In support of the LGBTQ+ community, LGBriTs and Union Board co-sponsored Albion’s annual Drag Show. The show took place on Friday at the KC Stack with performances by professional drag queens and student performers who signed up with LGBriTs beforehand.
Divine Dance, one of Albion’s student dance groups, opened the show with a number that used their own choreography.
Gabriella Stratton Galore, a professional drag queen from Grand Rapids, returned to host the show. She performed her own numbers, introduced the performers, and answered any questions the audience had about Drag. She called this “Drag 101” and answered questions about the process of getting into costume and performing.
Not only did Galore entertain the audience with her humor and “Drag 101” course, she also brought two of her colleagues with her, Donatella and Cyber Larose. Both drag queens performed twice.
“[Drag queens] put a lot of emotion and style into what is really feminine, which can be hard,” said Jessica Garcia, a sophomore from Chicago, IL who performed at the event as Mini Bruno Mars.
Alexander Valdez, a sophomore from Houston, TX, who also performed at the event, said that he was nervous about performing, as he didn’t know what others will think or say about his act.
Drag is a phenomenon that has become increasingly popular. It is an art form in which individuals dress up as certain characters, generally men will dress as women and women as men. After becoming this persona, they give a performance, usually a singing or lip-syncing act, in which they are drag queen or king.
“I think a drag show is very important, it goes beyond what gender is,” said Garcia. “You don’t have to specifically be gay or straight or in the LGBT community, as long as you feel comfortable playing a persona.”
Hoping to spread culture that isn’t seen as often, Jose Rodriguez, a junior from Houston, TX performed two different times as Tasty.
“I wanted for the event to be more about having a good time [and] getting exposed to a culture that most people don’t get to see everyday,” said Rodriguez.
All proceeds from the event will go toward the Trevor Project, a national organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to the LGBTQ community.
“[The Drag Show] is a chance [for students] to participate in something that they probably never participated in,” said Rodriguez. “But the number one thing about this event is for charity because we’re donating all of the proceeds to the Trevor Project.”
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