Queens in New York City have to be everything. We have actors, we have dancers, we have singers, we have poets, we have designers, we have fashion, art, everything all in 157 blocks. New York City is the home of performance. What makes New York City queens different than other queens? I’ve only ever felt ashamed for being as big as I am in drag outside of my own city. I actually didn’t realize what am impact my size made until I started travelling and doing drag because girls who aren’t from your city and who don’t know you, are vicious. Any queen at any size that does that will get a reaction. My size has never stopped me from dancing or doing a death drop or doing a split or doing all the Drag Queen 101 moves.
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In New York City it’s not necessarily your size that matters, it’s how entertaining you can be.
#Viva gay bar nyc plus#
As a bigger girl, do you experience any drawbacks being plus sized? Women are often judged based on their body type especially in the entertainment industry.
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I do move a lot and there was one night where I was going for a pirouette and one of the floor tiles at this bar was loose so when I spun on it it spun with me and I fell and twisted my ankle and it took me out of commission for two weeks. I fancy myself a dancing queen even though I’m 407 million pounds. Have you even been injured while performing? On any given Friday night for my show I could probably be wearing $450 – $500 worth of outfit, hair and shoes. If you really really want to do it, you’re going to have to come out of pocket. You can’t just do drag for funsies anymore. I think now, especially with Drag Race being what it is, the standard that it’s kind of set – at least if you want to get on the show- it’s an investment. That’s pretty shady, also you must not know about me if you think you’re going to come to my gig and steal it. I was looking for queens and I decided to give a queen I rarely work with a shot at hosting the show with me and I found out after we finished the show that during my number she tried to steal my gig by talking to the bar owner who was bartending at the time. What’s the shadiest thing another queen has ever done to you?įlorence D’lee had to call out again because she was designing a dress for Sasha Velour, so I think that’s a pretty good excuse. Long story short, by the end of that number, I had broken the mic stand, I broke a chair and I ripped the gold sequin and was standing on stage in only my undergarments.
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I was going to go from this gold sequin gown, rip it away to reveal a black leotard number all while singing. It was week 4 of the Ultimate Drag Pageant that is held at The West End. I didn’t even know I could do it and I did it and I did it well and I got to keep all the tips so that’s always nice (laughing). I was terrified of doing a three-hour show by myself but once the ball started rolling it just sort of went and after I just felt so proud. We had booked three hours and I ended up having to do it all by myself. I think my best night in drag thus far has been when the other girl who I host the show with, Florence D’Lee, had to call out on our anniversary. I’m a Latina queen and ‘viva’ means ‘to live’ and that really spoke to me and I just really like Vidalia onions and it kind of went, so (laughs) ‘long live the onion’.
#Viva gay bar nyc series#
This weekly series highlights the queens who stand out from the crowd and rock those heels til they bleed.
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#Viva gay bar nyc how to#
There’s a difference, though, between learning how to just paint your face and turning that face into a work of fucking art. You can’t throw a rock without hitting some twink in a dress thinking he’s got what it takes to shantay down the runway just because he’s seen every season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race while practicing YouTube makeup tutorials. There is no shortage of drag queens in NYC. 0 Shares Share on Facebook Share on Twitter