Interview: Drag Syndrome

Happy #SCPride! To help us celebrate the 30th annual Famously Hot South Carolina Pride event, we spoke with Daniel and Ruby of globally known drag troupe, Drag Syndrome about their art, their travels, and the empowerment of drag.   

Disclaimer

Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access at advocacy@able-sc.org

Transcript

Boris: My name is Boris Klaric and you are parked in the Access Aisle.

 

Boris: Good Morning and thanks for joining us today. I’m going to be speaking to Daniel and Ruby from the world renowned Drag Syndrome. A touring group of drag kings and queens who’s stage performers are all people with Down Syndrome. Thanks for speaking with me today and for all the great work you do in helping spread the message of inclusion and pride all over the world through your art.

 

Daniel: Yes. That’s what we do. And what I must say from the beginning is… You know our starting point is art so this is what we're here for is to perform, is to create art. It can be dance, it can be drag, it can be ballet, it can be live art, performance. And then suddenly what happening, is stateside suddenly you become either advocate or an activist and we want to get back the conversation to the arts. To the performance, to the culture of what we do so not everything that somebody with disability does will be.. make waves and will be talked.. And then the art will disappear. The conversation has to surround the art and performance and the career that the artists have. And again this is something that when we see...when we travel the world and we see sometimes that people; instead of looking at the art first, and the craft first, there is always this label of the disabled. And its a bit boring for us because it’s not – it’s celebrated anyway. It’s unapologetic. And this conversation first about disability and then the art is a bit boring, especially for the artists that work with us, because they do what they do, they don’t really care about what people think about them, if they think that they’re special needs, disabled, or Down’s syndrome, or whatever, this is not their concern, their concern is to really, perform really well, on interesting stages and platforms. So the conversation about disability.., You know, people now see that disabled artists are interesting. There is a new wave of artists with disabilities in Europe that is doing incredible work, refreshing, interesting, insightful. That what we call mainstream audience actually really engage and love it and the disability is like another layer it's not just, it's there just like any person that have layers of their personality. It's not over dramatic, its maybe can be bonus and I think a lot of people want to divert conversation that people with disabilities are not enough to be a mainstream artist or as high quality artist as everybody else wants to be. And this conversation we were very happy that what happened in the states kind of raised awareness that people actually see the disability rather than the person and this is a bit boring way at looking at people because even if you look at disability if you look at down's syndrome, every person with Down syndrome is so different from one another. They have totally, totally different vibes. And same with other group of people, and I think dociarty have to learn that the word disability of somebody with disability doesn't mean anything about the person and it’s interesting to see all this coming and making us see that they actually have personalities and they there and they are successful as they are because they are very, very talented and very magnetic and any kind of artist you have to have these qualities to be successful artists. So you know, for us, this conversation suddenly we had to kind of get out of our artistic skills and start talking about what the art they are producing is actually affecting society and culture we didn’t want to kinda start a conversation but the conversation is by us performing and really enjoying and  fulfilling our careers and suddenly you're asked to kind of justify what you do because somebody disagree with you  or see disability as very limited or somebody with a disability, intellectual disability, any disability, is not a whole person, being dependent or that they are holy people, very angelic, untouchable and not real. Sot this extreme but people with disability in a place of everyone interfeing their lives without knowing them without really care its all assumptions trying to kind of some people suppress the disability community bc it's uncomfortable. So, in that case people i think missing out on great new voices with been here for long, throughout our journey we meet a lot of artists with disabilities, activists and they have minds that are so interesting the conversation we have with people we met is refreshing insightful it’s so beautiful and what we try to say is oh my god, you have to listen because it’s quite exciting, and you have to get outside of yourself and what you think about others and we living in a world where everything were everyone is criticizing everyone whether its disability, if it’s color, if it’s race if its gender and everybody thinks that they can say whatever they want about people and they can decide for them whether its good or bad or what it should be and I’m glad that a lot of people with disabilities are really stubborn people. I really like this trait for a lot of people with disabilities that suffered a lot of kind of repression and learned to be independent are super stubborn and quite loud and very clever. And i really like this voice

 

Boris: I would assume it contributes a lot to the art to have a strong voice like that.

 

Daniel: Absolutely! That’s what I’m saying. If you will see a lot of artists with disability here in Europe, their work is extraordinary. Their voice is loud and very clear. and very clever, and very refreshing and this is adding to art and culture and society and to people who like aesthetics and culture and art, This is always a conversation that needs to happen. It’s a good thing and annoying thing, and again always when you have disability you have to promote it and explain it a part of, and this society will know it really doesn’t matter. And so while working on this project , you always have to champion something, though all you want to do is just to have a party and explore, and to travel the world it’s coming with a message without us wanting this message to be what we are, They’re first of all amazing performers.

 

Boris: Oh yeah,. I think though with powerful art and just quality art that you guys are apart of and you guys get to not  just share locally in the U.K. but to take and show the entire world a type of art like that, I mean it’s just a matter of time that I think, showing something like that to so many culture starts just a domino effect,.

