Posh Ball events kick off as Pride Week begins, July 24 to 26

With an awards night and workshops at The Dance Centre, and the grand catwalk show at the Pearl on July 25, Vancouver Kiki Ballroom Alliance celebrations show the art form is alive and well

The Vancouver Kiki Ballroom Alliance presents the VKBA Awards Ball on July 24 at The Dance Centre; Van Vogue Jam presents Posh Ball 2026—Codes of Fashion on July 25 at the Pearl; and the Posh Workshop/Potluck takes place July 26 at The Dance Centre

FROM AN EXPLOSION of pink fashion to classes in the art of the Dip and Spin and the Oldway Classic, three days of festivities get under way soon for the annual Posh Ball—the city’s largest annual LGBTQ+ ballroom and voguing event, which helps kick off local Pride Week festivities.

Ballroom culture, created by BIPOC, trans, and queer folks, in which people “walk” (i.e., compete), perform, dance, lip-sync, and model in different categories, has a thriving scene in Vancouver, largely thanks to Vancouver Ballroom Arts founder Ralph Escamillan, a.k.a. Posh Gvasalia Basquiat, a Canadian-Filipinx movement and performance artist who’s well known on Vancouver contemporary-dance stages. The artist’s recent MY HOUSE, at The Dance Centre, brought the Ballroom to the contemporary-dance stage earlier this year.

Presented by Van Vogue Jam, Canadian Mother Posh Basquiat, and Vancouver Ballroom Arts, the main event centres around the catwalk on July 25 at the Pearl, featuring DJ MikeQ and commentators Iconic Overall Father Dashaun Basquiat and Icon Jack Mizrahi Gorgeous Gucci. The theme this year? Codes of Fashion.

The third annual Vancouver Kiki Awards Ball happens the night before at The Dance Centre, focusing on the “Pink Era of Ballroom” as its colour code. Cheer for your favourites in categories like “Runway”, “Bizarre”, and “Realness”, with hosts Legendary Pioneer OA Mother Posh Gvasalia and Legendary Mother Ivy Andromeda, alongside commentator Iconic Father Twysted Siriano. DJ Legendary Canadian Godmother Juju Louboutin provides the soundtrack.

The Posh Workshop/Potluck wraps up the weekend on July 26. Highlights include a Vogue Femme class led by Icon OA Found Father “King of Vogue” Dashaun Basquiat, who’s appeared on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew and inspired the viral hip-hop-vogue dance “The 5000”; and lessons in “the Old Way” from Icon Daebrian Balenciaga. It’s an opportunity to meet and learn from the Ballroom talent brought to the city for the event.

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Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

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Posh Ball events kick off as Pride Week begins, July 24 to 26

With an awards night and workshops at The Dance Centre, and the grand catwalk show at the Pearl on July 25, Vancouver Kiki Ballroom Alliance celebrations show the art form is alive and well

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