Legacy Cyber Ball: 2000's Nostalgia

Legacy Ball is a Kiki function that showcases Ballroom the way that it was first experienced during the times of its reverberation through New York, and later Europe, and now brings it right to the heart of Cape Town.

In the spirit of innovation and exploration, this July will host a 'Legacy Cyber Ball: 2000’s Nostalgia.' In the lead up to the Ball on the 6th of July, we chatted to Léa Debbah from Edition Events, who has hosted hundreds of events and parties over the past 4 years, successfully creating spaces for queer and minority people in the our city. in partnership with House of Le Cap, Léa's passion around enabling others to create and to bring their magic into the space, has helped in making Legacy Ball an incredible celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.

About Legacy Ball: 

Ballroom or Ball is the term to describe what started as an underground LGBTQ+ subculture. That has since grown and flourished into a global counter cultural phenomenon. Originated by young African-American and Latinx American individuals in America, in which people walk (or compete) for prizes and status at events known as Balls.

In 2017 Kirvan Fortuin established the House of Le Cap, the first premiere ballroom house in Africa, after a chance meeting with the Mother of the House of Vineyard in Amsterdam. The community has grown exponentially since then, and it’s this that we celebrate and continue to honour, since a homophobic attack took Kirvan’s life in 2020. Legacy Ball is a commitment to creating and supporting safe queer spaces, where underrepresented communities can flourish in the face of the social status quo.

SL: When and how did Legacy Ball start?

LD: The father of the House Of Le Cap Rori Bingham had the idea of hosting a function that would celebrate the life of their late mother, Kirvan Fortuin, as well as to create a platform for the members of the house to shine. It has come a long way since its inception in October 2022 with both Father and Mother of the house, along with Edition Events, bringing unique and fresh themed Balls that are not to be missed, becoming a key and highlighted event to attend.

SL: Why did you decide on Legacy as the name of your event?

LD: The name Legacy represents the Legacy of Muva Kirvan Le Cap as well as the legacy they left behind, and that continues with the current members of House of Le Cap. These 7 members are a unique blend of Queer individuals representing diversity at its finest, whose values include but are not limited to inclusivity, tolerance, love, family and safety.

SL: What separates your event from other parties?

LD: It’s the only party in Cape Town that celebrates the queer community and gives space for all it encompasses.

Ballroom:
Ballroom is the term to describe an underground LGBTQ+ subculture originated by young African-American and Latin American in New York City, USA, in which people walk for prizes and status.

Safe space open to all:
A safe space for all queer people women, femme presenting people and straight allies.

Multicultural:
A platform built for underrepresented communities and designed to unite, empower, and inspire the next generation.

Curated and unique event:
High level local and international talents on performance, high production and each function has a different style and aesthetic regarding the theme.

SL: How do you decide on a theme for each Legacy Ball?

LD: We look at current pop culture events, fashion movements and trends. Sometimes taking references from movies that are popular or nostalgic of the time of the Ball.

SL: What does a typical night at Legacy Ball look like?

LD: A night at legacy is filled with excitement, joy, laughter and celebration. There are great Djs, live tattoos and incredible entertainment.

SL: What is an unexpected yet important aspect of the Legacy Ball?

LD: The fashion. Most participants create their own costumes to walk, ensuring they align with the theme. To give everyone enough time to prepare their costumes, we need to post the event details at least 6 weeks in advance.

SL: We love the competition aspect of the event, talk to us through this – how do you decide on judges, hosts, performers and how winners are chosen?

LD: Winners are chosen from the judges panel, they have to get their 10’s first then compete between each other for grand prize . We typically source judges from our community be it a Drag artist, relevant queer individual or someone from the ballroom community.

SL: Tell us a bit more about the various winning categories and why you’ve chosen these specific awards?

LD: The categories are typical for a Ball, namely. Runway, Best Dressed, Sex Siren, Vogue Performance and Face. We do have some new categories that we have added but as we are still a relatively new scene we like to keep it simple. Categories are also dependent on the theme of the event, for example if we want to see an extreme high conceptual look with a story we would typically have Bizzare. African performance is a significant category in the African Ballroom scene as this was introduced by our late mother Kirvan Le Cap and was created to introduce the queer community to ballroom.



SL: What similar types of events do you look to for inspiration?

LD: We look to the international ballroom community for example OTA in the USA.

SL: Do you plan to expand Legacy Ball elsewhere?

LD: Johannesburg and to provinces that don't really have a booming queer community.

SL: What do you hope people take away from their time at Legacy Ball?

LD: That this is the place to be and its a place that you tell your friends about. We hope that they leave feeling happy and content.

SL: What are you most looking forward to about the upcoming event?

LD: We look forward to seeing what people bring to the runway! the looks of the energy in the room and hoping to be sold out!

Legacy Cyber Ball will take place on the evening of the 6th of July 2024 at Heart Collective in Woodstock, Cape Town

THEME
In the spirit of innovation and exploration, we welcome you to the Legacy Cyber Ball ~ 2000’s Nostalgia. Embark on a mission to uncover the secrets of the digital realm, where technology met the thrilling world of gaming and fashion. Will you be the next to reign supreme as you battle for your 10’s, fight for the grand prize, and place your digital footprint in the Winners Hall of Fame?

CATEGORIES
FACE
BEST DRESSED
SEX SIREN
REALNESS
VOGUE FEMME

PRIZES
R1000 Cash prize for the winners!

RUNNING ORDERS
19:00 Doors open 
21:00 Opening Function
00:00 After Party

DRINKS, FOOD, COAT CHECK AVAILABLE. 420 Friendly.

Tickets available HERE