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Andoe’s Society Page: The Meteoric Rise of St. Louis’ Vogue Ball Scene | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

April 6, 2023

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click to enlarge VERTRELL YATES At Maven Logik Lee’s TENS at the HandleBar, a ballroom event.
Only a few years ago, our local vogue ball scene felt very underground. I remember following my map through frozen, desolate east-side streets to a seemingly abandoned building. I thought perhaps the affair had been canceled, and then I noticed tire marks in the snow leading down a dark, narrow alley to a rear entrance illuminated by a single bulb. While events still happen in venues like that, these days you’re just as likely to find balls at the Contemporary Art Museum, Washington University or in hot Grove nightclubs such as HandleBar — and you’re likely to meet people who traveled hundreds, maybe even thousands, of miles to be part of them.Our scene’s meteoric rise is often credited to Meko Lee Burr, Kece Juicy Couture, Vanessa Frost and Maven Logik Lee — a 33-year-old producer who returned to us from New York in 2021. At the time, he told me, “I want to connect our scene with better venues, new sponsors, and more safe spaces.” Now, we’re seeing his vision come to life. On March 4, I was in the green room before Lee’s “The Future is Femme Ball” in Wash. U.’s stately Danforth University Center interviewing Jack Gucci, star of FX’s Pose and HBO Max’s Legendary. Gucci, one of several big names who flew to town, was the celebrity emcee. He said he’s always heard that St. Louis had great Chinese food, and he found that to be true after dining at Lefty’s Fried Rice. Our interview was interrupted when a Los Angeles performer pulled him aside. “I need to warn you about the DJ situation,” she said in a hushed tone.Apparently, the DJ — a last-minute replacement who had never worked a ball — was offended when instructed on what music to play and when. click to enlarge Vertrell Yates Left to right: Icon Jack Gucci of New York City, Legendary Isla Ebony of Los Angeles, Legendary Maven Logik Lee, Keekee GZ of Dallas, Jeter Gucci of Indiana, Shonte Gucci of Cincinnati, DJ Kimmy Nu, Dr. Dominique Williams, Dom Bodega of Minneapolis, Kira Delcore, Javon Delcore.
Gucci returned. “Anti-LGBT laws are being rolled out all over the country. I want to show the people what a safe space looks like.” He recalled when Lee was just a face in the crowd and watching him evolve into a stand-up leader of his own organization. On the mic, the warm and charismatic Gucci heaped praise on the DJ on several occasions, masterfully diffusing any hard feelings. But honoring people is at the core of Ballroom: During the opening — in what’s called Legends, Statements, Stars — one by one the performers are introduced and then strut, dance and perform on the runway while a commentator hypes them as the crowd roars. Burr is among the city’s finest commentators, and at Lee’s event, he invited me to attend one of his upcoming balls at the Contemporary Art Museum. He later put me in touch with Michelle Dezember, CAM’s director of learning and engagement. I asked how CAM got involved with the Ballroom community.“I was excited when Maxi Glamour approached CAM about hosting Black Friday Ball at the museum in 2020,” Dezember begins. “Balls are incredibly inclusive and supportive spaces, and I see how getting to collaborate and share the space with Maxi as well as Meko Lee Burr, Vanessa Frost, Maven Logik Lee and so many more has shaped the museum for the better. We’ve hosted three balls at CAM — as a community space, the museum still resonates from all the good energy that comes from queer, Black creative expression!” click to enlarge VERTRELL YATES “The Future is Femme” Ball at Washington University. Marlon Bailey, author of Butch Queens Up in Pumps, will be facilitating a conversation with Julian K. Glover and Maxi Glamour about queer theory, Black LGBTQ cultural formations and performance at CAM on Wednesday, April 26. Bailey says, “The fact that there is a resurgence of the Ballroom scene in St. Louis is a testament to how this community goes a long way in meeting the cultural and social needs of its Black LGBTQ+ members, many of whom experience violence, and societal marginalization and dispossession.”As St. Louis Ballroom moves uptown, drawing celebrities, intellectuals and the glitterati, I was curious to know if those I first came to know voguing in the back alley venues had come along for the ride. Lee says the answer is yes. “People had the feeling of not being accepted enough to be seen in nice places,” he said. “Folx used to think, and it was true, that people thought Ballroom was too gritty, dirty, violent, etc. to be in nice places.” Participants now feel safer, “fab,” and more seen. In only a few short years, Lee and a handful of others have catapulted St. Louis to the upper echelon of the global Ballroom scene, all while elevating and nurturing a generation of marginalized young people — a generation who will be able to fly because Lee built them a runway.
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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

7 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

7 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

7 months ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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