By Antoine Craigwell

Channeled by the confines of police crowd control barricades, a line of people extended from the front of the Roseland Ballroom on West 52nd Street on Saturday, August 23. Snaking around the corner to Broadway those in line waited patiently for security clearance to enter the Ballroom for Gay Men's Health Crisis' (GMHC) 18th Annual Latex Ball.



 

 
 
 
 
In the history of Balls and Houses, according to Bill Stackhouse, director of the Institute at GMHC, the event sponsor, this Ball was the means by which this health support non-profit agency for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community could provide education about safer sex practices. It is one in a series of Balls which are the showpieces of different Houses and is an event, based on the fashion and behavior of the Harlem Renaissance, the artistry of "vogue-ing," and in the participation in different fashion related categories. At the Ball, LGBT men and women competed by strutting, gliding and sashaying on a runway to a mixture of techno and house music and to the raucous and derisive comments from the announcers and judged by a nine-member panel representing various areas of fashion and LGBT life in the city.

Competing for prizes, those who walked the runway, chose to dress representing different periods, from the 1950s button-down shirts and cardigans to loose or tight fitting clothes simulating the punk rock era.

 
 
Alphonso King, "Jade Electra"

According to Alphonso King, known in the Ball circuit as "Jade Electra," is DJ Relentless, who was a member of the House of La Bejia - the Balls were a form of validation for the participants: who needed to find their place and connect with their own sexual identity, who have dreams of fashion designing or modeling but were unable to afford to do so or were locked out from authentic or mainstream fashion houses, and who were mostly LGBT youth receiving acceptance from their peers and the LGBT community.

"Because it's our community and we had a relationship already with the Houses, we created the House of Latex project as a way to bring education and safe sex information to the Ball community," said Stackhouse.

 
 
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Declaring that this event was the largest event sponsored by GMHC for the LGBT community, Stackhouse said that the co-sponsors included New York City and New York State agencies, private funders and proceeds from the annual AIDS Walk. He added that this year's theme was also a celebration of the founding of "Ballenium" and a new Website, www.myballroomlife.com, with categories in the night's program highlighting the Ball's history.

According to Stackhouse, between three to five thousand people were expected for the Ball, and everyone entering were asked to complete a survey which asked questions from which the organizers compiled data for tracking basic community issues from year to year and to assist with more effective distribution of services.

 
 
 
Last year, Stackhouse said, the Latex Ball attracted close to four thousand people, and this year, the organizers expected about five thousand to attend. Most of the people, ranging from 18 to 24 years old, who attended the Ball, came predominantly from New York's five boroughs and from various parts of the East Coast. Planning for the Ball is the work of a committee of the heads of all the other Houses, who together with close to 40 volunteers put it all together. Along with the organization of the Ball, Stackhouse said that 20 different social service organizations had set up informational tables in the hall to distribute their materials.
 
 
 
But with a $50,000 price tag to produce the Ball, Stackhouse said, his Institute would break even if they were to charge at least $10 per person for entry, which didn't include the staff time billable costs.
At the Ball, GMHC offered HIV testing to all who attended and allowed those who were tested a VIP pass and access to an upstairs balcony.