Bahay Perlas (House of Pearls) features two Filipinx queens: Lady Fortuna (Christian Alcera) and Special K (Kiel Galera). They were birthed through the PTE Drag Performance Class of 2018 and 2019. Since then, they have been featured in drag cabarets, parades and films, breaking through the drag community with lightning speed due to their incredible story-telling skills, musicality and dance talent.
Bahay Perlas is the first of its kind in Winnipeg, a collective that welcomes drag and non-drag artists who are dedicated to breaking stigmas against drag culture. Joining Lady Fortuna and Special K, are choreographer Joseph Sevillo (dance teacher and choreographer for Shelley Shearer School of Dance) and director Hazel Venzon (artistic director and producer for U ‘N I Together Productions) who are passionate about drag performance, and supporters of BP’s artistic growth and innovative expression.
Bahay Perlas was created to cultivate and build skills for Filipinx drag queens, creating welcomed spaces and possible futures for younger generations.
Proposed Research
This talented team will use their residency for the initial stages of a new work which includes two traditional Filipinix dancers/performers – to create “Debut”. Debut is inspired by the Debut of traditional Filipinx culture, an event that has celebrated a young person’s coming of age since the 1400s. As queer drag artists BP aims to reclaim the word, creating a debut for themselves, bringing awareness to the Filipinx community, insisting that they, too, are here and deserve to be celebrated!
Photos by Hazel Venzon