Night at the Poseum to Slay World Museum
Iconic House of Suarez Vogue Ball returns to Liverpool in World Museum this autumn
Iconic House of Suarez Vogue Ball returns to Liverpool in World Museum this autumn
House of Suarez’s legendary annual Vogue Ball is returning to Liverpool this autumn and will be inspired by treasures from around the globe, set against the stunning backdrop of World Museum.
Night at the Poseum on 23 October, will draw inspiration from World Museum’s collections to create costumes and performances to animate the Lower Horseshoe in the museum.
The event will be steered by Captain Rikki Beadle-Blair as Master of Ceremonies. Nathan Sussex (Hollyoaks, It’s a Sin) and BBC Radio Merseyside personality Ngunan Adamu have been confirmed as two of the four judges.
Expect an extravaganza of costume, dance, and high drama as Houses from across the UK come together to compete for catwalk supremacy in categories such as Fantasy, Solo, Lip Synch, Sex Siren and Choreography.
Darren Suarez, artistic director of the House of Suarez and founder of the Vogue Ball, said:
We are taking our audiences through time and space as we enter the iconic building of Liverpool's World Museum! We will see the spectacular collections come to life on one runway, as Houses from across the country and beyond embody the glorious building and its spectacular exhibits. Houses will channel their inner divas as they battle for supremacy on the famous House of Suarez runway. From Pharaohs battling spacemen to insect lip syncing for 10s across the board. We promise to keep up our tradition and keep our audience's wanting more!
“I am so happy to be partnering with such an iconic brand as National Museums Liverpool, the beautiful landmark venue of World Museum and working with some of Liverpool’s most precious collections. All our participants are so excited and raring to go.
David Watson, Executive Director of Audiences & Media added:
We are really excited to be partnering with House of Suarez to host one of the most fabulous events in Liverpool’s cultural calendar. We have already established a relationship with House of Suarez, having one of their stunning Vogue Ball dresses on display in the window of Museum of Liverpool. Bringing global Vogue culture to our museums helps to further highlight links with the collections and LGBTQ+ culture and diverse ethnic cultures. Night at the Poseum is part of a series of events we’ll be delivering as part of a new autumn/winter programme of activity to reenergise, reengage and entertain audiences.
The House of Suarez Vogue Ball is inspired by the legendary balls held in New York City from the 1970s, which provided a platform for young Black and Latinx LBGTQ+ people to showcase their flamboyant and competitive personalities.
Dubbed club culture meets high art, the ball has become a key annual event in Liverpool’s cultural calendar since it burst onto the scene as part of the Homotopia LGBTQ+ programme for European Capital of Culture in 2008.
The main event will be preceded by Elements of Vogue, House of Suarez’s under 16s platform. Youth dance groups nationwide will work alongside House of Suarez via workshops and classes, before officially opening at World Museum on 22 October.
Tickets will go on sale in July.
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FURTHER INFORMATION
Alix Johnson
Head of PR & Communications
alix.johnson@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
07384 510967
NOTES TO EDITOR
World Museum:
Experience the wonders of life and the universe at World Museum, where millions of years of the world’s history are revealed. Find out how humans have shaped the planet we inhabit, from Africa to the Americas, Asia and Europe and how human behaviour is impacting our world today. Immerse yourself in Sarah Howe’s magical poetry about survival and loss in the World Cultures Gallery and learn more about how we are reinterpreting collections. Visit the Ancient Egypt gallery, which houses one of the finest ancient Egyptian and Nubian collections in Europe. We will take you to the farthest reaches of our spectacular world, diving down into underwater life in the newly refurbished Aquarium (opening summer 2021) and blasting you off into the skies in the Space Gallery and our updated Planetarium.
www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/world-museum
National Museums Liverpool:
National Museums Liverpool (NML) comprises seven venues, including some of the most visited museums in England outside of London. Our collections are among the most important and varied in Europe and contain everything from Impressionist paintings and rare beetles to a lifejacket from the Titanic. We attracted more than 3 million visitors in 2019.
Our venues are Museum of Liverpool, World Museum, Walker Art Gallery, Maritime Museum, International Slavery Museum, Sudley House and Lady Lever Art Gallery. National Museums Liverpool is regulated by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
House of Suarez:
House of Squarez (Hos) was formed by Darren Suarez in 2006 as a platform for Vogue Dance & Culture developing the choreography of the vogue style by incorporating contemporary & classical dance styles with Vogue. HoS mission is to bring Vogue Culture to a wider audience, creating a deeper understanding of the value of LGBTQ+ and BaME self-expression, artistry and their contribution to mainstream popular culture. HoS develops the skills and techniques of young and emerging performers, providing a platform to showcase new talent and a springboard into the wider arts industry. HoS is instrumental in the development of the Northern UK Vogue Scene and has encouraged the creation of new Houses across the region including Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Huddersfield. HoS & the Northern Vogue scene feature in an independently produced documentary “Deep in Vogue” streaming on BBCiPlayer. Since 2012 HoS has run an Academy in Vogue & Contemporary Dance for emerging artists and selected dancers form the professional HoS Company performing in Balls & tours.
Vogue Ball:
Darren was the founder of the Vogue Ball event "Liverpool is Burning" as part of the Homotopia LGBTQ+ programme for European Capital of Culture in 2008. Since then the HoS Vogue Ball has been produced independently in Liverpool & from 2010-2020 has grown its audience & participants to form one of the main cultural events in the city's calendar, appearing as a photo story in Attitude Magazine (Nov 2018). Since 2014 the company has hosted the HoS Manchester Ball in the spring & in 2020 partnered for a 4th time with Contact Theatre to stage the biggest Manchester Ball to date for the Queer Contact programme- named one of the 5 best dance shows to see in The Guardian & receiving a 5-star review in Upstaged Manchester.
Elements of Vogue:
A special non-competitive event for under 16s showcasing the talents of the HoS Academy alongside young performers from local, regional and national dance schools. Each group performs solo and group choreographed pieces alongside professional voguers. Audiences are made up of the performers’ followers, peers, friends and families as well as professional Houses scouting for new talent.