Arts & Entertainment
Tradition of excellence
With 3 national titles in 4 years, Miss Gay D.C. winners leave big shoes to fill
Coti Collins being crowned Miss Gay America (Photo courtesy Robert York)
Miss Gay D.C. America pageant
March 24
6 to 11 p.m.
Town
2009 8th St., N.W.
Admission: $10 (those who attend can stay at the club all evening)
When Jen Corey, a straight 24-year-old Chevy Chase resident, was asked to judge the Miss Gay D.C. pageant in 2010, she had no idea what to expect.
“I’d never even met a drag queen or female illusionist,” Corey, who was asked because of her Miss America success — she made the top 10 that year, says. “I’d seen ‘The Birdcage,’ that was about it. I didn’t know anything but it was refreshing to see how much it paralleled the Miss America pageant … and I was really impressed, impressed with how all the details work together. I mean, they know how to do hair and makeup better than I do. I was so impressed with how seriously they took it. I really thought it would be a little bit of a joke, but it wasn’t at all.”
Competing is a hardcore business — contestants, who must have had no augmentation from the neck down, bring an impressive level of talent and detail to the contests, both for the Miss D.C. title and the national Miss Gay America title. And the hard work and determination is paying off on the national level. Three of the last four national titleholders have represented D.C. in the contest. They aren’t all D.C. residents — the local title doesn’t have a residency requirement — but the District has an impressive track record at nationals.
In addition to four top 10 finishes at nationals, three Miss Gay D.C. America titleholders have taken the national crown — Victoria DePaula (Carl Glorioso) in 2008, Coti Collins (David Lowman) in 2010 and Kirby Kolby (Mark Smith) in 2011. Promoter Robert York bought the D.C. franchise in 2006 and helped increase its prominence nationally (prior to 2006, only one Miss D.C. winner had won nationals — Sabrina White in 2002).
York, a former Mr. Gay U.S.A. regional title holder, and a group of friends saw the potential within the region and thought it would be fun to try to raise its profile. The contest had been in existence since 1984 but next weekend’s event is its 25th (it wasn’t held a few years). Now York runs it with his friend Brian Alexander. He says the appeal for him is the chance the forum gives those involved to give back to the community in a fun way.
“We’ve seen some really talented people over the seven years who are deeply committed to the art form,” he says. “And who are equally committed to giving back to the community. We’ve been involved with Whitman-Walker Health, the Trevor Project and so on. Last year, Coti was really involved with speaking out against bullying and gay youth. Victoria did a lot with HIV and AIDS. It’s not just about winning the crown. It’s about doing something with it and giving back.”
A new Miss Gay D.C. will be crowned next weekend at Town. Admission is $10 and those who come to see the pageant can stay all evening at the club. It starts at 6 p.m. Contestants will compete in five categories — interview, evening gown, male interview, solo talent, group talent and on-stage question. He’s not sure how many will compete this year — registrations are accepted until the day before. Usually just five or fewer enter because it takes a lot of preparation. And though some past contestants have been in the house casts at Town or Ziegfeld’s or active in the Academy of Washington, the rigors of being a titleholder are often more than those who perform every weekend in the clubs can commit to. Winning on the national level, especially, can be an all-consuming endeavor. For Coti Collins, though, it was worth it.
Lowman, who has family in Virginia and went to college in West Virginia, now lives in Raleigh, N.C. where he’s been for about eight years. He works by day as a vet assistant but it’s a highly flexible work situation that allows him time to leave for months at a time and perform in Vegas or compete in pageants. He did “La Cage” in Vegas for seven years and does impersonations of Judy Garland and Dolly Parton on stage. For three years in the late ‘90s he was on tour with Reba McIntyre as a sort of drag version of herself. He eschews the drag label though and says he’s really an actor at heart.
He’d been in pageants years ago — he had a rather ignominious start placing 70 out of 71 in the ’87 contest. But the next year he made the top 30 and then in 1990 he was in the top 10. But years of professional work sidelined him and he took a long hiatus until 2005 when he decided to try again and take care of what he calls “unfinished business.” In 2010 he succeeded and was named Miss Gay America 2011.
