You’ve heard of voguing and drag races — now witness the LGBTQ icons who originated them. Malgorzata Saniewska’s “The Ball” follows the House of Mizrahi’s inspirational claim to fame.
by Sofi Cisneros
See the documentary The Ball on February 24 @9:45 PM at LOOK Cinemas (657 West 57th Street) as part of New York City’s 12th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival. Tickets now on sale!
Drag and Dem queens voguing down a catwalk, rhythmically pulsating house beats and designer outfits that look fresh off the fashion week runway – New York City’s ballroom scene is unquestionably one of the most widely recognized subcultures. Polish photographer and filmmaker Malgorzata Saniewska knew this; after all, she’s been documenting New York City’s performance art scene since her initial move to the city from Warsaw in 2003. But what she didn’t know back in 2011, the year that she started filming The Ball, was that she’d walk away with not only over a decade worth of inspiring stories and footage from the ballroom community, but also an entirely new family of resilient and empowered ballroom icons.
“They taught me a lot about myself, about the importance of relationships, the importance of being there for each other, having a support system. They became my chosen family,” says Saniewska. “I didn’t intend for it, but it happened, so I love everything about them, and I’m just glad that they allow me and trust me enough to put them in my film.”
Narrated by legendary MC of the ballroom community, Jack Mizrahi, The Ball follows the House of Mizrahi, one of New York’s most renowned ballroom houses, which was founded in 1992. Beginning with faces like Chi Chi West during the house’s humble, Brooklyn-based beginnings and ending in Tokyo with current House Mother Koppi Mizrahi, Saniewska and Mizrahi take viewers on a 13 year whirlwind journey through the glitz and glamor of the House of Mizrahi’s rapid international growth and influence.
But amidst shimmery Versace dresses and perfectly timed dips (“It’s not called a death drop!” says West), are stories of LGBTQ strength in the face of adversity. Many members were often picked on at school, rejected by families, or struggled with substance abuse. The houses provided loving homes they never had and acted as safe havens from the social issues that afflicted the ballroom community.
“It’s all about a family connection,” says previous House of Mizrahi member, Omari Oricci. “It’s like we’re all woven together through ballroom, through our expression, through our categories, through competition.”
The houses are quite literally designed to mimic traditional families. Each house consists of a “House Mother” and “House Father” who preside over all the members, or the “children.” Just as traditional families teach their children how to navigate the real world, house parents and veterans made sure the members not only had a support system to call home, but encouraged them to get their diplomas, apply for jobs and stay in school, ultimately building up confidence that’s critical to stepping into the spotlight on the dance floor and beyond.
“We deserve a piece of the pie. We’re not just a bunch of queens sitting in the corner pandering and pretending to be something,” says Mizrahi. “We’re giving each other hope, we’re giving each other fuel and energy and inspiration to be like ‘Look, if you want to be a makeup artist, to be a CEO, go get it, work hard. Do not let being gay, trans, bi, being queer, be the reason why you can’t get what you need.’”
As Mizrahi members worked their way up the house’s ranks, many took on leadership roles by mentoring other children or giving back to local LGBTQ youth. In one scene, West was shown managing a Kiki, a youth-led initiative to engage kids in ballroom culture after school and supply them with a welcoming environment amidst the often chaotic and confusing times of teenage years. West attributes his maternal qualities to his mother’s unquestionable acceptance of his sexuality and the community of kids he hung out with everyday at Coney Island. The house offered him a platform to spread his nurturance with current and aspiring members.
“I call myself a butch queen mother because of the way that I give, the way that I nurture,” says West. “A lot of what I’ve been taught as a youth, a lot of what I’ve been taught by Jack and the elders around me, now I’m able to put into these kids and adults that need this guidance, that need love.”
The House of Mizrahi’s influence not only spread to local youth – it traveled to Chicago, Tokyo, Paris, Naples. Koppi Mizrahi, the first Asian Mizrahi member, was so moved by the house’s community and interested in ballroom culture that she contacted Andre Mizrahi, the house’s founder, and flew to the US to participate in a ball. Now, as the current House Mother, her efforts have created a beautiful fusion of both ballroom and Japanese culture and have grown the house to other Asian countries like Taiwan and the Philippines.
Although many members have left and are now pursuing other careers, the influence of the House of Mizrahi’s familial guidance can still be felt. Oricci has since established his own house, the House of Oricci, and now leads a dance company called Les Ballet Afrik. But it was Jack and Kelly Mizrahi’s mentorship that he’s carried on to the members of his house, he says.
“To be influenced by a culture that was very underground at first, and to see how it’s flourished, become international, to be able to travel to different countries, to other LGBT communities out there and share my knowledge – it’s like I’m passing the torch down to the next community out there who are not as fortunate as we are out here in the States,” says Oricci.
Unbeknownst to the general public, ballroom culture has influenced every corner of pop culture today. From vernacular like “miss thing” or the misuse of “fierce” to popular house beats, the ballroom community has been the originator of many aesthetic and stylistic fads currently roaming the mainstream trend cycle. Jack, Oricci, and West hope that The Ball will set the record straight and give credit where credit is due.
“Next time you see us come around the corner again in the ballroom vehicle for television, we’re not going to allow cisgender, gay, white males to be at the helm of it anymore. They’re not our saviors. We need to save ourselves,” says Jack. “Don’t give us a quarter piece of the pie. Don’t think we’re satisfied. We want the whole damn thing.”
West agrees, asserting that he “wants people to understand that ballroom is a part of black culture, that we are black excellence, that we are part of history. We can understand the historical context that black, queer, Latino people have existed for centuries, but it’s until recently that we’re fighting for our space, that we’re letting our true representation of our community come through unapologetically, that we’re taking back what’s ours.”
The Ball presents a long overdue spotlight to the black and brown LGBTQ members that have breathed life into not only the House of Mizrahi, but the entire ballroom community. From battling instability within their own homes to shining on the runway at balls, the House of Mizrahi’s members are and always have been loud, outspoken cultural and artistic forces to be reckoned with – Saniewska’s documentary just turns their volume up.
“They’ve been misjudged for decades, they’ve been mistreated, they’re been portrayed as something that they’re not,” says Saniewska. “My idea for the film was to portray every single character as the beautiful person they are and I hope everybody that sees the movie gives them the respect that they deserve.”
Sofi Cisneros
Sofi Cisneros is a junior at NYU studying Journalism, Social and Cultural Analysis and Politics. She reports on and writes about pop culture, the arts and fashion.
About Winter Film Awards
New York City’s 12th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival runs February 21-25 2024 in New York City and includes 82 outstanding films, a diverse mixture of animated films, documentaries, comedies, romances, dramas, horror films, music videos and web series of all lengths. Our five-day event is jam-packed with screenings and Q&A sessions at NYC’s LOOK Cinemas, six Education sessions/workshops and a variety of filmmaker networking events all coming to a glittering close on February 25 with our red-carpet gala Awards Ceremony.
Winter Film Awards is dedicated to showcasing the amazing diversity of voices in indie film and our 2024 lineup is 58% made by women and half by or about people of color. Filmmakers come from 23 countries and 41% of our films were made in the New York City area. 13 films were made by students and 26 are works from first-time filmmakers.
Winter Film Awards programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Promotional support provided by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment.
Visit https://winterfilmawards.com/wfa2024/ for more information.
