Arts & Entertainment
DC Black Pride to return in-person this year
‘Bigger. Bolder. The original is back.’
Since 1991, Black LGBTQ people and their allies have flocked to the streets of D.C. during Memorial Day Weekend to celebrate the beauty of the Black LGBTQ community and to raise awareness and funding to combat HIV/AIDS. Now, after a two-year hiatus triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Black Pride has returned with a focus on creating community.
“This is really the place to be if you’re Black and queer in D.C.,” said Kenya Hutton, deputy director for the Center for Black Equity, an LGBTQ advocacy organization that plans the event. Hutton has been involved in planning DC Black Pride for the past 13 years.
“There is a heavy buzz early on about Black Pride [this year],” he said.
This year’s events will run for four days, and will attract both a local and international audience including LGBTQ advocates from England, France, and Ghana.
“We have two members from the House of Garcon coming in from Paris,” said Hutton. “A lot of international people are coming to D.C., and after a two-year hiatus, the hunger to be back [is there].”
The weekend will commence with an opening reception on Friday, May 27 at 5 p.m. at the Renaissance Washington D.C. The event, also presented by Impulse DC and Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc., will feature live performances by Queen Diva Big Freedia and Atlantic Recording artist Tai’aysha. There will also be special appearances by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and other guests who will be announced at the event. The event is free — registration is available on Eventbrite— and also includes two drink tickets.
Other events to look out for during DC Black Pride include kickoff events such as the Unity Ball on Thursday, May 25 at 9 p.m. at Karma DC hosted by commentator Kirk “Boom” Balenciaga, with music performances by DJ Tony Play, and the official Saturday night main event— “The White Party”— which will feature a performance by rapper and social media star Saucy Santana on Saturday, May 28 at 10 p.m. at Echostage.
In addition to the celebratory events, there will also be workshops focusing on a myriad of topics such as LGBTQ health, diversity, body positivity, and a writer’s forum.
The Black Pride Wellness Suite Open will be on Friday, May 27 at 2 p.m. at Renaissance Washington DC. The event, sponsored by DC Health, will provide HIV and full panel STD testing, safer sex kits and harm reduction supplies, and same-day PrEP initiation and PEP to those eligible.
“Becoming You: The Body Positivity Workshop” will be on Saturday, May 28 at 11 a.m. at Renaissance Washington DC. The workshop will be hosted by Tonka Garcon, from the HBO hit show “Legendary,” who will guide attendees on how to build self-confidence, love, and appreciation “without feeling left out.”
The writer’s forum will be on Saturday, May 28 at 2 p.m. and will be hosted by author James Earl Hardy who has written books such as “Men of the House” and “B-Boy Blues.”
Given that DC Black Pride will take place with the backdrop of the May 14 Buffalo, N.Y., shooting and other recent incidents in D.C. as well, the Center for Black Equity has boosted its security measures to ensure that attendees are safe.
“We are working closely with the Maryland Police Department [and] one of their officers will walk through an active shooter training [with our staff],” said Hutton.
Hutton added that because the pandemic took away the Black LGBTQ community’s ability to gather for two years, it is essential that guests leave the event feeling a sense of belonging.
“This is home. This is where it starts. This is our culture,” he said. “DC Black Pride is always home for queer people.”
Studies report that the pandemic disproportionately affected LGBTQ individuals’ mental health.
LGBTQ people faced mental health and substance abuse problems at higher rates than their non-LGBTQ peers due to lower incomes, fewer work opportunities and a lack of access to adequate healthcare, according to 2021 health analyses by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Other studies also show that 16% of Black people reported having a mental illness, and 26% of people who reported a severe mental illness over the past year are men, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
To bring to light the importance of mental health and wellness in the LGBTQ community, other organizations such as D.C. nonprofit group Us Helping Us will host events “to understand the complex issues of intersectionality that Black, gay, transgender, and bisexual men face.”
Us Helping Us will host “Pride Festival in Park” on Monday, May 30 at 12 p.m. at Ford Dupont Park. The organization works to improve the health and well-being of Black men with HIV and AIDS, and will partner with Amerigroup DC for Monday’s event.
“Every day, we see the impact our mental health services have on our clients, whether it be through individual appointments with our therapists or counselors or our support groups,” said DeMarc A. Hickson, the nonprofit’s executive director in a press release. “Mental health is critical to keeping our clients healthy physically.”
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.
Arts & Entertainment
Catherine O’Hara, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star and celebrated queer ally, dies at 71
Actress remembered for memorable comedic roles in ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Home Alone’
Catherine O’Hara, the varied comedic actor known for memorable roles in “Beetlejuice,” “Schitt’s Creek,” and “Home Alone,” has died at 71 on Friday, according to multiple reports. No further details about her death were revealed.
O’Hara’s death comes as a shock to Hollywood, as the Emmy award-winning actor has been recently active, with roles in both “The Studio” and “The Last of Us.” For her work in those two shows, she received Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series and outstanding guest actress in a drama series.
In 2020, O’Hara won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy series award for her work in the celebrated sixth and final season of “Schitt’s Creek.” She was also known as a queer ally and icon for her theatrical and often campy performances over multiple decades. In “Schitt’s Creek,” she played Moira Rose, the wig-loving mother of David Rose (played by series creator Dan Levy). David is pansexual, but the characters around him simply accept him for who he is; the show was embraced by the LGBTQ community with how naturally David’s sexuality was written and portrayed. That show ran from 2015 to 2020 and helped bring O’Hara and her co-stars into a new phase of their careers.
In a 2019 interview with the Gay Times, O’Hara explained why the show got LGBTQ representation right: “Daniel has created a world that he wants to live in, that I want to live in. It’s ridiculous that we live in a world where we don’t know how to respect each other and let each other be. It’s crazy. Other shows should follow suit and present the world and present humans as the best that we can be. It doesn’t mean you can’t laugh, that you can’t be funny in light ways and dark ways. It’s all still possible when you respect and love each other.”
Additional credits include “SCTV Network” (for which O’Hara won a writing Emmy), “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Six Feet Under,” “Best in Show,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” and “Dick Tracy.” O’Hara also lent her voice to “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Chicken Little,” “Monster House,” and “Elemental.” O’Hara was expected to return for Season 2 of “The Studio,” which started filming earlier this month.
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