P.H.D.

In the name of Alexander McQueen, the House of Alexander is Meanjin’s(Brisbane) trailblazing ballroom house, founded in 2019 by Ella Ganza, the mother of the House and Joshua Taliani, the father of the house. Ballroom houses grew out of the vibrant black and Latino LGBTQ+ communities of Harlem, New York, from which ‘voguing’ or ‘vogue’, a highly stylised form of dance was created.

Ballroom is a way of life for the marginalised voices in our communities. With the intention of empowerment and reclamation of our autonomy, voguing celebrates queer bodies of all shapes, sizes and identities within the gender spectrum.

Ella Ganza, the activist, dancer, multi disciplinary artist and trailblazing mother of the Meanjin (Brisbane) Ballroom scene, has been not only performing but a leader in the POC Creative community since a young age. Becoming the leader of the successful and inclusive Runway Dance Crew in her young adulthood she now is the founder and creatively directs Runway Movement, an all LGBTQIA+ persons of colour performance activist collective. She is also the Mother to the Kiki House of Alexander, The first Ballroom house in Meanjin and is a member of Thicc Shake, Australia’s first all drag HipHop Crew.

Her accolades include most recently being awarded Activist of the Year and Performer of the Year at the 2021 annual Queens Ball Awards in Meanjin. In her own craft she has annually curated The Alexander ball, Meanjin’s vibrant Vogue Night club events and Directed The House (2022) part of Brisbane Festival.

Joshua Taliani a 26 year old Aboriginal/Italian man hailing from the Bidjara and Kullali people of central West Queensland. Joshua is a big part of Brisbane’s dance community, training and learning from an array of artists and art forms including classical dance and performing arts. He has represented Australia in the world hip-hop championships multiple times as well as other competitions in the USA with Academy Of Brothers. He appeared on Australia’s Got Talent in 2013 with his dance crew placing third which lead to dancing in a Timomatic music video.

Joshua focuses on building the queer POC dance scene within Brisbane through his role as Father of the House of Alexander. Through the power and resilience of the ballroom scene, voguing and raising awareness. Joshua continues to mentor others, he continues to create safe spaces, functions and events which enforce and support the queer POC community from First Nations to all round.

Hailing from Lapaha and Pangai in the Kingdom of Tonga, Alekisio Ngauamo commonly known as Leki Ganza co-founded the queer collective Runway Movement and award-winning Point of Change (P.O.C), as well as becoming one of the pillars of the ballroom scene in Meanjin (Brisbane).

As a queer Pacific Islander, Leki’s passion for social change through advocacy and collaboration has opened Runway Movement to encourage queer folks of diverse backgrounds to engage with activism by producing culturally responsive and socially relevant performances and activations in Meanjin’s nightlife. Point of Change (P.O.C) a series of ongoing fundraiser events, bringing together queer creatives, with each event supporting different groups and causes that are related to persons of colour.

In his own craft, Leki has annually produced The Alexander ball, Meanjin’s vibrant Vogue Night club events and co-produced The House(2022) part of Brisbane Festival. Winning Ally of the Year in the 2021 Community Trans awards, all while connecting people with his personal networks in acquiring jobs and providing housing and other resources for those who are in dire situations.