THE PINK BALL by the legendary Vinii Revlon – Voguing Ball

“The Pink Ball”: A Voguing Ball for the Fête de la Musique 2025

The Institut français of Germany is celebrating 30 years of the Fête de la Musique in Berlin and the 75th anniversary of the Maison de France!

To mark the occasion, the Institut français of Germany – Maison de France – has joined forces with La Gaîté Lyrique (Paris) to present its very first Voguing Ball: “The Pink Ball.”

The ball promises to be vibrant, dance-filled, and full of energy. It pays tribute to ballroom culture and celebrates the friendship between the French and German communities – a highlight for the European ballroom scene!

An event that, through its inclusivity, festive spirit, and creativity, reflects the original essence of the Fête de la Musique: launched in France over 40 years ago, the festival brings together amateur and professional musicians of all generations in public spaces, celebrating music in its most eclectic forms!

A key milestone in cultural accessibility, the Fête has found fertile ground in Berlin.

The evening will be hosted by Vinii Revlon and an international jury featuring key figures from France and Germany – including a delegation from La Gaîté Lyrique, Berlin, and Hamburg – to make this Pink Ball an unforgettable moment.

You can participate in the event either as a performer or as a spectator. Payment will be collected upon arrival.

To fully embrace the spirit of the event, a dress code is strongly recommended: pink in all its forms! Fuchsia, pastel, neon, powder pink… Let's honor the color of love, glamour, and Ballroom activism.

What is the Ballroom scene?

Born in Harlem in the 1920s, the Ballroom scene is a legacy of urban dance culture, especially street battles.
However, these gatherings took place indoors, sheltered from the violence inflicted on minorities — queer, Black, and Hispanic — who carried the movement and its first opportunities for development.
It would not be until the 1960s and 1970s that ballrooms became essential social spaces for what was not yet called the LGBTQIA+ community.

Gathered into houses — "families" of affinity led by mothers and fathers — participants are judged on various aesthetic and performative criteria, making these events resemble beauty, dance, and creativity contests.
All of this takes place against a backdrop of a political message in perpetual tension.

The structure of a ball is divided into categories, each taking the form of a show where different dance styles are expressed, offering a subtle critique of heteropatriarchal and capitalist society.
Some categories are politically engaged, such as Realness, reflecting the ability to blend into the heteronormative social standard.
Others, like Performance, mix dance and model poses inspired by Vogue magazine, from which the style Vogue Fem and the popularity of the term voguing derive.

These categories are themselves organized into various versions and subcategories, making the Ballroom scene a rich and highly codified culture.

For dancers, the Ballroom scene is more than just a practice: it is a community, a way of life.
The Ballroom scene and balls are safe spaces, places where each person can present themselves to the world as they truly are.
In these spaces of celebration and conviviality, the LGBTQIA+ community gathers and celebrates itself in flamboyant events that tell the story of a century of political, social, and artistic emergence.

Program of the Pink Ball:

During the event, dancers will compete in one or more categories, including:

1. Female Figure Face / Male Figure Face
The category of absolute beauty. In the Ballroom scene, the FACE category celebrates facial beauty, skincare, symmetry of features, gaze, and attitude.
Here, it’s not about extravagant makeup, but the quality of your skin, your natural glow, and your confidence.
For this Pink Ball, your complexion should shine like a pink sunset over Berlin. Come and dazzle us!

2. Virgin Runway
First time on a runway? This category is for you!
It's your chance to enter the Ballroom scene.
You must walk as if you were on the catwalk of a major fashion show, with confidence and poise.
Let your attitude shine, respecting the pink dress code.
A perfect category for those who want to take their first steps!

3. All American Runway
The classic, sober, and elegant style.
You embody the simple and timeless elegance of New York fashion shows.
Your walk is straight, your head is held high, your look is chic... but tonight, pink is the star!
Whether it’s a suit, a costume, or a dress, everything must be perfectly tailored and confidently worn.

4. European Runway
Audacity, extravagance, and avant-garde fashion.
Here, you pay tribute to Parisian, Berlin, and European haute couture.
We want originality, volume, unexpected materials — and, of course, pink!
Your walk is dramatic, theatrical, and powerful.
This is a show, not just a runway!