“I felt complete,” he says. “It was a goal and a dream that was fulfilled. People said, ‘You’re too old to win a pageant,’ but never let anybody else determine your self worth and I never did. I promoted myself and I knew what I could do. It was an uphill battle — I was one of the older contestants, but I was still prepared to win and with the help of Robert and the D.C. family, I accomplished my goal.”
Former judge Sonya Gavankar-McKay, a Miss America vet, says she’s been pleasantly surprised at how professional the pageants are.
“These guys really have a sense of moral character and it’s impressive,” she says. “There’s the drag community and they’re always a little tongue in cheek and sassy and fun and that’s great, but there is an expectation in the pageants that these guys are expected to carry themselves with decorum and class and it speaks a lot to how they appreciate and respect their craft.”
Lowman says York helped him in some of his weaker categories of competition and says though the gowns and wigs can be expensive, winning was not something a dollar value could be put upon.
“Can you put a price on a dream? No, you can’t,” he says. “I’m a pretty passionate person and I try to do my best in everything I do whether it’s female impersonation, casino shows or mowing the grass. I want to be the best I can be. I want to be remembered for making a difference and changing people’s lives. Anybody can just rollercoaster through life, but it’s the ones who do it with passion who make the difference.”
More than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes are expected to compete in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that open on Friday.
Outsports.com notes eight Americans — including speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy and figure skater Amber Glenn — are among the 44 openly LGBTQ athletes who will compete in the games. The LGBTQ sports website also reports Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, is the first openly transgender athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics.
“I’ve always been physically capable. That was never a question,” Glenn told Outsports.com. “It was always a mental and competence problem. It was internal battles for so long: when to lean into my strengths and when to work on my weaknesses, when to finally let myself portray the way I am off the ice on the ice. That really started when I came out publicly.”
McDermott-Mostowy is among the six athletes who have benefitted from the Out Athlete Fund, a group that has paid for their Olympics-related training and travel. The other beneficiaries are freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, speed skater Brittany Bowe, snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick, alpine skier Breezy Johnson, and Paralympic Nordic skier Jake Adicoff.
Out Athlete Fund and Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood on Friday will host a free watch party for the opening ceremony.
“When athletes feel seen and accepted, they’re free to focus on their performance, not on hiding who they are,” Haley Caruso, vice president of the Out Athlete Fund’s board of directors, told the Los Angeles Blade.
Four Italian LGBTQ advocacy groups — Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano — have organized the games’ Pride House that will be located at the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan.
Pride House on its website notes it will “host a diverse calendar of events and activities curated by associations, activists, and cultural organizations that share the values of Pride” during the games. These include an opening ceremony party at which Checcoro, Milan’s first LGBTQ chorus, will perform.
ILGA World, which is partnering with Pride House, is the co-sponsor of a Feb. 21 event that will focus on LGBTQ-inclusion in sports. Valentina Petrillo, a trans Paralympian, is among those will participate in a discussion that Simone Alliva, a journalist who writes for the Italian newspaper Domani, will moderate.
“The event explores inclusivity in sport — including amateur levels — with a focus on transgender people, highlighting the role of civil society, lived experiences, and the voices of athletes,” says Milano Pride on its website.
The games will take place against the backdrop of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s sporting events.
President Donald Trump last February issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S. A group of Republican lawmakers in response to the directive demanded the International Olympics Committee ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
The IOC in 2021 adopted its “Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations” that includes the following provisions:
• 3.1 Eligibility criteria should be established and implemented fairly and in a manner that does not systematically exclude athletes from competition based upon their gender identity, physical appearance and/or sex variations.
• 3.2 Provided they meet eligibility criteria that are consistent with principle 4 (“Fairness”, athletes should be allowed to compete in the category that best aligns with their self-determined gender identity.
• 3.3 Criteria to determine disproportionate competitive advantage may, at times, require testing of an athlete’s performance and physical capacity. However, no athlete should be subject to targeted testing because of, or aimed at determining, their sex, gender identity and/or sex variations.
The 2034 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City. The 2028 Summer Olympics will occur in Los Angeles.
