When Countess Sasha Seduction, a Nigerian non-binary drag queen, got to attend their first ballroom experience, a 2022 Halloween ball in Lagos, Nigeria, it felt like a dream. This year, they got to attend two and were excited about how amazing the underground community was and the warmth that the space provided. “As a drag queen, it gives me somewhere to be, to inspire people, to perform. As a queer person, it gives me a family and a safe space. We’re almost forced to live in fear all the time and the ballroom is just a fantasy island where everything doesn’t matter but the people you are with, who are [also] queer! [This] is important because we don’t have that in Nigeria.” The global ballroom scene can be traced back to the 1960s in the United States. It was a form of refuge for African American and Latino drag queens, and trans-women who were often ostracised from mainstream society due to their gender identity and sexuality. They also faced racial discrimination within white-dominated balls – so much so that they had to wear pale make-up to make them look lighter-skinned and increase their chances of winning competitions. These minorities eventually found refuge in Harlem, where they gathered in ballrooms to organise and compete as a way to express their identities and find acceptance. The ballroom competitions were a way for the participants to showcase their talents in various categories, including modelling, voguing, and dance.