House Of Alexander’s Josh Taliani Talks Ballroom Culture In Australia
FEATURED: Josh Taliani | Instagram
HOUSE: House Of Alexander | Instagram
Ryan Murphy’s TV series Pose familiarised us with the House and Ballroom scene in New York in the ’80s and ’90s; but few people realise there are houses in Australia as part of the thriving queer subculture.
Josh, how many houses are there currently in Australia?
In Meanjin [Brisbane], there’s ours – House Of Alexander, Dynasty, and a new house coming up called House Of Sin. In Eora Nation [Sydney], you’ve got Slé, Silky, the House Of Midnight, Luna; and in Naarm [Melbourne] you’ve got Devines and Kleins. In Boorloo [Perth], you’ve got House Of Reign. So, just over 10. There may be a couple of others I don’t know about yet, and the rest are 007s, meaning free agents, like they don’t yet belong to a house.
You’re Italian and Aboriginal. How does that mix play out in your life and in your head?
[Laughs] I think about that a lot. My mum died when I was young. She was Aboriginal. We lived in Central West Queensland, where my Bidjara mob is from. My dad was Italian and moved to Brisbane to show me to my Italian side. Boy, what a different life! Growing up with my Italian family, I never knew my Indigenous side. These days, it’s weird, with the Dream Time on one side and Italian culture and religion on the other.
Growing up, were you torn?
Especially with religion. Before Western culture invaded, there was no religion. There was the belief that your spirit gets taken to the next realm, and you come back as your totem. They didn’t have a book to read. I lived a whole life without religion, then, suddenly, I’m Catholic! It gave me such a big brain fart!
Is it easier to be gay if you’re Aboriginal . . . or Italian? Or did you have to find a halfway place?
You grow up knowing being gay is bad, according to Western religion. In First Nations culture, there’s men’s business and women’s business. Men’s business tells you to hold yourself as a prideful man. My First Nations side reminds me I have the pride of a man, but to me that’s more about feeling comfortable pushing my boundaries as a man, as far as femininity goes. Yes, there’s a clash. Western religion says gay is wrong, but in First Nations culture you hear stories about people being two-spirited, with female and male energy.
I’m not gonna lie. I was very stern on myself in adapting to the straight way for a while and it closed off a lot in me. That’s why I love Ballroom. It lets me explore these things.
The House is a good example of chosen family, but all families have squabbles. One of the themes of Pose was rigid House discipline. How do you maintain that?
Australian Ballroom is known for its family essence. And that doesn’t come from putting myself above the members. I want members to feel comfortable. Our daughter is starting transition, getting on hormones and riding those emotions. We’re there to support. My sons look after the trans women in our House. Some of my sons let them live with them if they don’t have a place to go. We have a House kitty for all the gig money. It’s not so easy to get a job if you’re trans, so the money’s there when it’s needed.
Watching your Ballroom episode on Curious Australia on SBS, and also Pose and Sissy Ball in Sydney, clearly the exuberance of doing a Walk is amazing.
My first time Walking properly was at Sissy Ball and I carried the Aboriginal flag. It was crazy. Before I got on stage, I was walking through the crowd and they went wow! It was liberation. People were looking at my flag like they’d never seen it before and I was like: “Oh my God, this is more than I can handle.”
Walking is the most natural high you could ever get, ever, because it’s so liberating. There’s this white noise in the background, you’re hitting the music, you’re interacting with the crowd, the judges. It’s all this sensation at once. You’ve lived this whole life trying to navigate your way, trying to be “normal” [in air quotes], which is crazy. Getting up there while strangers cheer you on, completely there for you, telling you to go out and don’t fuck it up! It’s crazy to have that much encouragement from a thousand people in one room! The heart races, you get goosebumps, you almost black out.
You don’t know how much it hurts to hold your abs together, keep your arms up, go down on your knees, spin on your knees. You look pretty overall, but it’s so much work. And sometimes we do it in heels. It’s insane!
As an Aboriginal queer man, are you accepted by the Aboriginal community at large?
Short answer — yeah. It’s not as bad as what you’ve read. Many have been waiting for people like me to take a stand because they have relatives going through stuff. They’ve been able to point their relative to me. I’ve made good friends with so many great activists. Knowing they have my back is great because they have a loud voice and a big network doing what I’m trying to do — be a representation for queer First Nations.
Josh Taliani features in the documentary series Curious Australia now streaming on SBS’s Viceland and NITV channels. He was also on Australia’s Got Talent.
