“Some of them say that we’re sick, we’re crazy. And some of them think that we are the most gorgeous, special things on Earth!” — Venus Xtravaganza
Even amongst the glittering constellation of performers featured in the epochal documentary of 1980s NYC ballroom culture Paris Is Burning, Venus Xtravaganza stood out. The film was a vibrant chronicle of the golden age of New York City drag balls and the Black, Latin, gay and transgender performers and communities who peopled them. In her early 20s at the time of filming, the trans Italian-American/Puerto Rican diva Xtravaganza lit up the screen every time she appeared, with quick wit, transcendent fashion and performance chops to spare.
The world, by all accounts, should have been hers for the taking. Which makes it even more of a cruel twist of fate that she was murdered in 1988 before the film’s release.
The doc is no period piece; it’s a moving portrait of a scene whose DNA can be found in so much of modern pop culture: slang, vogueing, pop stars stretching from Madonna to Lady Gaga, RuPaul’s Drag Race, fashion … we could go on for pages.
I’m Your Venus, a new documentary about Xtravaganza’s biological family and her chosen family in the House of Xtravaganza coming together to both get her cold case reopened and get her name changed posthumously, screens Saturday at the Mezz courtesy the Central Florida Ballroom Collective.
This We’re Your Venus event features a panel discussion and the Venus Mini Ball Deluxe, with local ballroom performers striking poses and serving face ferociously. Proceeds from the event go to the Gender Advancement Project.
“Initially, it was just going to be the screening and then the ball. But … I spoke with Jonovia [Chase, producer of the film and also a mother of the Legendary House of Xclusive Lanvin]. She said she would be interested in a panel to go over ballroom [history] and also Venus’ life,” JaQuaria “Egot” Wimberly, co-founder and board member of the Central Florida Ballroom Collective (also a singular and adventurous drag performer as Egot), tells Orlando Weekly.
Wimberly adds that this is a night “not only for the ballroom community, but also the trans and nonbinary communities in general, period.”
Wimberly’s own journey in the ballroom world began during the pandemic lockdown, where repeated watchings of the YouTube show My House led to bingeing the HBO Max series Legendary. Once she saw Eyricka Lanvin effortlessly push the camera out of her way mid-performance, she knew ballroom was for her.
Wimberly, as Egot, has since performed at functions as part of the House of Ebony and teaches ballroom classes in the greater Central Florida area. We’re Your Venus is her and her fellow organizers’ attempt to combine that love for the art form with a clear activist intent, a point made crystal-clear with a Trans Lifeline panel happening post-screening. The panel features Chase, Jasmine McKenzie of the McKenzie Project, Mulan Williams of Divas in Dialogue, Legendary Dada Ebony, Brittany Acuff of CREW Health, Ashley Figueroa of the Gender Advancement Project, Stxph Vianna of Ripple Hauxs and Zamyah Esters of I’m Just a Girl.
“I really want it to touch on what does advocacy, true advocacy, look like as opposed to performative activism. … We’re also going to touch on mental health within the ballroom scene, as well as for trans and nonbinary individuals,” says Wimberly. “With the exception of Brittany — she had access to resources for healthcare so it just made sense to bring her on — this is an all-trans and nonbinary panel. I feel like our voices need to be heard now more than ever, and need to be amplified.”
Speaking of the Gender Advancement Project, 50 percent of the proceeds from the evening go to the organization and the work they do helping trans folks get accurate passports and their names changed on driver’s licenses and state IDs.
And then, of course, there’s the ball. Yes, there will be vogueing, but that’s only one part of a rich array of performances on offer.
The categories for the evening — for which winners will be handsomely rewarded with cash prizes — are Face, Best Dressed, Body, Runway, Realness and Performance. Categories will seamlessly flow into one another as the MC, Tabu 007, keeps the flow of the evening frenetic and energy levels high with staccato rhythms and intricate wordplay. The audience has an integral part to play too: You may get called on to strut your own stuff, but you definitely have to respond in kind to the energy of the performers.
“We feed off of the crowd. So if you all are enjoying it and you’re loving what you see, definitely make noise,” says Wimberly. “Make it be known that you are loving what you see, especially for the people who are in the barroom scene who don’t really feel like they get that recognition.”
And even if you haven’t personally experienced ballroom live, much of this will quickly be familiar in the way the looks and moves have been assimilated into popular culture for decades.
“Once you see it in action, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ve seen that person do it.’ I’ve seen Janet Jackson do this move, and that’s because your superstars have been to these functions. They have dancers who have been in these functions,” explains Wimberly. “Prime example, Honey Balenciaga was on tour with Beyoncé. Everyone’s seen it.”
Despite the fierce roster of entertainers who will be in the house and doing their thing, Wimberly stresses that the entirety of the evening is as much about activism as it is aesthetics.
“We can’t just show a film and then go into a ball. We have to have people who are in these communities. There will be a lot of different trans and nonbinary organizations in the building,” says Wimberly. “Because it’s important, especially now.”
The goal is for We’re Your Venus to not be a one-off, but the beginning of more gatherings and collaborations.
I don’t want this to be the end. I want this to be the start, you know? This shouldn’t be something where it happens every blue moon. Just like we got support this time, we should get the same support every single time,” says WImberly. “Just so the access is still there for not only the trans community but also the ballroom community.”
This article appears in Sept. 10-16, 2025.
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