CAN I GET AN AMEN... ON FM? By Mia Poland (they/them)
After that, we move on to the next couple of categories, where the audience will be encouraged to walk and perform, before taking a break for the judges to decide the winner of the categories. During the break people are encouraged to drink and dance if they wish. Then we move onto the remaining categories of the evening before taking another break where the MC will announce that the final category will be decided by then. After that break the MC announces the winners and our house father, Tino, usually gives a speech. We then finish off the night with some more dancing before everyone is encouraged to leave. A new attendee can definitely expect lots of performances from the audience, new and experienced! We always introduce new ideas and exciting ideas to each ball, last year we had a pole dancing category. More importantly, they can expect to feel safe and have lots of fun. Do you have regular performers, guests, or members of the group that you would like to highlight? We always get new performers at every ball and we encourage it, it can be pretty daunting so we like to give space for people to come and try their hand at it for the first time. We do have some regulars though, Naomi for one has won a category for every ball we’ve thrown and swept through multiple categories in the olympic ball. We also have performers as our judges. Mearon is always really memorable in every ball, he is so talented and it’s always a pleasure to watch him vogue. Who is this space for? As a new Haus, we hope to offer a space for queer folks to find social support, to kiki and to grow, both within and beyond the Ballroom. Everyone is welcome however we make sure to make a point to centre black and brown queer people. It is important to us that we keep the spirit of the ballroom alive by centering Black and Brown people. There aren’t a lot of spaces in Ireland that do so.
that Queer People of Color (QPOC) don’t feel like an after-thought while celebrating what aspects of ourselves makes us ourselves. It allows us to be creative and have fun highlighting our joy in a world that focuses on black and brown suffering.
sure that all our venues for the balls are accessible for members of the disabled community. But we also know that finding accessible spaces in Dublin isn’t easy. The main statement we’d like to make is not to neglect how important it is for our community to show up for disabled people. They deserve to be in this space just as much as we do and they have a lot to bring. Is the Haus of Schiaparelli a community space? How do you encourage community building? Absolutely, We believe in the power of ballroom as both art and activism. Our space holds room for all queer and trans identities, centering BIPOC voices, everything we do is to uplift, affirm, and build community. We encourage community by always making sure everyone has a space at the ball, no matter where you are in your ballroom journey we believe in no gatekeeping—just guidance and growth. We also make sure to build connections, encourage learning and give back to the community when we can. Each ball has been attached to some form of charity or the other because we believe that in order to build community you also have to give back to said community. Would you like for there to be similar spaces established in Cork or other parts of Ireland? Do you have any advice for someone who would like to set up a similar space? Yes, that is the whole point of why we do what we do. We want more ballroom events in Ireland just not in Dublin. Some advice? Just go for it! Nothing will work out 100% but get the ball rolling, get yourself a group of people just as passionate as you are and get moving.
What is the ethos of Haus of Schiaparelli?
The Ethos of the Haus we would say is rooted in the tradition of the Black and Brown queer people that came before us, we strive to honour them in the most authentic way possible. Do you have any specific goals for the Haus in the future? We have a few. The first, obviously, is to throw more balls! Other than that we do want to branch out and do other things. We want to offer more workshops for voguers and performers, we also want to do more ballroom centre events outside of the balls. An example would be “ballroom beats,” a more casual space where people can practice different aspects of ballroom without the pressure of performing hanging over them. Most importantly we want to build a legacy, bringing Ballroom to Ireland is no easy task, but it’s one we are wholeheartedly prepared for. You also organise workshops- what kind of workshops do you host and for whom? We organise voguing workshops, these workshops are open to all skill levels, the goal at the end of each workshop is to polish one’s skills and learn a little bit more about the history of ballroom. We love the enthusiasm everyone brings to the balls especially the performance but we also want to make sure people are educated on Ballroom History and culture because of how important it is to everything we do. Do you have any statements around accessibility/inclusivity that you would like to share? We at Haus of Schiaparelli always want our events to be an inclusive space and an important aspect of that is making
give everyone in our community a place to speak on LGBTQ issues in a safe space. I only truly began to realise the impact the show was having on the community when I started actually showing up at LGBTQ spaces after the show had been launched. I’ve always been in and around the LGBTQ scene in Cork by either attending, producing or DJing a lot of the drag shows in Cork. But the first few events I attended or worked after the launch of the show, really highlighted the importance of a show like Out in Cork. The first of which was Cork Pride 2024 where I got to meet a lot of previous guests on the show and members of the Cork Pride committee and people letting me know of upcoming events on the LGBTQ scene that I absolutely had to broadcast on the show. Three years after the launch of Otherwise Engayged, I now host a show called Pride Vibes that broadcasts across Corks 96FM, FM104, Live 95 and LMFM. A few things came up between those two opportunities of course, because my life is steeped in a healthy dose of chaos. I’ve been writing for the Evening Echo on LGBTQ culture since 2022 as well as having pieces published in Gay Community News here and there all while keeping up with my third level education as I attempt to complete my Masters degree. Now in the middle of all this, I got a call while I was sat in the podcast studio of UCC 98.3FM, because I will never actually leave that building. On that call I was asked to host Gay Project’s Out and Outstanding in Cork Awards alongside drag queen Letycha Le Synn. This is where I really felt that sense of community completely amplified. Many of those nominated for awards had been previous guests on the show and some I hadn’t met before but were serious fans
of Out in Cork. I feel very much part of Cork’s LGBTQ community and everyone has been so helpful to me as I was figuring out the whole commercial radio gig thing. While the impact of Out in Cork was somewhat of a surprise to me, I definitely didn’t see the next opportunity coming. Despite accusations of being clairvoyant, I was shocked to be given the opportunity to host Pride Vibes. And that’s when I realised how vast and absolutely impressive Ireland’s LGBTQ community actually is. Now I will admit, I really thought Cork was the place to be for LGBT people in Ireland, especially with the diversity of community groups, sports groups, gender non conforming and trans supports. And I mean Cork is still very fabulous, as I write this our LGBTQ crosswalk has just been repainted on Patrick’s Street. But we’ve got a serious sense of community right across the country. And as our community faces an uptick in homophobia and transphobia in particular, I’ll continue to platform those affected so people might hear the harm they are causing to us as we just try to go about our queer little business. But really, my goal is to make finding a community an easier task and introducing friendly voices on the airwaves that are creating that community for us.
It’s not often you’ll catch me writing about my own journey on how I ended up where I am today. But I do feel it’s never been about me, it’s the community behind my work that keeps the ball rolling. It’s also predominantly because I view my role as a journalist as being the person who platforms others and, in this context, my duty is to increase the visibility of the LGBTQ community. But this time, I promise to spill some serious tea. Journalism is my form of activism in an area that I have always been passionate about. I believe that visibility is the first step to acceptance which I know might resonate with a lot of people in the LGBTQ community. But I do always get asked how I ended up in the position I’m in, and yes it was a bit of manifestation magic but also a whole lot of passion and being backed by one of the strongest communities in the country. In September 2022 I launched a little gay radio show called Otherwise Engayged (see what I did there), keeping up with Cork’s LGBTQ community on UCC 98.3FM. An opportunity came up to host a show called Out in Cork in 2024 with Cork’s 96FM. That had its impact on Cork’s LGBTQ community but it also had a profound impact on me. It highlighted the strength of the community we have and platformed every aspect of our LGBTQ scene. But it also gave me a space to do the work I have always been passionate about on a regular basis and
Instagram: @hausofschiaparelli SOCIALS
Get in touch with Mia on Mia.poland1@96fm.ie SOCIALS
Black and brown people created a ballroom and It is important to us
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