How Samoa's Ballroom scene is carving space for Pacific futures

RNZ News

5 days ago

By
Dinah Lewis Boucher
,
ABC
Advocates say the goal isn't just about existing — it's about thriving at home.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
On a warm Tuesday night in Fugalei in Apia, Samoa's capital, the air hums with anticipation as a local hall fills with young people.
With the Boom Kaisi Ball just days away, Pacific Rainbow+ youth have gathered for a series of workshops designed to build confidence and community in preparation for their ballroom debut.
Rooted in queer Black and Latinx resistance, ballroom culture is an underground art form of performance, fashion, and chosen family now finding resonance in Samoa.
It's characterised by elaborate balls, where individuals or "houses" compete in performance and dance categories. Still, beyond competition, it serves as a safe space and chosen family structure for queer individuals, fostering a sense of belonging and self-expression.
Miss Samoa Fa'afafine, Ella Ganza says it means a lot to be in 'the motherland' championing community.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
"Ballroom is made for the confident girls," Ella Ganza said on the mic as music started to blast and participants eyed the runway, preparing to walk.
As the reigning Miss Samoa Fa'afafine and Mother of the House of Alexander, she guides Samoa's youth through the world of ballroom, a deeply personal mission to uplift her community.
"To see the youth, my younger sisters and brothers, be authentic, feel safe, and be celebrated in a way that's just completely them…I cried almost every night after the workshop," she told ABC Pacific.
The introduction of ballroom to Samoa is a recent development, with events and workshops aimed at empowering and creating safe spaces.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
"It's not just about the performance - it's about nurturing a space where our young ones feel safe, celebrated, and completely themselves.
"This is a calling. And it's a calling not just for us, but for those who stand with us, to serve, to protect, and to help our youth feel seen."
Watching on in preparation to walk runway.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
For Rosie, a cisgender woman and chosen house mother, being part of this community is about allyship and chosen family.
"Definitely 'chosen family' is how I'd describe it, because they chose me to be their mother," she told ABC Pacific.
Rosie, wears pink flower in right ear, stands with the children of her house.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
As someone from outside the queer community, she said the role helped her practice inclusivity and mentor the younger generation.
"This environment, with all the laughter and bonding, brings out their confidence and helps them be more expressive," she said.
"I hope what they take from this journey is that they are loved - and that they are safe."
Ballroom culture developed as a safe space and creative outlet for marginalised LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly Black and Latinx individuals, who faced discrimination in mainstream society.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
In Samoa, gender diversity has long existed outside of Western binary norms.
Fa'afafine, meaning "in the manner of a woman", has been part of Samoan society for centuries.
Recognised across Samoa as a third gender, fa'afafine embody a gender identity that doesn't fit neatly into male or female categories.
"It's an umbrella term," Ella said, "whereas in the Western world, we like to put labels on every little thing. Are you trans? Are you gay? Are you non-binary? Are you bi?
"Some could be offended by it [the term Fa'afafine], but for those who truly understand its beauty, and its truth, it is sacred. It's something that belonged to us before colonisation."
Workshops aim to create a safe, confident space for Fa'afafine, Fa'atama, and the wider community.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
Across the Pacific, the acronym MVPFAFF+ is used to honour the region's unique and diverse gender identities.
The term, coined by community activist and worker Phylesha Brown-Acton, stands for Māhū (Tahiti and Hawaii), Vaka sa lewa lewa (Fiji), Palopa (Papua New Guinea), Fa'afafine (Samoa and American Samoa), Akava'ine (Cook Islands), Fakaleiti or Leiti (Tonga), and Fakafifine (Niue), with the "+" signifying other gender identities still evolving within Pacific communities.
Before colonisation and Christianity swept through the region, identities such as Fa'afafine were respected and woven into community life.
Today, while many MVPFAFF+ individuals continue to hold cultural significance, many face discrimination.
Runway, is one of the categories in Ballroom.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
"Cultural norms can shut down their potential, but events like this let them shine, and show what makes them unique," Rosie told ABC Pacific.
"I just want them to be able to let loose, enjoy the night, and finally experience this freedom for themselves.
"It means a lot to them. And it means a lot to me."
Slay on the runway.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
Samoan human rights activist Maluseu Doris Tulifau of Brown Girl Woke is the event's key organiser, but said her role wasn't to take up space, it was to make space.
"I just want the space for them," she said.
"The third gender has always existed in Samoa - but it was washed away by colonial lies."
Doris Tulifau, organiser behind bringing Ballroom to Samoa.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
One of the biggest challenges, she said, was that many MVPFAFF+ individuals still felt they had to leave the country to be free.
"A lot of our love, support, and funding is coming from the diaspora - because many who left knew there wasn't a space for them here," she said, but stressed the goal wasn't to simply exist, but to thrive.
For Ella, bringing the ball to Samoa was about creating a space where Pasifika youth can be seen, celebrated and safe.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
"We're building spaces that don't just allow LGBTQ+ youth to survive, but to thrive, right here at home. We don't want performative allyship. We want mentorship. We want advocacy. We want them to stay.
"If everyone keeps leaving because of shame, silence, and fear - how will anything ever change?"
Ballroom culture aims to provide a space where Samoa's youth are not just seen, but celebrated.
Photo:
ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher
Now, Ella is focused on modelling confidence, care, and the kind of visibility she didn't see growing up.
"Being a chosen mother, the mother of my house - this is my own way of leaving a legacy. I may not have children biologically, but this is still my way of creating family," she said.
"Confidence is how you walk into a room, but it's also how you uplift others. That's what I want to teach. That's how we progress.
"I want to be what I wanted to see growing up. I wish I could've walked into a community like the one I see now."
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ABC