Ballroom by Era — Google Arts & Culture

Explore nine eras of Ballroom

Golden Era White Era Red Era Black Era Blue Era Green Era Yellow Era Orange Era Purple Era

Online Exhibit

Derek Prada Murphy Explains the Different Eras of Ballroom

Ballroom's legend and scholar explains how he developed the different historical eras of ballroom–and why

Golden Era: 1967-1973

Black and Brown trans women join together to create a space of their own

The birth of Ballroom

A celebration of Black and Brown LGBTQ+ beauty

Let's start with Duchess La Wong

Explore images from the archive of one of Ballroom's Founding Mothers

More pioneers to know

RR Chanel International Mother Avis Pendavis Pepper Labeija

"This world was made for me too, honey." - Octavia St Laurent

White Era: 1974-1985

Pioneering era of Ballroom

Setting the stage

Expanding Ballroom to male-identitfying performers and the orgins of voguing

Red Era: 1986-1990

The Red Era marks the new bloodlines of Ballroom and the onset of HIV/AIDS

Red Era

New Bloodlines: 25 Established Houses in 4 Years

Redefining family for Black and Brown LGBTQ+ youth

Uniting community for a cause

Raising consciousness on AIDS

Love Ball Aids Benefit

Aids Benefit at the Palladium

Palladium NYC Benefit

NYC Aids Benefit

Grandest Grand March Ever Aids Benefit

Palladium NYC Benefit

Black Era: 1991-1998

Ballroom is propelled into mainstream culture, as the community is ravaged by HIV/AIDS

Ballroom Hits the Mainstream

As ballroom expands, ballroom's ties to the Black Liberation Movement go overlooked

“I had never met another Black queer kid. To see kids actively identifying that way, as queer and Black, was amazing. I was like, 'oh my god, there are people like me!'” — Miasha "Meeka" Forbes

Blue Era: 1998-2005

A new dawn for Ballroom

Blue era

Technology's impact in documenting ball culture

The rise of the internet brought more importance to status

Meet the Icons of the Blue Era

More on Frank Mizrahi More on Meeka Forbes

Green Era: 2005-2011

Ball culture is now a click away, and a global audience is learning its magic

The Internet and Ballroom

Ballroom's reach goes global

From VHS Tapes to DVDs to YouTube

Highlights are going digital

Yellow Era: 2011-2016

The last underground era of Ballroom

From the margins to the spotlight

Ballroom becomes part of an HBO series, celebrity culture, and popularized language

"For me, the Yellow Era represents that transformation from underground into mainstream media." — Malik Miyake Mugler

Orange Era: 2016-2022

The era of freedom

Orange Era

They Walked so We Could Run

The Black, Blue, and Yellow eras walked so Orange could soar

Meet the new faces

Lil James Khan West

Lola Gorgeous Gucci

Purple Era: 2022-Now

Huge milestones for Ballroom culture and the transgender community

Reaching new heights

Ballroom helps increase the visiblity of the Trans community

Continue the journey

Explore

Back to Ballroom

Explore

Meet Ballroom's Icons

Explore

Derek Prada Murphy Explains the Different Eras of Ballroom

Ballroom's legend and scholar explains how he developed the different historical eras of ballroom–and why

Golden Era: 1967-1973

Black and Brown trans women join together to create a space of their own

The birth of Ballroom

Let's start with Duchess La Wong

Explore images from the archive of one of Ballroom's Founding Mothers

More pioneers to know

White Era: 1974-1985

Pioneering era of Ballroom

Setting the stage

Red Era: 1986-1990

The Red Era marks the new bloodlines of Ballroom and the onset of HIV/AIDS

Red Era

New Bloodlines: 25 Established Houses in 4 Years

Uniting community for a cause

Raising consciousness on AIDS

Love Ball Aids Benefit

Aids Benefit at the Palladium

Palladium NYC Benefit

NYC Aids Benefit

Grandest Grand March Ever Aids Benefit

Palladium NYC Benefit

Black Era: 1991-1998

Ballroom is propelled into mainstream culture, as the community is ravaged by HIV/AIDS

Ballroom Hits the Mainstream

Blue Era: 1998-2005

A new dawn for Ballroom

Technology's impact in documenting ball culture

The rise of the internet brought more importance to status

Meet the Icons of the Blue Era

Green Era: 2005-2011

Ball culture is now a click away, and a global audience is learning its magic

The Internet and Ballroom

From VHS Tapes to DVDs to YouTube

Highlights are going digital

Yellow Era: 2011-2016

The last underground era of Ballroom

From the margins to the spotlight

Orange Era: 2016-2022

The era of freedom

They Walked so We Could Run

The Black, Blue, and Yellow eras walked so Orange could soar

Meet the new faces

Lil James Khan West

Lola Gorgeous Gucci

Purple Era: 2022-Now

Huge milestones for Ballroom culture and the transgender community

Reaching new heights

Continue the journey

Back to Ballroom

Meet Ballroom's Icons

More Pride stories