Harlem Drag Ball Culture - Voguing - Fashion
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  • Home
  • About
    • One Sheet
    • Testimonials
    • Screenings
    • Awards
    • Bookings
    • Theses & Lectures
    • Touching People's Heart
    • Support Letters
    • 1st Ballroom Convention
    • 1st Online Ball Competition
    • HIV / AIDS >
      • The Ones We Lost
      • Kevin Omni Burrus Burial Fund
    • Pose >
      • HDIL History behind Pose
      • History Behind Pose
  • Directors
    • Wolfgang Busch Producer Director >
      • Big Meach interview
      • Randolfe Wicker interview
      • Out At The Center interview Wolfgang Busch Jose Xtravaganza
    • Kevin Ultra Omni Assistant Director >
      • Kevin Omni Historian
    • Luna Khan Assistant
  • Downloads
    • Vimeo
    • Amazon
    • Library purchase
    • DVD
  • Media
    • Press Release November 2020
    • Highlight Moments
    • Videos >
      • Voguing >
        • Vogue History
        • Willi Ninja Podcast
        • Willi Ninja Tribute
        • Jose Xtravaganza
        • Javier Ninja
        • Publicits Media, Pride 2022, 6. 15. 22
      • Pioneers / Icons >
        • Pepper Labeija Grand March 2000, Brooklyn
        • Angie Xtravaganza Tribute
        • Kevin Omni READING
        • Octavia St Laurent - her boy pictures
        • Ross Infiniti Futuristic Bazaar Fashion
        • John Moschino Runway Fashion
      • TV >
        • How Do I Look - CBS News on Logo TV
        • Temp TV - Ru Paul & Kevin Stea
      • Music Videos >
        • Official Music Video
        • How Do I Look, John LaRocca's Bazaar Ball mix
        • Jade Electra & Midnight Society, editor John LaRocca
        • Pioneers, Icons, Legends & Stars
        • RuPaul vs Lady Gaga
        • Madonna Vogue Super Bowl with Benny & Javier Ninja
        • Art By Davey Photographer
      • Balls >
        • T.V. Transvestite, First Ballroom movie, 1982
        • How Do I Look Ball Chicago 2005
        • House Of Moshood Ball - 1999
      • Fight For Justice >
        • Paris is Burning - The Dark Side
        • GMHC Latex Ball Boycott
        • GMHC "It's A Chop"
      • Awards >
        • Wolfgang Busch Awards
      • Yale University
      • Thomson Reuters screening featuring Benny & Javier Ninja
      • Sweden Ballroom
  • Vogue (Dance) Documentary
    • History Timeline by Kevin Omni
    • Vogue History
    • Willi Ninja
    • Jose Xtravaganza
    • Octavia St. Laurent
    • Pepper LaBeija
  • Links
    • Art From The Heart Films
    • Wolfgang Busch >
      • Website
      • Highlights
    • Ballroom Tracks
    • Flow Affair Documentary
    • Supporters
  • Contact

Octavia St. Laurent

Octavia St. Laurent was a notable figure in the Harlem ballroom community. She was a trans woman of color who often competed in the category of "Face," and she used her prominence in the community to become an AIDS educator.

Octavia's life experiences informed her advocacy for the community

Octavia knew the adversities faced in ball culture. In How Do I Look, she spoke about her history with drug use, sex work, and the fight against AIDS. She was close friends with Willi Ninja, another star in How Do I Look.

Starring in How Do I Look

Octavia was a strong supporter of How Do I Look -- right from the beginning. She served as an advisor to the director and producer Wolfgang Busch. Octavia gave Wolfgang full access into her personal life and lifestyle, and she introduced him to her family and friends. Octavia attended How Do I Look meetings at the LGBT Community Center to talk about what the Ballroom community wanted How Do I Look to be. They wanted it to be a balance to Paris is Burning, which many regarded as exploitative, and they wanted a respectful inclusion of the suffering and sacrifices -- and the many losses to the AIDS epidemic.

Octavia's legacy became equal parts of an icon in the trans community and an influencer in the Ballroom community.

Octavia’s quote about How Do I Look : “Its too real for the general audience.”

Octavia was diagnosed with HIV but passed away from cancer complications on May 17, 2009.
Picture
Picture

More about How Do I Look

Octavia St. Laurent starred in How Do I Look, an independent vogue (dance) documentary released in 2006 that gives us a cinematic look at some of the legends, icons, and members of ballroom community that influenced pop culture around the world.



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