while a quick-witted commentator stirs up the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Solana Iman was living “every fantasy” after winning the beginner’s performance category. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

After a few rounds of eliminations, a battle ensues between the final two fairies, with Solana Iman declared the victor.<\/p>\n

“For me, voguing is an expression, it’s a feeling, it’s not just a dance move. It’s a struggle that queer POC [people of colour] have to go through,” she tells the ABC.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Takudzwa 007 vogues the house down in the beginners’ performance category. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

Runner-up Takudzwa 007 says voguing is the “main attraction” of ballroom for him.<\/p>\n

“A lot of it has an element to it that expresses the feminine in such a raw way for me,” he says.<\/p>\n

“It just feels like that side of my queer identity can be fully out there.”<\/p>\n

Chosen family<\/p>\n

Within ballroom, participants compete as individuals, known as 007s, or as a member of a collective, known as a house.<\/p>\n

The house often serves as a “chosen family”, a support system for community members who may struggle to connect with their biological family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Experienced members nurture younger talent.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Ballroom houses give queer people a chosen family, with house mothers nurturing their children. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

“Chosen family is really important for me because they’ve been there for me during my ups and downs,” Solana says.<\/p>\n

“I grew up in a conservative Muslim black family household, so they’re not really accepting.”<\/p>\n

“When I found ballroom, that’s when I found family and who I was as a person.”\"Two<\/p>\n

House of Furia opens the ball with a grand march, showcasing sharp dance skills and impeccable fashion. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

The category is \u2026<\/p>\n

The categories demand an intimate knowledge of ballroom, sharp performance skills, and the right dose of artistic flair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Performers are judged by a panel of seasoned judges, with the goal of achieving a perfect score or “10s across the board”.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Bizarre x Best Dressed category calls for an effect inspired by a deity from your ancestry. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

Judge Chantal 007 Revlon says she looks for performers who are “fearless”.<\/p>\n

“I’m looking for you to be audacious, and I’m looking for you to tell me your story,” she says.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Chantal 007 Revlon sits on the judging panel and says ballroom is a safe space, and a brave space. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

“I want you to be able to bring me into your world, like this is your world and I’m just living in it.<\/p>\n

LGBTQI+ community support services<\/a><\/p>\n

ABCQueer\u00a0has compiled this list of national and state-based support services relevant to LGBTQI+ people, their families and friends.<\/p>\n

“Ballroom is sometimes a safe space, but it’s mostly a brave space, and it’s a space where you are required to be fearless and believe in yourself.”<\/p>\n

But if you fail to meet the requirements of the category, you face being chopped.<\/p>\n

For the femme queens<\/p>\n

Throughout the evening, commentators remind the audience that the event is about celebrating “femme queens”, ballroom terminology for trans women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lilo<\/p>\n

Lilo 007 puts on a fierce showing in the Victoria’s Secret inspired European Runway category. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

“A femme queen is a woman who owns her power no matter what,” Heidi Furia said.<\/p>\n

Once an online streamer, Heidi was encouraged by one of her viewers to explore the ballroom scene.<\/p>\n

Eventually, it led her to being welcomed into a community of trans women.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Winner, winner: Mother Leah Iman’s house triumphs in four categories. (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

“I met those women for the first time in my life, but it really felt like I knew them for so many years,” she says.<\/p>\n

“It felt really nice to be around people who are just like me.”<\/p>\n

Stepping onto the stage with her house, Heidi says she is living her dream.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Ballroom is so important because in this climate, this is where our queer youth need to be celebrated, understood, accepted and lifted up,” Heidi said.<\/p>\n

\"Cyrus<\/p>\n

Cyrus Iman takes Kylie Minogue ‘Padam Padam’ red to new heights in the European Runway category.\u00a0 (ABC News: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

“We need to be able to feel like we can conquer this world just as much as anyone else.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A dozen performers donning angelic white and crimson outfits dance along a runway to thunderous applause from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448363,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,77328,134,232056,76066,190703,232059,38174,77898,232060,232057,232058],"class_list":["post-448362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ballroom","tag-entertainment","tag-fantasy-ball","tag-gay","tag-lesbian","tag-lgbtiqa-people-of-colour","tag-queer","tag-state-library-of-victoria","tag-transgender-ball","tag-vogue-fem","tag-voguing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}