Asian futurism collides with ballroom legacy as International Kiki House of Sassy Savage opens a new chapter in Naarm.
Jade Odyssey – The Inaugural Ball transforms Kensington Town Hall into multidimensional Naarm ballroom space this January
International Kiki House of Sassy Savage is opening its Australian chapter with Jade Odyssey – The Inaugural Ball at Kensington Town Hall.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2020 by Mother Wan, the house extends a lineage that traces back to Harlem’s underground Black and Latine drag pageant scene around the 1960s. As anti-cross-dressing laws under the anti-disguise act of the late 19th century were increasingly enforced in the mid 20th century due to anti-LGBTQ sentiment and HIV crisis pathologisation, Black and Latine communities built their own systems of value through balls.
Categories like Face, Runway, Realness and Best Dressed weren’t just competition; they were deliberate assertions of the opulence denied to these communities.
Crystal Labeija, a Black trans woman, founded the House of Labeija by 1968 as mainstream drag became increasingly intolerant to POC bodies that did not comply with whiteness. Houses functioned as chosen family and refuge for homeless queer youth.
Ballroom reached Naarm in 2018 when Femme Queen Mother Kianna Oricci Louboutin founded the House of Devine. Now the Kiki House of Sassy Savage is adding another chapter to this legacy, sharing the same values of queer POC resistance through spectacular extravagance and chosen family.
Jade Odyssey – The Inaugural Ball in Naarm
Where and when:
- Kensington Town Hall, 30/34 Bellair Street, Kensington
- Friday 31 January, 5.30pm doors, 6pm-11.30pm
- QTBIPOC priority event, 18+
- Free tickets available for First Nations people and active Femme Queens and Trans Men members
- Cash prizes up to $1400 in total
- Tickets: here
Categories and prizes up for grabs:
- Beginner’s Performance (Old Way/New Way/Vogue Femme) – Jade Energy: Three trophies plus $100 cash
- FQ Face with a Prop – Jade Luminescence: One trophy plus $200 cash
- OTA Fashion Killa – Stellar Atelier: One trophy plus $200 cash
- OTA Realness (FQ/TM/Drags/Butch/BQ) – Corporate Chic 2080: Five trophies plus $300 cash
- OTA Body (FF/MF) – Futuristic Biomorph: Two trophies plus $200 cash
- OTA Tag Team Sex Siren – The Emerald Entanglement: Two trophies plus $200 cash
- OTA Performance (FQ/BQ/Drags/GNC/Women’s) – Cyber Punk Warrior: Five trophies plus $200 cash
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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Jade Odyssey marks the housewarming inaugural ball with chapters established in Kaurna and upcoming in Naarm. Categories translate ballroom fundamentals through an Asian futurist lens, transforming ancestral memories into multidimensional spaces.
The categories
Beginner’s Performance in Old Way, New Way or Vogue Femme requires Jade Energy – at least 50 percent green (neon, jade, emerald, metallic, soft or bright) with movement that feels charged and future-ready. Prize includes three trophies plus $100 cash.
FQ Face with a Prop asks for Jade Luminescence – skin appearing touched by celestial jade, glowing and impossibly radiant. Props should be reflective, translucent or luminous, interacting with that light. Prize is one trophy plus $200 cash.
OTA Fashion Killa demands Stellar Atelier Realness – sculptural shapes, cosmic textures and elevated craftsmanship that imagines fashion’s future. Prize is one trophy plus $200 cash.
OTA Realness across FQ, TM, drags, butch and BQ categories wants Corporate Chic 2080 – the quiet luxury of future executives through elevated minimalism, crisp tailoring and confident stillness. Five trophies plus $300 cash overall.
OTA Body in FF and MF categories requires Futuristic Biomorph presentation with subtle glows, linear accents or reflective elements tracing physiques like advanced jade technology – bio-circuitry, light pathways, sleek tech-coded detailing. Two trophies plus $200 cash overall.
OTA Tag Team Sex Siren brings The Emerald Entanglement – two beings designed to allure in green lingerie or jade-coded fits, moving with matched frequency chemistry. Two trophies plus $200 cash.
OTA Performance across FQ, BQ, drags, GNC and women’s categories channels Cyber Punk Warrior energy – fighters from hyper-advanced worlds bringing sharp movement, bold attitude and looks inspired by cyberpunk armour, straps, neon accents or tech-coded silhouettes. Five trophies plus $200 cash overall.
Naarm ballroom community comes together
Judges include Father Calisto Iman from Singapore, Tony 007, Overall Australian Mother Jada Givenchy, Founding Mother Angel Furia, Father Yoshi Dynasty, Heilala Diesel and Chantal 007. DJ Beji (Aero Sassy Savage) handles the decks, with commentary from Helix Sassy Savage and Willa Furia, while Aki Sassy Savage takes MC duties.
Limited free tickets exist for First Nations people, active Femme Queens members and active Trans Men members via the same contact method.
Categories and performances are being co-curated through open invitations and community workshops to ensure the event reflects diverse lived realities and artistic expressions. Curated soundscapes will blend ballroom beats with experimental audio design throughout the evening, amplifying the sensory and emotional experience beyond traditional DJ sets.
Ballroom operates as artistic platform and site of resistance, celebration and healing. Categories are deliberately constructed to invite bold interpretation, experimentation and storytelling, challenging participants to embody their most powerful, fabulous and authentic selves. Creative vision centres collaboration and community co-creation, engaging emerging and established queer and trans artists; dancers, DJs, designers, commentators and cultural workers often excluded from mainstream platforms.
Access is embedded in design. Free entry for First Nations and transgender individuals, low-cost options for performers and audience, with the event taking place during evening hours to align with ballroom’s cultural rhythms. Categories include adaptive and collaborative options across different abilities. Multiple engagement pathways exist – competitors, audience members, volunteers, workshop participants and community partners all contribute meaningfully.
Jade Odyssey represents chosen family forming in real time, a legacy of resistance needed now more than ever with increasing intolerance against POC-queer and trans bodies.
This isn’t just spectacle; it’s reclamation of space, history and identity, a living archive of queer cultural labour and resilience offering an alternative stage where those too often erased get seen, affirmed and celebrated.
For more information, head here.
