Ballroom

A gorgeous, authoritative, and image-filled celebration of pageantry and community created by ballroom culture for Black and Brown LGBTQIA+ people.

The subculture of Ballroom emerged in Harlem in the ‘60s out of a need for safe and inclusive spaces for Black and Brown queer people, in which family-like “Houses” competed at performative balls, allowing members of this marginalized groups to shine. Thanks to shows like Pose and Legendary, it has grown into a global phenomenon. It offers refuge from the threats and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community while also serving as a testament to the radical nature of queer joy with its pageantry and commitment to chosen family.

Ballroom: A History, A Movement, A Celebration is an exhaustively researched tome honoring where Ballroom began and where it is now. It explores how Ballroom has served the Black and Brown LGBTQIA+ community. Bringing both an authoritative and entertaining sweep to this hugely important and influential cultural sensation, this book is filled with photos, interviews, and stories, presenting a captivating, well-documented narrative about not only how to survive but how to do so fashionably, glamorously, and in the company of one another.

• “A dynamic overview of the Ballroom community . . . The volume’s most valuable contribution is its historical timeline: tracing Ballroom back to 19th-century drag balls, Roberson shows how this nightlife community has intersected with political and artistic movements from the Harlem Renaissance to AIDS activism.”
  Publishers Weekly
• “Roberson’s celebratory prose is enhanced by lively photographs of Ballroom celebrities, their runway triumphs, and thrilled audiences. As Aisha Diori, an activist, says, ‘Ballroom isn’t just about competition and extravagant costumes, vogue, and competition; it’s a safe haven, a family’ . . . An exuberant tribute to a vibrant and nurturing dance-club scene.”
  Kirkus Reviews