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On Saturday, laser lights and blasting dance music lit up Syracuse University’s Schine Student Center for the third annual HalloQueen Ball. A crowd of dressed-up students – ranging from a bloodied bride to a costume of nothing but a corset, thong and assless chaps – danced with friends before enjoying the night’s activities.

“We just want to celebrate authentic queer culture, embrace our students and make sure they have a fun time,” said Emily Stewart, the event’s organizer and director of SU’s LGBTQ+ Resource Center.

The HalloQueen Ball created community connections and introduced SU students to Ballroom culture as a celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month’s end. Ballroom culture is a subculture within the LGBTQ+ community that originated in the Black LGBTQ+ community.

Stewart and co-organizer Jordan McGee both started working at the LGBTQ+ Resource Center about two months before the ball. Amid the struggle to quickly curate LGBTQ+ History Month events, they prioritized students’ ideas, especially ones they wanted to see return, like the HalloQueen Ball.

“We’re doing what the students want,” McGee said. “If the students want something, then we fill in the pieces on how we make that happen.”

Delaney Hendrick, an SU junior, judge and event planner, helped Stewart and McGee with planning aspects of the night. She and other student organizers decided themes for the categories, decor and the menu.

Hendrick said the resource center’s student staff aims to put on events for SU students to feel safe in their authentic selves. Organizers know some people at the ball may not be out in their personal lives, but hosting events like this are an opportunity for those students to interact with fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The student-led plans were beneficial to both the attendees and the planners themselves.

“I personally have enjoyed feeling myself and being able to bring my thoughts to the table as a queer person who works here,” Hendrick said. “I think it really does make a difference, all events like this.”

Sean Sterling | Staff Photographer

Syracuse University’s Schine Student Center was embellished with dark, Halloween-themed decorations for the third annual HalloQueen Ball. Attendees participated in various activities throughout the night.

The ball held four categories for attendees to either watch or compete in: face, runway, voguing, a dance specific to Ballroom culture, and bizarre, a costume competition. Judges from the resource center “chopped” students for less intriguing performances or gave contestants “10s across the board” until there was a winner for each category.

To teach students about the historical roots of the ball and how to participate in the event categories, central New York drag queen Sparkle Royale led a workshop the afternoon before the ball. Julia Bolukh, a fifth-year architecture student and second-time participant in the ball, said she learned about the elements of Ballroom culture through Royale’s workshop.

Though she has a professional dance background, voguing was different from anything Bolukh had done before. Consisting of elements like spins, dips, catwalks, and hand and floor performances, voguing is improvisational and individualized to each dancer.

“(Voguing) was probably the most scared I’ve ever felt when it came to dance. This was harder because you really have to be in tune with yourself and really ready to put it all out there,” Bolukh said.

Bolukh said she spends significant time abroad for school and dance, making it difficult for her to experience these inclusive and educational spaces, so she was grateful for the workshop.

With Madonna’s song “Vogue” and RuPaul’s Drag Race allowing Ballroom culture to become more mainstream in pop culture, Bolukh said it’s important to be aware of the dance’s history and original purpose of creating a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Stewart said events like HalloQueen Ball play an essential role in maintaining these safe, inclusive spaces on campus, where students feel empowered to express their identities.

“As a queer person, being able to share a space like that and give homage to (ballroom culture) is so important, because those are often the communities, here in Syracuse or in other areas, that feel like they don’t have that representation,” Stewart said.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Jordan McGee’s name. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on October 27, 2024 at 10:24 pm