The Femme Queendom Ball

The ballroom scene at the House

The ballroom scene at the House began in the early twentieth century with the rise of "faerie balls" and drag parades during the Harlem Renaissance. The modern form was founded in 1968 in response to racism within the LGBT community in New York. Crystal LaBeija, a prominent figure in the city's drag contests and pageants, publicly broke away from the predominantly white gay male scene that year. She founded a separate ballroom circuit that welcomed black and Latino gay men, lesbians and transgender people.