Keyword Ball Culture

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

Kicked out of his home for being gay, a young man (Ephraim Sykes) finds a new family with Los Angeles drag queens.

The icons from the "Harlem Drag Balls" are influencing the biggest stars in pop culture for decades and they are telling their untold stories of their time. The creative lifestyle, fierceness and fabulousness, is the ultimate challenge in fashion, on the runway and dance floor for recognition and fame. Wolfgang Busch is capturing the creative way society's disenfranchised express themselves through movement and creativity.

25 years after Paris is Burning, we dive back into the fierce world of voguing battles in the Kiki scene of New York City, where competition between Houses demands leadership, painstaking practice, and performances on point. A film collaboration between Kiki gatekeeper, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and Swedish filmmaker Sara Jordenö, we’re granted exclusive access into this high stakes world, where tough competitions act as a gateway into the daily lives of LGBTQ youth of color in NYC. The new generation of ballroom youth use the motto, “Not About us Without Us”. Twiggy and Sara’s insider-outsider approach to their stories breathes fresh life into the representation of a marginalized community who demand visibility and real political power.

The lives of three LGBTQ homeless youths who congregate on Christopher St. in New York City.

Ninja is famous around the world for her fierce ballroom performances, but she is not as well-known in her native country of French Guyana. But a trip home to teach a workshop might change that.

A dance musical that explores the juxtaposition of several segments of 1980s life and society in New York: the ball culture world, the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe and the downtown social and literary scene.

Pulling directly from the underground ballroom community, voguing teams (aka "houses") must compete in unbelievable balls and showcase sickening fashion in order to achieve "legendary" status.

Take a look into the world of New York's queer vogue ballroom scene. Follow the lives of 4 fabulous voguers and 1 incredible commentator as they prepare to compete, face personal challenges and strive to take their lives to the next level.