 

Daniel: Yes, yes, What do you think Ruby, Is it nice to go to different cultures to perform in different countries and different cultures. Why it so important?

 

Ruby: It’s great to show the world, perform to our fans,. And everybody loves us. No haters, no protestors.

 

Boris: One of the things I’ve been talking about with Daniel, a little bit about how you got started, do you want to talk a little bit about what kind of brought you into the group, and why you wanted to pursue this as a career?

 

Ruby: Well I’ve always dressed like a boy and my sister found him online and I wanted to do drag. And I came to him and Daniel’s like “Oh my god, I’m in Drag Syndrome, How amazing is this?” With so many people and so many friends. It was great to be part of it. 

 

Boris: Awesome. So you’ve been on the road a lot?

 

Ruby: Yeah.

Boris: So when you’re travelling on the road do you get the same kind of welcome at every place. Does every show have the same kind of energy?

 

Ruby: Sometimes. When we went to America we had a meet and greet about Drag Syndrome, But everyone was clapping and everyone was cheering. It was great. Everyone always loves us. And we deserve to be able to perform and make everyone’s lives easier. And if they hate us mate, get away from my face.

 

Daniel: Yeah I think she’s right. Everywhere we go we get really warm perception.

 

Ruby: And sometimes we have bad receptions too with certain people. Like in America for instance, there were lots of protesters and it was terrible for us.

 

Boris: Did you kind of expect that coming to America

 

Ruby: Not, no. I never thought that’d happen but when it did I was like “Oh god, are you serious?” I was shocked.

 

Daniel: The organization that invited us, we had great warm welcome from them. They all came to the airport to cheer them and they sent a limousine to take them to their hotel and and there was supportive press, so we did get a good welcome as well. Negative and positive

 

Boris: And that show sold out if I’m not mistaken

 

Daniel: yes, the show sold out in three hours. Then we were asked to an ankle? show that sold out as well.

 

Boris: Ruby, what stands out to you as the most memorable performance you’ve ever done.

 

Ruby: Definitely Berlin,

 

Boris: Oh yeah? What was special about Berlin?

 

Ruby; Well I met the guy of my dreams (unsure) and the crowds were wild. And they loved us so much.

Daniel:  What else did you like about this gig?

 

Ruby: I just told you, Pansy?.

 

Daniel: What else

 

Ruby: The crowds, the food, everything really. But especially being with Daniel, he’s perfect.

 

Daniel: Yeah right.

 

Ruby: You are, Daniel. Some days you and me will argue, some days we’ll stop.

 

Daniel: What other gigs did you like?

 

Ruby: I liked Cardiff. (unsure) as drag queen. He was brilliant,

 

Daniel: What’d you like about your performances?

 

Ruby: My performances are amazing. They are mindblowing because I’m always bendy. They’re crazy with a wow factor. 

 

Daniel. What else, what other gigs In al the gigs what did you enjoy best

 

Ruby: Well you know, the audience, the drinking, the hanging out with (unsure).

 

Daniel: Which gig do you remember a favorite place which you loved, loved, loved

 

Ruby: Berlin!

 

 

Laughter

 

Daniel: Berlin tour is the last tour.

 

Ruby: I loved it!

 

Boris: Well, that just sounds like a true artist in that your last one is always you best one.

 

Ruby: yeah

 

Daniel; That’s correct.

 

Boris: Ruby do you feel like drag empowers you?

 

Ruby: Oh yeah, definitely.

 

Boris: How did you first get into drag?

 

Ruby: Well you know, I was watching RuPaul's Drag Race on Netflix and I was so into it and so my sister found Daniel online to get me into Drag and I loved it so much. Oh god I’m such a king and I loved it.

 

Boris: I know you said before that your skills are unmatched. That your the best at what you do. How did you hone those skills over time?

 

Ruby: Well you know, I did it for a long time. Since I was a kid, since I was in (unsure) schools (unsure). Everything like that. Yeah everyone goes, “Oh my god, you're so good. Can I dance with you ``''No you can't because your too drunk.”

 

Boris: Do you feel like there were any obstacles or anything that made it hard for you to get to where you’re at?

Ruby: No, no, I love it.

 

Boris: So you found what you loved and you’ve been doing it ever since, pretty much.

 

Ruby: Yeah, I just love being a performer and being in drag. And my process when I dance, I do pole dancing and all that stuff. That’s how I get my dance moves to make me more flexible as always.

 

Boris: Did you go to like a dance school?

 

Ruby: No not really, but I did do ballet at the royal opera house in London. And I was really good because Daniel’s like “Oh my good, Ruby, you’re so good.” So I once did ballet and it was so awesome. I had a private ballet class in my house (unsure) I became the best person that you’ve ever seen.

 

Daniel: yeah, work it. Why not?

