Our House: Ballroom Culture & Education

Our House

Kom Kuier by Os Huis!

Our House is a collaborative initiative by Cheshire Vineyard and Zoey Black, dedicated to building the educational infrastructure necessary for Ballroom culture to evolve and flourish across Cape Town and the African continent. We hosts weekly classes focused on Ballroom 101, Vogue Femme, Old Way, Runway, and Sex Siren. We engage with Ballroom history and queer ancestry, building the confidence, autonomy, discipline, and healing necessary to navigate this world. As a community-centred initiative, we partner with those who share our values and want to contribute positively to the impact and sustainability of the programme. At Our House, we are building the self-efficacy and resilience necessary to thrive abundantly.

Our Classroom

Ballroom 101

This staple introductory class to the fundamentals of ballroom culture and dance, focusing on history, culture, technique, styles and categories. Through cultivating a supportive environment, this class is designed for all levels and genders to build confidence, knowledge, and find community within the larger Ballroom scene.

Vogue Femme

This dance class teaches the five key elements (Hand Performance, Catwalk, Duckwalk, Floor Performance, and Spins & Dips) through understanding the deeper, emotional, and historical context of the movement and performance. This class builds confidence and skill for both beginner levels and competitive performance.

Old Way

This class teaches the foundational ballroom performance style originating in the 1960s, focusing on precision, symmetry, and grace. It emphasises angular poses inspired by fashion magazines, martial arts, and hieroglyphs. Open to all levels.

Runway

Teaching two schools of walking, All-American Runway (masculine, sharp) and European Runway (feminine, expressive), this class is focused on elements like strutting, hip movement, selling a look, and modelling with storytelling. This class is open to all levels and genders, building a powerful presence on the runway.

Sex Siren

This embodied sex and sensuality class is focussed on sensual self-expression, confidence, and performance, utilising movement, body confidence, and sexual energy. This class is for all levels and genders, emphasising safety and autonomy

Discounted and Sponsored Tickets

We acknowledge the importance of fostering diverse and inclusive spaces and events that reflect the queer community we serve. We recognise the historical and ongoing systemic economic disadvantages faced by queer people of colour, specifically trans, non-binary, gender-queer, and femme POC. As such, we have made a limited amount discounted and sponsored tickets available for those who cannot afford the full ticket price and/or are having transportation difficulties. If you feel you fall into this category and would like to attend class, please contact us directly and we will assist.

Community Safety Policy

At Our House, we recognise that for trans and queer people and communities in South Africa, "safety" is often a privilege, not a guarantee. The body has frequently been a site of policing, violence, and extraction. Therefore, our policies on safety and accountability are a practice of care. This policy applies to all Our House activities and event, including the Culture and Education Programmes (Classes and Workshops) and Events (Balls and Functions). It is binding for all organisers, facilitators, judges, media, security, staff, guests, participants, and audiences. By participating in any Our House activity, whether as an organiser, facilitator, judge, media, security, staff, guest, category participant or audience, you agree to respect and act in accordance with the rules and protocols laid out in our policy. The full policy can be accessed here.

Terms and Conditions

For the purposes of improving the quality and impact of our programmes, to monitor how these programmes are benefitting our community, and to contribute to Our House's ongoing research on queer human rights, Our House may request participants for feedback on the classes, workshop, and events. In addition, Our House may document classes, workshops, and events through photography, videography, and other artistic and creative mediums.

Without expectation of compensation or other remuneration, now or in the future, the participant gives their consent to Our House to use their image and likeness and/or any interview statements from them in the organisation’s publications, advertising or other media activities.

By purchasing a ticket to this event, participants agree that Our House is not responsible for any death, illness, injury, loss or damage of any kind sustained by any person while participating in the event and all related activities, caused in any manner whatsoever. The full terms and conditions can be accessed here.

Additional Information

For more information about Our House and our events and classes, please visit us at www.ourhouseballroom.com or contact us at [email protected].