Theater
Out dancer on Alvin Ailey’s stint at Warner Theatre
10-day production marks kickoff of national tour
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Through Feb. 8
Warner Theatre
513 12th St., N.W.
Tickets start at $75
ailey.org
The legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming to Washington’s Warner Theatre, and one of its principal veterans couldn’t be more pleased. Out dancer Renaldo Maurice is eager to be a part of the company’s 10-day stint, the kickoff of a national tour that extends through early May.
“I love the respectful D.C. crowd and they love us,” says Maurice, a member of esteemed modern dance company for 15 years. The traveling tour is made of two programs and different casting with Ailey’s masterwork “Revelations” in both programs.
Recently, we caught up with Maurice via phone. He called from one of the quiet rooms in his New York City gym where he’s getting his body ready for the long Ailey tour.
Based in North Newark, N.J., where he recently bought a house, Maurice looks forward to being on the road: “I enjoy the rigorous performance schedule, classes, shows, gym, and travel. It’s all part of carving out a lane for myself and my future and what that looks like.”
Raised by a single mother of three in Gary, Ind., Maurice, 33, first saw Alvin Ailey as a young kid in the Auditorium Theatre in downtown Chicago, the same venue where he’s performed with the company as a professional dancer.
He credits his mother with his success: “She’s a real dance mom. I would not be the man or artist I am today if it weren’t for the grooming and discipline of my mom. Support and encouragement. It’s impacted my artistry and my adulthood.”
Maurice is also part of the New York Ballroom scene, an African-American and Latin underground LGBTQ+ subculture where ball attendees “walk” in a variety of categories (like “realness,” “fashion,” and “sex siren”) for big prizes. He’s known as the Legendary Overall Father of the Haus of Alpha Omega.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Like many gay men of his era, Ailey lived a largely closeted public life before his death from AIDS-related complications in 1989.
RENALDO MAURICE Not unusual for a Black gay man born during the Depression in Rogers, Texas, who’s striving to break out in the industry to be a creative. You want to be respected and heard. Black man, and Black man who dances, and you may be same-sex gender loving too. It was a lot, especially at that time.
BLADE: Ailey has been described as intellectual, humble, and graceful. He possessed strength. He knew who he was and what stories he wanted to tell.
MAURICE: Definitely, he wanted to concentrate on sharing and telling stories. What kept him going was his art. Ailey wanted dancers to live their lives and express that experience on stage. That way people in the audience could connect with them. It’s incredibly powerful that you can touch people by moving your body.
That’s partly what’s so special about “Revelations,” his longest running ballet and a fan favorite that’s part of the upcoming tour. Choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1960, it’s a modern dance work that honors African-American cultural heritage through themes of grief, joy, and faith.
BLADE: Is “Revelation” a meaningful piece for you?
MAURICE: It’s my favorite piece. I saw it as a kid and now perform it as a professional dance artist. I’ve grown into the role since I was 20 years old.
BLADE: How can a dancer in a prestigious company also be a ballroom house father?
MAURICE: I’ve made it work. I learned how to navigate and separate. I’m a principal dancer with Ailey. And I take that seriously. But I’m also a house father and I take that seriously as well.
I’m about positivity, unity, and hard work. In ballroom you compete and if you’re not good, you can get chopped. You got to work on your craft and come back harder. It’s the same with dance.
BLADE: Any message for queer audiences?
MAURICE: I know my queer brothers and sisters love to leave with something good. If you come to any Ailey performance you’ll be touched, your spirit will be uplifted. There’s laughter, thoughtful and tender moments. And it’s all delivered by artists who are passionate about what they do.
BLADE: Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of your life. Thoughts on that?
MAURICE: I’m a believer in it takes a village. Hard work and discipline. I take it seriously and I love what I do. Ailey has provided me with a lot: world travel, a livelihood, and working with talented people here and internationally. Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of my life from boyhood to now. It’s been great.
Catfish Comedy will host “2026 Queer Kickoff Show” on Thursday, Feb. 5 at A League of Her Own (2319 18th Street, N.W.). This show features D.C.’s funniest LGBTQ and femme comedians. The lineup features performers who regularly take the stage at top clubs like DC Improv and Comedy Loft, with comics who tour nationally.
Tickets are $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
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