 

Boris: Absolutely, Absolutely. So Ruby what if I'm just coming to a show for the first time, I don’t know anything about it. I’m just coming for the first time, all my friends say it’s great. I want to come. What is something you want me to get from you performance?

 

Ruby: Inspiration. Because when you look at the performers and drag, and you might think, “ Why they're doing drag ” Why are they people...well not people, to me people are drag. If you love drag come to our show, love us, be our biggest fan, come in contact. But if you hate drag, hey, get lost.

 

Laugher

 

Boris: I would love to see you guys come back to the US. I’d suspect that you guys would sell out again, very, very quickly.

 

Ruby: oh yeah.

 

Daniel: Oh for sure. Yes there is a lot of interest, and mainly, a few people with Down syndrome contacted us saying they would love to meet us and love to collaborate with us. In the first show, in Grand Rapids a member contacted us before and say that he really wanted to join us so we met at the half time and he went on stage and performed as one of us.

 

Ruby: yeah

 

Daniel: He was absolutely great…

 

Ruby: He was a Brilliant Dancer

 

Daniel: Brilliant dancer, yes. Another guest artist joined up on stage and then we got a load of requests from performers in the states. So in the near future we probably will come again. We met amazing people, very interesting…

 

Ruby: Oh yeah, Lady Dior!

 

Daniel: Yeah we met great other queens and we sold out two shows with great audience, who were really interested in performance and culture so it was a very successful even. I know it’s not representing America what happened. This kind of disclination, indirect discrimination happens everywhere around the world. It’s not a national thing special to the states. But what we learned is that there are actually people judging people without actually knowing the facts and interfering with people’s life negatively when they don’t know anything about them, what they want and what they need. Also we learned that a lot of people with disabilities don’t have a loud enough voice and because of that, people are living their lives, they make their lives poorer actually. And separating and giving people with disabilities more space in society, is again, kind of trying to push away. And if you give artists a chance they develop what’s called art, and bring something new to audiences.

 

Boris: Ruby, do you feel like including people with disabilities is important for drag?

 

Ruby: Yes it is. It’s really good to encourage other people who have disabilities to come on the stage and dance with us.

 

Boris: Is that something that happens at a lot of your shows, that the audience performs?

 

Ruby: Yes, it has to be. We need to encourage other people with disabilities to be part with us and they can dance with us, like we have in America.

 

Boris: And so this has happened worldwide, like whenever you travel. That you’re that inclusive that anybody that wants to come and celebrate and be a part of your art gets the chance to?

 

Ruby: Yeah

 

Boris: And how does that make you feel to see people want to be a part of what it is that you’re doing?

 

Ruby: Well it feels really nice to meet people out and about and for the disabled, it’s important for all of us. Because if they come and face backstage to see us and what to dance with us your always welcome to.

 

Daniel: It’s something, again, for us a person is a person. So of course there is around a small people with visible and invisible disabilities. For us it’s the norm. This is how we roll. And we don’t apologize and talk about it too much and that surprised this is how it is and how wonderful it is and missing out. Diversity is spice of life and we have a lot of spice and thats why we're surrounded by people with different disabilities. That means we have very colorful people around us and its fun all the time . And again every disability is so unique and every person’s own disability is so unique. It’s always very exciting, you don't meet the same person again. That's why on this tour we meet hundreds and hundreds of people, very interesting people. And what personally I’ve learned, is that again, every disability is so personal that I usually ask when I meet somebody their specific disability and their specific thing and then you realize this kind of universe, this unique person with their very unique universe, and a very unique way at looking at things. And by working with this company, we meet what's called disability, and for us it’s so normal. And when we get asked too many questions about disability, its like you talk about something that you do every day.  And now, suddenly you have to talk about the mundane. For you, it's the mundane, for others, it’s too intense, a big topic, something you...I guess that’s the way of the world, but I think if you hang around with us and see us performing you’ll understand that art and disability is such an amazing combination.

 

Boris: Yeah,I’d agree. Ruby, you got any additional thoughts on that?

 

Ruby: Yeah I do

 

Daniel: Go for it.

Boris: The stage is yours

 

Ruby: Thank you. I’d love to encourage other people with disabilities, mental health, or anything like that, if they want to come and see us perform, they always are welcome to. I just want to say, You guys are making our dreams come true. Making us a really good time and having a good time with us. And if you want to go out for drinks some time we can all go out for drinks as a group.

 

Daniel: Anything else?

 

Ruby: That’s it. And one thing about the haters.

 

Boris: Yes, please address them

 

Ruby: If the haters hate us, then carry on hating us. Who cares? We all performers, we’re all disabled, we all got the right to be who we are, and live our lives in drag, perform on stage and make everyone love us. And if you come to our show, the haters’ you'd see that we are not just people in drag. You’ll see that we are professional artists. That is what we are about. We’re all professional artists all working as performers, and that's what we are.