Pump, Create, Elevate: International Pathways of Community

International Pathways of Community brings together artists and cultural workers who share diasporic and migrant experiences, building on the solidarity work with which ballroom actors create and maintain networks of mutual support beyond the visibility of actual ball events, public appearances and online presence. Continuing the Pump, Create, Elevate series, this event explores how ballroom culture is connected to other artistic practices through community building, advocacy, and collective care.

In the first half of the session, Lucca will lead a chanting workshop aimed at beginners and anyone who wants to expand their knowledge and skills in this practice. Ballroom chanting, also known as commentating or MCing, is a central element of the scene. Commentators often use chants, rhymes, and repeated exclamations. With quick-witted wit, rhythm and a powerful voice, they get the audience in the mood, announce performers and lead through the competition.

The subsequent panel discussion will be the focus of the event. Stand-up comedienne Naya de Souza aka Federal Chancellor, dancer and performance artist Black Pearl de Almeida, MC and commentator Lucca as well as DJ Sirenessa talk about everyday work involving creating safer spaces, building networks of solidarity and mutual support, and giving space for new voices. The conversation also addresses the international scope of these activities and explores the question of how artists can build communities across geographical borders or what it means to create spaces of belonging while exposed to the circumstances of migration, diaspora and new beginnings.

In the last part of the event, a short performance by Black Pearl de Almeida and a comedy set by Naya de Souza aka Federal Chancellor offer different perspectives on identity, belonging, solidarity and the power of communities. The end is a DJ set by Sirenessa, which invites people to join forces on the dance floor.

Before and after the workshop, the hang-out space is a lounge area with bean bags and chairs where you can relax, exchange ideas and move around. It also contains various audiovisual, acoustic and printed materials about ballrooms. The relaxed atmosphere focuses on active learning through personal action. Simple language is used, which may contain explicit, non-youth-free expressions in places. The room has a flat floor and is accessible to wheelchair users.

The workshops welcome everyone who wants to expand their knowledge, skills or network. Since the ballroom culture was created by trans women of African, Central and South American and Caribbean origin and continues to focus on the lives and resilience of racialized and sexually diverse people, their participation is particularly welcome. It is a prerequisite for participation to pay attention to the space you occupy, to respect the dynamics of the space and to give priority to the groups in focus. In this environment and in any connection with HKW, there is no room and no tolerance for hate speech or hate actions of any kind.

Co-production, co-curation: the House of St. Laurent, Georgina Philp and Litchi Ly Friedrich