Only a few years ago, our local vogue ball scene felt very underground. I remember following my map through frozen, desolate east-side streets to a seemingly abandoned building. I thought perhaps the affair had been canceled, and then I noticed tire marks in the snow leading down a dark, narrow alley to a rear entrance illuminated by a single bulb. While events still happen in venues like that, these days you’re just as likely to find balls at the Contemporary Art Museum, Washington University or in hot Grove nightclubs such as HandleBar — and you’re likely to meet people who traveled hundreds, maybe even thousands, of miles to be part of them.
Our scene’s meteoric rise is often credited to Meko Lee Burr, Kece Juicy Couture, Vanessa Frost and Maven Logik Lee — a 33-year-old producer who returned to us from New York in 2021. At the time, he told me, “I want to connect our scene with better venues, new sponsors, and more safe spaces.” Now, we’re seeing his vision come to life.
On March 4, I was in the green room before Lee’s “The Future is Femme Ball” in Wash. U.’s stately Danforth University Center interviewing Jack Gucci, star of FX's Pose and HBO Max's Legendary. Gucci, one of several big names who flew to town, was the celebrity emcee. He said he’s always heard that St. Louis had great Chinese food, and he found that to be true after dining at Lefty’s Fried Rice.
Our interview was interrupted when a Los Angeles performer pulled him aside. “I need to warn you about the DJ situation,” she said in a hushed tone.
Apparently, the DJ — a last-minute replacement who had never worked a ball — was offended when instructed on what music to play and when.
Vertrell Yates
Left to right: Icon Jack Gucci of New York City, Legendary Isla Ebony of Los Angeles, Legendary Maven Logik Lee, Keekee GZ of Dallas, Jeter Gucci of Indiana, Shonte Gucci of Cincinnati, DJ Kimmy Nu, Dr. Dominique Williams, Dom Bodega of Minneapolis, Kira Delcore, Javon Delcore.
Gucci returned. “Anti-LGBT laws are being rolled out all over the country. I want to show the people what a safe space looks like.” He recalled when Lee was just a face in the crowd and watching him evolve into a stand-up leader of his own organization.
On the mic, the warm and charismatic Gucci heaped praise on the DJ on several occasions, masterfully diffusing any hard feelings. But honoring people is at the core of Ballroom: During the opening — in what’s called Legends, Statements, Stars — one by one the performers are introduced and then strut, dance and perform on the runway while a commentator hypes them as the crowd roars.
Burr is among the city’s finest commentators, and at Lee’s event, he invited me to attend one of his upcoming balls at the Contemporary Art Museum. He later put me in touch with Michelle Dezember, CAM’s director of learning and engagement. I asked how CAM got involved with the Ballroom community.
“I was excited when Maxi Glamour approached CAM about hosting Black Friday Ball at the museum in 2020,” Dezember begins. “Balls are incredibly inclusive and supportive spaces, and I see how getting to collaborate and share the space with Maxi as well as Meko Lee Burr, Vanessa Frost, Maven Logik Lee and so many more has shaped the museum for the better. We've hosted three balls at CAM — as a community space, the museum still resonates from all the good energy that comes from queer, Black creative expression!”
Marlon Bailey, author of Butch Queens Up in Pumps, will be facilitating a conversation with Julian K. Glover and Maxi Glamour about queer theory, Black LGBTQ cultural formations and performance at CAM on Wednesday, April 26.
Bailey says, "The fact that there is a resurgence of the Ballroom scene in St. Louis is a testament to how this community goes a long way in meeting the cultural and social needs of its Black LGBTQ+ members, many of whom experience violence, and societal marginalization and dispossession."
As St. Louis Ballroom moves uptown, drawing celebrities, intellectuals and the glitterati, I was curious to know if those I first came to know voguing in the back alley venues had come along for the ride. Lee says the answer is yes.
“People had the feeling of not being accepted enough to be seen in nice places,” he said. “Folx used to think, and it was true, that people thought Ballroom was too gritty, dirty, violent, etc. to be in nice places.” Participants now feel safer, “fab,” and more seen.
In only a few short years, Lee and a handful of others have catapulted St. Louis to the upper echelon of the global Ballroom scene, all while elevating and nurturing a generation of marginalized young people — a generation who will be able to fly because Lee built them a runway.
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