Clapping and whistling bounced off walls in the Glenn Miller Ballroom as the audience welcomed each and every drag performer to the stage. The tumultuous cheering continued well into the night and a feeling of love and support for Boulder’s gay community was apparent all Saturday night.

The Gay-Straight Alliance at CU couldn’t have planned a better time to host their 6th annual drag show. The event happened a few days after National Coming Out Day and the drag show celebrated the joys of being oneself.

At the beginning of the show, the emcee, Ginger Sexton, began with a survey of the audience.  She asked all gay boys to clap their hands. Then she gave a turn to lesbians, then straight girls and then to straight men. Every group made a decent amount of noise.

The stimulating lighting and well-picked playlist may have aided the success of the show.
Although the costumes were spectacular and the choreography was well done, awhat left the biggest impression was the audience’s obvious connection to the drag performers.

Blake Clapp, a 21-year-old senior sociology major, said that he had signed up a week in advance for this event. When asked which performer was his favorite, he couldn’t choose.

Clapp wasn’t the only one to enjoy the performance. After the show, drag-queen Tatiana, also known as Michael Shepard, a 23-year-old senior architectural engineering student, shared her thoughts on the night’s events.

While admitting slight discomfort due to being, as she says, “duct-taped beyond all reason,” Tatiana explained that she hopes that young people experiencing doubt about their sexuality understand that it’s all about, as she says, “being confident and loving being gay.” Tatiana said her favorite routine was her Britney Spears act.

“Being center stage is what it’s all about,” Tatiana said.

Possibly one of the most touching reactions to the performance, in this reporter’s opinion, was from families of the participants. Kellie Kelley-Cunningham, a mother, said she was so proud of her son. She said she remembered a time when her son was shy. She expressed an uncontainable joy that her child had finally found his place in the gay community on campus.

If you would like to know more about what’s happening in the gay community at CU, visit the GSA website. Other GLBT groups at CU include: Gather, GLBT Business Leaders Alliance, OUTLaw , The Queer Initiative, Queer People of Color, Queer Women in Community and the Student Alliance of GLBT Engineers.  Check out the CU GBLT Resource Center for more information.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alaina Ambrosio at Alaina.ambrosio@colorado.edu.