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Making waves at the Rainbow Wave Festival drag king culture kings of joy Dec 23, 2022

When Caitlin from the Rainbow Wave Festival and Jade from Deep in Drag, the afterparty contacted me with a bold request to travel down to Bega, NSW during my busiest two weeks of the year, there was a reason I said yes.

I grew up in a small country town, Everton in North East Victoria, pop.374...

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The ripples of Drag Kingdom block 13 drag kingdom kings of joy kings of joy all-stars Dec 15, 2022

Whenever we gather together, it's powerful. Things happen that were not going to happen anyway. From new connections to standing ovations, at Drag Kingdom we celebrated the end of the year together as the Kings of Joy community.

From this one night, here's the impact we made:

  • 30 Kings of Joy...
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Drag Kingdom. 30 Drag Kings. 1 stage. block 13 drag kingdom kings of joy kings of joy all-stars Dec 06, 2022

Drag Kingdom on 8 December brings together the Kings of Joy community in an end-of-year performance night that is the biggest Drag King event of the year. Topped only by our first Drag Kingdom in August. With 30 Drag Kings performing, it's a celebration of the uplifting community we are part of...

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When Kindness Works: a new partnership community kings of joy Nov 29, 2022

I'm standing in the events space at the back of The Working Kind Collective and the founder of Bambuddha Group, Anna Sheppard is waving her hand enthusiastically towards the wall which will soon have mirrors installed for our new rehearsal and workshop space for Kings of Joy. She turns to me...

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My most epic on-stage fail - and what I learned choreography Nov 22, 2022

I’m in Monterey, California, US on stage in front of 800 people from around the world attending a conference on global transformation. 80 people are dotted around the audience with flashlights. I move around on stage, imagining myself as a conductor, directing those 80 people to stand up...

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How to be a Trans Ally queer relating Nov 15, 2022

I identify as a lesbian and my gender expression is bi-gender, which means 'both', or the 'all of it.' I have a physical body that's female and an energetic body that is male. I married a lesbian who is now non-binary trans-masc. I'm here to talk about my top five tips for how to be an ally this...

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Block 13 & Chris Lani-McAllister on The Guilty Feminist podcast anti-racism block 13 media queers of joy Nov 08, 2022

I'm a feminist, but... when Chris woke me from a deep sleep at 4 am whispering, "Deborah Frances-White said you too!", all I could muster was, "Jesus." All my body wanted to do was rest and fight off my flu symptoms. As I lay there, semi-conscious, hearing Chris start the shower, I had one...

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How we pay it forward in Kings of Joy community kings of joy Nov 04, 2022

It all started when I got a call from Jim Junkie, our loveable, local Drag King Fitness Influencer.

Jim (Becks Blake) said to me,

“I loved being part of that first group of Kings of Joy with all first-time Drag Kings. I wasn't sure if I would ever get to find a creative community...

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Find a place to belong, not fit in kings of joy performance Oct 27, 2022
Photo credit: Sarah Malone

"[Kings of Joy] has been an incredible experience. It's been amazing to be in my body in a way that you don't often get to be. Especially because I'm in the middle of going home to tell my parents... that I identify as queer. I'm not out to them yet. So it's been a...

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Lessons from a water balloon fight queer relating Oct 11, 2022

It's a beautiful spring day in Sydney, full of sunshine and the heady aroma of newly blossoming jasmine. My daughter and I decide to take our puppy, Luna to the park. There's a mix of communities in our local park and today was no exception. Spotting some kids who go to the same primary school,...

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Kings of Joy podcast interview with Trans Mission: sharing joy with LGBTQ refugees anti-racism block 13 kings of joy music podcast Oct 04, 2022

Danica Lani 0:00
Hello, and welcome my friends. Welcome to my podcast. My name is Danica Lani. I am the King Coach, also known as Daddy Joy and Mother of Drag Kings. And today I am thrilled, absolutely over the moon to introduce you to Trans Mission.

Trans Mission 0:19
Hi. Thank you so much for...

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Who's your (Drag) Daddy? choreography kings of joy performance Sep 27, 2022

Midsumma Carnival 15 Jan, 2012 (L-R Danica Lani, Rocco D'Amore, Lucy Berry & Alison Shirley.) Photo by Alison Bennett

My Drag King apprenticeship really began in the salon chair. Rocco D'Amore was my hairstylist for many years - and my Drag Daddy. We discussed everything from representation...

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