Grand March

Ballroom was created for and by Black and Latinx-American trans women and queer people in the 1970s in Harlem, in New York City. Organizers opposed the established, often racist pageants by holding balls for, with, and by LGBTIQ+ people of color. During a ball, queer, trans, and cis participants compete in various categories, including fashion, realness, body, and performance, and winning trophies, cash prizes, and respect. The balls are lively underground events, a manifestation of resistance to the predominance of cisnormative society. Ever since the emergence of these balls, ballroom has remained a flourishing subculture. Many people active in the ballroom scene are members of a “house.” Houses represent a group of people who have chosen each other as “family,” providing a safe home where there is space for every individual.

The exhibition is on view at the stately Willet-Holthuysen House, part of the Amsterdam Museum, on the Herengracht in Amsterdam. This double mansion is comprised of several period rooms, including a 19th-century ballroom and a French-style symmetrical garden, and is home to numerous impressive historical objects. Programming at the Willet-Holthuysen House includes exhibitions which illuminate the former residence and its past from different perspectives. Each presentation highlights a different aspect of the house.