Sim moved at age 17 from the small, Muslim Southeast Asia country of Brunei to Vancouver, where he discovered drag and its power as art and self-expression. Juku was the host of the original show that inspired the creation of Dynasty-a show at 1181 that paid homage to Rina Sawayama and the K-Pop group Blackpink.įor the audience, that show was more than just a showcase of popular Asian artists, shares Bibi SouPhresh, the fourth and final host to take the stage at Dynasty.
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High kicks and death drops are a specialty-during her numbers audience members get a full demonstration of iconic drag moves and why the extended area in front of the stage is necessary at Dynasty shows. With legs for days, Kara Juku features plenty of body in plaid skirts, bright pleather, bustiers, boots, and long, colourful hair tossed around liberally as she works the stage. Performer Kara Juku took the stage next, contrasting Butch’s campy teenage angst with fast-paced choreography and upbeat pop songs.
“Especially with Dynasty we have four hosts that are all quite different in our approach to drag and how we express that, and all coming from different backgrounds, I think it’s important to show the diversity and the talent and to celebrate that and to show that we can be whoever we want to be and it is not predetermined by harmful stereotypes or what people might assume about us based on our background.” “Asian communities across North America have had a really rough last couple of years with the influx of anti-Asian violence that we’re still witnessing and experiencing today,” Butch says over the phone, a somber tone replacing the vivaciousness of their performance voice. They also explain how shows like Dynasty can help shatter harmful stereotypes about Asians, Asian artists, and queer Asians. Their look is campy and fun, with dramatic makeup, pink berets, and bright florals.īutch, who is Nisei (second-generation Japanese) and mixed race, and calls themself a “non-binary Drag Thing”, uses Dynasty to feature artists who a general audience may not realize are of mixed-race and Asian heritage, such as Olivia Rodrigo. Their slight frame accompanies a bold personality as they take the stage, crushing female power ballads and songs full of teenage angst. The Dynasty show on May 24th was a unique evening, with all four talented hosts on the roster. There are also larger celebrations of the queer Asian community through Ricecake-an event spearheaded by Dior that recently celebrated its 4th anniversary-and youth-friendly events such as Drag and Dim Sum put on by the House of Rice. With weekly shows like Dynasty gaining momentum, the visibility of Asian drag is growing. I think it also doesn’t help that we are taught in our cultures to sit and not make a scene and to just keep your head down and just do what you need to do and that’s how you’re going to succeed,” Dior says during a phone interview tucked into a busy schedule between events and work. Photo by Caleigh Mayer | were just kind of ignored or invisible. Shay Dior, house mother of ‘House of Rice,’ Vancouver’s first all-Asian drag troupe. Their drag house, the House of Rice, is the only all-Asian drag family in Vancouver. For the past six years they have defined their drag style, a non-gendered blend of masculine and feminine laced with elements of their Vietnamese heritage, and worked to bring Asian talent-a highly under-represented group of drag artists-toward the centre stage of Vancouver’s drag scene.
The lyrics “I’m the empress, on your knees, House of Slaysian, dynasty” reminds the audience exactly what they came for: an all-Asian drag show taking the stage on Davie Street-Dynasty.ĭior (who like several of the performers uses they/them pronouns) is one of the four hosts of Dynasty. Finally, a spotlight beam settles centre stage and, with the upbeat lyrics of “Big Slaysian Energy” pouring from the speakers, out stomps the bearded drag mother of the House of Rice, Shay Dior, in a belted kimono, thigh-high stiletto boots, thick-painted eyebrows and pencil moustache. They’re shoulder to shoulder encircling the small stage, cocktails in one hand and five dollar bills in the other, ready to tip their favourite performer. The audience waits breathlessly under a slow spinning disco ball.
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