2025 Finalist - ACON Community Hero Award

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Danica Lani - The King Coach

Founder & Creative Director of Kings of Joy

Danica Lani, also known as The King Coach, is the Founder and Creative Director of Kings of Joy - a queer performance movement empowering Drag Kings to feel at home in their own skin.

Since 2020, s/he has mentored over 150 first-time Drag Kings through world-first programs like Kings of Joy Gold Stars, All Stars, and Solo Drag King Coaching, and she produces Drag Kingdom, the largest regular Drag King show in the world and monthly Drag King show, Bois Night Out.

Blending choreography, queer embodiment, community-building, and values-led leadership, Danica creates spaces where LGBTQIA+ people can play with gender, reclaim power, and experience unapologetic joy. Her work centres anti-racism, non-toxic masculinity, gender diversity, and the freedom to belong.

As The King Coach, s/he guides Kings across Australia and around the world to unleash their artistry, deepen their Drag King persona, and shine onstage and off.

Founder. Artist. Visionary. Community Builder.

Why I Do This Work

People often ask how Kings of Joy began. The truth is, it didn’t start as a grand plan. It started as a need - a longing for expression, belonging, and joy at a time when queer spaces were disappearing.

I grew up in a small town in country Victoria. I didn’t know the words for who I was yet — lesbian, queer, gender-nonconforming, creative — but I knew I was different. Dance became my first language of freedom. It was how my body spoke before I had the words.

Years later, after years of performing, choreographing, facilitating workshops, and working closely with queer communities, I started to see a pattern. Again and again, I heard people say:

“I want to be free to explore my masculinity.”

“I want to feel confident in my body.”

“I want to be seen.”

And in 2020, in the middle of lockdowns, Kings of Joy was born. What started as a small experiment became a movement. And the moment the first Kings stepped into their personas, something extraordinary happened - shoulders dropped, breath deepened, confidence grew, and joy filled the room. Drag Kinging became a pathway home to themselves.

I knew then: this was bigger than performance.

This was transformation.

In 2025, I was honoured to be recognised as a Finalist for the ACON Community Hero Award, acknowledging the impact of this work in the LGBTQIA+ community. It affirmed what I already knew - that joy, safety, and gender exploration are powerful forces for change.

What I Believe

Kings of Joy is grounded in four core values:

Joy

A form of resistance. A reclamation. A life force.

Gender diversity

We celebrate the full spectrum of identity and expression.

Anti-racism

We honour and center our BIPOC Kings as essential to our community.

Positive masculinity

We model new, expansive ways of expressing and embody masculinity.

We don’t chase perfection.

We chase authenticity, embodiment, and the freedom to express — wildly, tenderly, powerfully.

My Work Today

I’m a:

choreographer
performer
TEDx speaker
relational coach
facilitator
queer parent
community builder
producer of Drag Kingdom & Bois Night Out
creator of the Kings of Joy Success Path

…and someone who cares deeply about people feeling seen, supported, and free in their expression. My StrengthsFinder themes — Strategic, Empathy, Relator, Includer, and Achiever — guide how I build community and how I lead.

SPEAKING & WORKSHOPS

I speak on Drag King culture, gender embodiment, queer community & belonging, creativity and empowerment. Whether it's a keynote, workshop or panel, I bring warmth, insight, humour and invitation for people to deepen into who they are.

Ready to inspire your audience?

Let’s talk about your event.

Find out more

If You're Here, You're Not Here By Accident

You might be:

curious about Drag Kinging
exploring your gender
wanting to feel more confident in your body
craving creative expression
hungry for community
ready to be seen

Wherever you’re starting from, you’re welcome in this space.

Kings of Joy is growing — both here in Sydney and globally — through performances, workshops, online programs, and a community built on joy, expression, and belonging.

If something in you is stirring, pulling, or waking up…

You’re in the right place.

Let’s do this together.