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124 FOUR “It’s Gonna Get Severe Up in Here” Ball Events, Ritualized Performance, and Black Queer Space I don’t wanna see just spinning; I don’t wanna see just dipping. Bitches vogue! This is performance. (Selvin Kahn, Ballroom commentator)1 I wanna see a nasty battle at the front line on a horse’s saddle girls get ready, get ready attack let’s go to war like we’re in Iraq. (Neiman Marcus Escada, Ballroom commentator)2 The House of Ford Ball The members of The House of Ford are very excited about their ball at the Detroit Masonic Temple. Located on Temple Avenue between Cass and Second Avenues in the Cass Corridor area, near downtown, the Detroit Masonic Temple is a massive fourteen-story building with over 1037 rooms/units, including a 4404-seat Masonic Temple Theatre and a 1,600-seat Cathedral Theatre.3 Housemother Antawn Ford had urged me not to miss this House of Ford Ball. The Rich and Famous Ball, slated for this evening, Sunday, February 18, 2001, is scheduled to begin earlier than usual because the management of the building is requiring patrons to vacate the premises by 4:00 a.m. As he did for The House of Supreme International’s Anniolation Ball a month earlier, Kali Ford, along with some other members, has invited me to sit at The House of Ford table. So, anticipating a large crowd, I arrive at about 11:00 p.m. so I can talk to the members of The House of Ford before the ball begins in earnest. Most important, I want to make sure I claim the seat at the host table that “It’s Gonna Get Severe Up in Here” 125 Kali Ford has promised me. Besides, the Detroit Masonic Temple is considered “high class” by Detroit Ballroom standards, especially since balls are usually held at places far less expensive to rent. I figure that the “kids” are so excited about this special venue that this will be an extremely well attended event. As I enter the huge lobby, I remember when, as a child, my mother would bring me to the Detroit Masonic Temple to see musical theatre productions that came to town. It is odd being in this space for a gay ball after having come here so many times as a child to see gospel musicals. But the ball is not being held in the theater; instead, it will take place in the Crystal Ballroom, where a balcony overlooks the main floor. This immaculate room is decorated in an Italianate style with murals painted all over the walls and ceiling. I note the two large chandeliers in the room and the electric candelabras ensconced on the walls throughout the space. Although wedding receptions and other, more formal gatherings are held in the Crystal Ballroom, this seems like a perfect space for a ball. I count thirty tables with chairs organized in two rows with fifteen on each side. Each table is decorated with a white tablecloth and a red rose in the middle. There are ball flyers scattered about on all of the tables. On top of a hardwood floor I see the somewhat makeshift runway, consisting of a red rug situated between the two rows of tables that extend the length of the room. Slightly elevated, the seating for the panel of judges is positioned at the end of one side of the runway. The judges are to occupy seven chairs distributed along two tables. Each table is covered with a white cloth and a black skirt. A vase of tulips is placed in front of each chair. The DJ’s table is just above the panel of judges, where DJ Cent (a Black lesbian who is one of the most prominent DJs in Detroit) is wearing headphones and turning records on the turntables. The trophy table is to the immediate right of the panel of judges, and a table with cheese, crackers, and fruit is to the left. Having attended only a few balls prior to this one, it surprises me that the setup for this ball is so similar to those I have seen at other balls. Yet, as I would later reflect after having attended numerous balls, the standard ball floor plan and the logics behind it are clear to me. Since balls are held at a variety of places, the hosting house has to perform the labor of transforming the chosen venue into an...

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