Members of The House of Unbothered Cartier shared their ballroom experience in a panel and interactive ball put together by Professor Jenny Davis and the SMU Women’s and LGBT Center on Tuesday, Feb. 11 in the Owens Arts Center.
Professor Davis had each member introduce themselves and educate the audience on the history of ballroom.
“Ballroom is a dance and it’s also a community. It came out of New York City in the late 70s and 80s from the black and brown gay community where they’ve been disenfranchised by the city and society at large, but also shut out of mainstream, white gay society and the drag scene,” she said. “Inspired by fashion and inspired by family, they created the ballroom scene.”
Following the short panel, the night transitioned into one filled with music, clapping and encouragement as the performances started to unfold. The first performance consisted of the five members dancing, vogueing and strutting up and down the runway in circus-themed outfits, wowing the audience with each movement and drop. As “Circus” by Britney Spears played in the background, the audience clapped along.
House member and commentator of the event, BoiBoi, started his ballroom journey after seeing clips on YouTube. In January 2024, with hopes of finding his “team,” he joined the ballroom scene.
“I seen the love, then I seen the support. I don’t do sports, I never was a sports guy and I always wanted to have a team behind me,” BoiBoi said. “And so seeing how ballroom and how people literally will stand up for you, and be there for you and support you inside and out of a ball. I was like, ‘I want that.’”
The remainder of the evening was filled with a community ball, allowing audience members to compete against each other in three categories; best dressed, runway and performance.
Following a demonstration by a house member, Professor Davis was the first audience member to present their style on the runway. Among the participants was freshman Grace Chehlaoui, a member of the SMU cheer team, who participated in the runway and performance categories.
“I’m less of a dancer, so it’s kind of fun to experiment in dancing and all that kind of stuff,” Chehlaoui said. “It was definitely a different environment for me but it was so fun being watched and being seen by everyone.”
For any new ballroom enthusiasts, Wednesday nights at Marty’s Live (4207 Maple Ave) in Dallas is the place to go.
“If you’re in the Dallas area, I definitely would say Wednesday nights at 11:30 come to Marty’s,” BoiBoi said. “It’s a predominantly gay club but that’s pretty much the heartbeat of our ballroom scene out here.”
Katie Bergelin contributed to the reporting of this story.
