The docuseries looks at the New York City ballroom community in 2018, and does so beautifully.
Mikelle StreetThere have been three major projects when it comes to exposing the ballroom scene and voguing to the world: there was Madonna’s “Vogue,” Vogue Evolution on America’s Best Dance Crew, and there was (and still is) Pose. Sure, there are hundreds of other projects, but those are the heavy hitters. That said, there’s tons of other notable projects that have come out, and been in some way passed over. And one of those, is My House.
Debuting on Viceland in April 2018, My House gave us an intimate, and varied, look into the modern-day ballroom scene, at the same time that Pose was just kicking off in the 1980s. In that way, it differed a lot from projects about the community in the mainstream in that it wasn’t so much a historical take, but a contemporary docuseries.
That meant, in practicality, that its stars, Tati 007, Alex Mugler, Jelani Mizrahi, Lolita Balenciaga, Relish Milan, and Precious Ebony, could still be very much seen in the scene. In fact, they still are! Tati kicks of the show as a 007, and hopes to find a new house. This June, she debuted as a member of the house of Miyake-Mugler, walked out by the voguing heavyweight Tamiyah Miyake-Mugler. Since the show has ended, others have changed houses too with Relish now being a LaBeija. But giving these performers, as well as the scene itself, the cinematic treatment, putting the same vogue fem dramatics we see on popular Instagram accounts, onscreen, while diving into important conversations that affect them, was (and is) important.
Now, you can watch it all back (or for the first time) for free on YouTube.
“I’m beyond thrilled that My House is on YouTube in full,” show creator Elegance Bratton, tells Out in a statement. “I think we will finally get a chance to reach the masses. I hope that our numbers reach into the millions and that it gives our cast and myself more opportunities to spread our wings in this business.”
For what it’s worth, that has been done in part. Tati had a guest role on Pose. Members of the My House cast have appeared in campaigns, and performed at events like the Love Ball and Trevor Project's TrevorLive Gala. Alex Miyake-Mugler is even a"MACtivist" for M.A.C. But we can always do with a little more love! Even Nneka Onuourah, a field producer from the show, has gone on to release another ballroom centric project: Queer & Fier(ce), a documentary about the scene in Paris, debuted on Viceland France this summer.
The show itself racked up a few awards. In 2018 it won MIPCOM Diversity TV's Excellence Award for Representation of LGBTQ in the Non-Scripted Category and a CLIO Award for its title sequence. It also was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.
Bratton, is also hard at work touring his documentary, Pier Kids, on the festival circuit. The project follows Casper, Desean, and Krystal over the course of five years as Black queer and trans homeless youth navigating the welfare system, sex work, and hyper policing on the historic Christopher Street pier. The film premiered at OutFest 2019 where it won the Emerging Artist Award. He’s also working on another film.
“I’m in the last stages of development for The Inspection, my debut narrative feature film about a homeless youth who joins The U.S . Marine Corps in order to change his life but must conceal his attraction to his drill instructor in order to survive boot camp in the age of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” he says. “Think of it as Full Metal Jacket meets Moonlight by way of Jarhead. The film is a winner of the Tribeca All Access 2019 grant and we are raising financing with a goal to shoot in the second quarter of this year.”
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