Hofstra University’s Queer and Trans People of Color Coalition (QTPOCC) hosted the Lavender Ball on Thursday, Nov. 13 in the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center Multipurpose Room. The event ran from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and aimed to celebrate LGBTQ+ ballroom culture with student and guest performances.
QTPOCC began planning the Lavender Ball last spring. They sold tickets in advance starting on Oct. 28.
“We just started to think of different ideas to bring more people to QTPOCC and [to teach them] what we do on campus and that we’re here,” said club President and junior linguistics major Juanita Collins.
Collins and the rest of QTPOCC’s e-board focused on themes and performances that would bring meaning to important aspects of the club’s message.
“Lavender is a very important color to our community,” Collins said. “It’s always been an important color representing resilience, remembrance and a lot of other things in our community.”
Before the event, QTPOCC turned to Instagram to explain why lavender is an essential color to the community. They talked about how the color was often used in marches on a sash or armband to honor victims from the 1969 Stonewall Riots, a series of violent encounters between gay rights activists and police in New York City.
A statement from the club’s Instagram read, “Now, lavender is seen as a symbol of empowerment and a general ‘streak’ of color to represent the LGBTQ+ community.”
Following the theme, attendees dressed in different shades of lavender, a feature aimed to continue highlighting the significance of the color and its meaning.
“I like purple, so I was easily persuaded,” said Emma Willens, a junior psychology major. “I think it’s cool seeing people come together and seeing everyone all dressed up.”
Two dance groups, a Caribbean and Afrobeat style group called Creativz and Hofstra’s K-pop group Azure, opened the event with performances.
“I love any opportunity to perform,” said Aki White, Creativz dancer and junior finance major. “So whenever my dance team is notified that there’s an event and they want [us] to dance, it always makes me excited.”
After the dance performances, the E-Board of QTPOCC introduced themselves and gave an overview of the importance behind ballroom culture, specifically for queer and trans people of color. They aimed to emphasize the community found in the roots of ballroom and the history that goes with it.
“I’m hoping that this event will lead more people to QTPOCC and know that there is a club specifically for people of color, but specifically, queer people of color on this campus,” Collins said. “I hope attendees leave knowing their history and just being willing to step out of their comfort zone into more spaces on campus and just not being afraid to be themselves.”
Ballroom culture highlights a sense of belonging to many queer identifying people, and focuses on safe spaces, queer culture and exploration. Following the presentation, two members from The Royal House of LaBeija took the floor. The Royal House of LaBeija is a significant house and community in correlation to ballroom culture. They are known for their mission to bring belonging and inspiration to artists through ballroom culture.
Their performance utilized voguing, a style of dance that originated from the Harlem ballroom scene and named after Vogue fashion magazine. Through their stylized moves, both performers engaged with music and storytelling. Voguing mainly consists of posed or sharp dance moves and can be performed in various categories, generating a bubbling creative outlet for different styles.
The diverse performances at the Lavender Ball fostered the idea of expressionism, something highly valued in ballroom culture. It also brought in attendees both familiar and unfamiliar with ballroom culture.
The Lavender Ball is only one of QTPOCC’s many events focused on inclusion and belonging. On Dec. 1, in room 145 of the Student Center, they are holding a “Warm Wishes and Affirmations” event.