31 May and 1 June 2025 - The historic Ballroom Weekend brought us back to the sheer joy and booming colors of the streets with “PERYA” or "PHILIPPINE CARNIVAL" as the theme, and celebrated the fun and festivities of fashion, dance, community, culture, and love.

DAY 1: The Rainbow Ball Mainstream Welcomes Pride Month with an ICONIC Ball

In Ballroom Culture, “ICON” is an official title awarded to individuals with undeniable contributions to the community. Now in its FIFTH year, The Rainbow Ball and Gala 2025 was the first ball in Asia to feature an ALL-ICON PANEL, all hailing from the heart and origin of Ballroom itself, New York City.

At 3PM, Day 1 doors opened at THE SHOOTING GALLERY STUDIOS with a rumbling roll call of Legends, Statements, and Stars (LSS) with individuals and houses from all over Asia and the world taking to the runways, including The Houses of Labeija, Ebony, Oricci, and Ninja to name a few, accompanied by MCs Kinshasa Basquiat from Japan, and MCs Freya Mizrahi and Tokio 007 from The Philippines.

After the roll call, the grand marches of the co-producers’ houses began:

Father Misha De La Blanca opened The Legendary House of De La Blanca’s grand march, with a booming chant accompanied by traditional drums, followed by members of the house from The Philippines, Vietnam, China, and Japan taking to the stage.

Up-and-coming Legend and Trailblazer Mother Xyza Mizrahi then led the grand march of the Iconic House of Mizrahi––a whimsical and powerful performance that saw her elegantly elevating via trapeze over the runway, performing in the air to the roaring applause and awe of the crowd.

From here, the ball ensued one blazing category after the other: from Realness to Realness with a Twist Runway, Open-To-All Beginners Performance; Face, Fag Out Dyke Out, Hair Affair and then Hands versus Arms; Body, All Styles to a Vogue Beat that featured guest dancers and battlers from various dance communities, and then followed by the highly-creative Bizarre category; Perfect 10s, Fashion Killa, and then Lip Sync Performance, followed by the steamy category of Sex Siren. 

The evening was rounded out with the Vogue categories: Old Way, followed by New Way, and then Vogue Fem –– closing off with a powerful final battle for Overall Performance.

Along with the winners of the categories, The Rainbow Ball and Gala also saw the contributions of individuals of Philippine Ballroom recognized on stage, marking close to a decade of building the community together–– PRINCE LAKAN MIZRAHI, for his excellence as the voice of Philippine Ballroom; DAHLIA LABEIJA, for her contributions as a leader and ball organizer; CHRISTOPHER SY for his dedication in documenting Ballroom Culture; JAJA 007, for their outstanding representation of Ballroom in the academe; OVERSEER CANTER MIZRAHI, for his years of dedication and leadership in the community; MERCKZ 007, his work in bridging Ballroom and the Drag Scene; and ICONIC OVERALL MOTHER KOPPI MIZRAHI, for all the years of love, dedication, and care she has shown since the start of The Philippine Ballroom Community.

DAY 2: A Celebration of Community and Talent at The Rainbow Gala and Kiki Aftermath

On DAY 2, the RAINBOW GALA and KIKI AFTERMATH was a celebration of fashion, art, advocacy, and community, held at Octopus Bar in Makati.

After a series of debuts and showcases from the various individuals and houses in the Kiki Scene, the night began with a special archival fashion show by Oz Go, Glorious Dias, and Ziv Rei Alexi––featuring an all-Ballroom Community roster of models strutting on the runway.

From here, the KIKI AFTERMATH took off, with 10 special categories: OTA Fresh Face, Nail Affair, Beginners Runway, Pose-off, OTA Virgin Vogue, Kiki Labels, Sex Appeal, FQ Trinity Realness, Tag Team Old Way New Way, Kiki's Finest, and finally Team Vogue Fem. Highlights of the evening include New York City Icons walking the categories and battling––from Icon Eyricka taking grand prize for Sex Appeal, and Icon Javier and Icon Julian snatching grand prize for Tag Team Old Way New Way.

The judges and crew for DAY 2 Kiki Aftermath was also packed with international figures: Up and Coming Icon Mother Koppi Pinklady from Japan; Up and Coming Legend Asia Mother Channing Louboutin from Taiwan and Kianna Louboutin from Australia; Founding Father Aurora Sun from Thailand; Founding Father José Mendonca from Macau; and our very own Mother Dahlia Cleopatra and Father Canter Marciano, who was joined by Mother Ozkurr Dirty as a surprise judge. 

The evening’s ceremonies were handled by MC Tokio Cinco and Ponla Marciano, while DJ Ayel Pinklady was in charge of the beats.

The jam-packed weekend event opened Pride Month with an undeniably historic and iconic offering––celebrating LGBTQIA+ art, talent, and community, and providing a global runway for the community to be seen.

The Rainbow Ball and Gala 2025 likewise gave away more than PHP250,000 pesos worth of cash prizes; a testament of the weekend’s support for the community.

The Rainbow Ball and Gala 2025 is presented by Up-and-coming Legend, Trailblazer, and International Mother Xyza Mizrahi and Father Misha De La Blanca.

Photos by Christopher Sy.