Meet the Haus of Ebonii: Alberta's 1st all-Black drag and burlesque group
CBC
The cheers were deafening at the Foundry on Whyte as members of the Haus of Ebonii took to the stage to perform some of their best drag and burlesque numbers to electrifying dance beats and a full house in late September.
The Haus of Ebonii was started more than a year ago when performer GabiiByMinorah approached Black peers in the drag and burlesque scene in Edmonton to form a performing house.
"When I started drag, I noticed that most of the members of the Haus of Ebonii would always come to my shows, and I would go to their shows, and I just felt like there's not a lot of us out there," Minorah told CBC News in an interview.
The group of four performers are established powerhouses in Edmonton's drag scene and have performed at venues across Alberta and Canada such as the Edmonton International Fringe Festival this past summer.
"When we first started, some people said they didn't believe in us, and they don't think we're gonna make it because we didn't have some favourite Black performers in the house, and look at us now," Minorah said.
The September show, dubbed The Blackening, is a nod to the movie which was lauded for the ways it pays homage to the horror genre while also challenging historic tropes around Black characters.
"I watched the movie during the pandemic, and was like, wow, that would make a fabulous cabaret," performer and show producer Kaneesha Ross-Baird, also known as CallMeKeeks, said about the inspiration for the show.
"It's been about two years in my head as an idea, and about three to four months of full planning to bring the other house here ... scoping out venues, locations, making sure I got enough money to pay everybody," Ross-Baird said.
"It was a labour of love, but we made it."
The Blackening show was part of three events held during the weekend which also saw drag and burlesque performances by Haus Bukuru, who describe themselves as "Vancouver's Blackest, Transest, Haus."
Tickets sold out in five days.
"It feels like we are creating a legacy right now," Ross-Baird said.
"It's not very often you see four performers of colour, specifically Black performers, not only do we all get along and love each other, but it just it feels monumental like it's a very big deal, especially here in Edmonton, Alberta."
Beyond being able to perform together, the house has also become a family.
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