5. Commentator vs Commentator
The microphone is yours!
Two MCs compete by improvising over the beat.
You must energize the room with your flow, voice, and energy.
You are the conductor of the Ball, the one who narrates and animates what is happening on the runway.
Vocal freestyle, punchlines, humor, and audience interaction are your best assets!

6. Everyday Realness (Male Figure / Female Figure)
Can you pass as "real" in everyday life?
This category blurs the lines!
You must convince the jury and audience that you are what you represent: a businessman, a schoolgirl, a mother... but tonight, with a touch of pink!
The art of blending in... or almost.

7. Body (Male Figure / Female Figure)
Celebrating bodies and self-confidence.
Here, we celebrate pride in the body, regardless of its shape or size.
What matters is the attitude: you must show that you are proud of yourself.
Show off your body in pink: lingerie, swimsuits, couture bodysuits... it's your choice.
The most important thing? Your confidence and charisma.

8. Fashion Killa (Male Figure / Female Figure)
Fashion as an art form!
This category is dedicated to spectacular and fashion-forward looks.
You must come with an incredible outfit, thoughtfully built, with details and a real stylistic vision.
Tonight, pink is your only constraint — and your greatest asset: whether glamorous, streetwear, or haute couture, impress us!

9. Lip Sync
A lip-sync performance as if your life depended on it!
Choose one of the songs from the 100% pink vibes playlist and deliver a performance that would move a diva to tears.
No forgetting lyrics or dropping energy allowed!
Selected songs:

• Madonna — "Material Girl"
• Grace Jones — "La Vie en Rose"
• Chappell Roan — "Pink Pony Club"
• Frank Ocean — "Pink Matter"
• Nicki Minaj — "Barbie Dreams"

Vinii Revlon, Guest of Honor and Host of the Pink Ball

We are delighted to welcome Vinii Revlon as the host of the Pink Ball.
He is a highly recognized member of the international Ballroom scene and the first dancer in Europe to earn the title of "Legend."
He uses his position to introduce the general public to voguing, notably appearing on the stage of the Opéra Bastille for Clément Cogitore's acclaimed staging of Les Indes Galantes.

In other fields, he has performed alongside artists such as Aya Nakamura (in the video for the hit Pookie) and even in front of the Élysée Palace with Kiddy Smile during a memorable Fête de la Musique.
He is also a founding member of Studio HMU, a Franco-American project focused on research between Baroque culture and voguing.
Today, as the head of the House of Revlon, he is involved in organizing numerous balls and projects with La Gaîté Lyrique, including the Voguing On Tour events, where he is the main face and MC.

Find him on Instagram: @viniirevlon

France, a Major Actor of the Voguing Scene

At the beginning of the 2010s, the Ballroom scene developed in Paris, which soon became the European capital of voguing.
This enthusiasm is reflected in the ever-growing number of Parisian balls.

To share its experience of hosting and producing balls, and to promote the Ballroom scene throughout France, La Gaîté Lyrique launched the Voguing On Tour program in 2021.
Partnering with a cultural network eager to embrace Ballroom culture, and always with Vinii Revlon as Master of Ceremonies, La Gaîté Lyrique’s balls tour year-round, reaching ever-wider audiences.
More in tune with the times than ever, the Ballroom community is ready to make France vogue!

The event is organized in collaboration with La Gaîté Lyrique, a cultural venue of the City of Paris.

La Gaîté Lyrique aims to respond to the cultural, social, democratic, and climate emergencies.
With the Fabrique de l’époque project — between creation and commitment — it invites people to move from ideas to action, gathering everyone around concerts, round tables, drinks, performances, workshops, or screenings.
La Gaîté Lyrique is a daily open space, accompanying a new generation of talents, breaking down barriers between practices and audiences, and building new narratives on a European scale.
Hand in hand with artists, activists, thinkers, and changemakers, La Gaîté Lyrique – Fabrique de l’époque offers new ways to create and act together.

Website: https://www.gaite-lyrique.net/
Instagram: @gaitelyrique

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