Serving Legacy, Looks, and Rebellion at the Majestic Ball

Ballroom culture remains loud and proud here in Central Texas with the fifth annual incarnation of the Majestic Ball. Created by the Paramount Theatre’s Ryan Thompson, the Ball is a party packed with queer POC talent. That includes Austin’s own Diamond Dior Davenport tributing pop icons like Rihanna or Beyoncé, special guest performances such as this year’s appearance from RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Shea Couleé, and a mini-ball competition emceed by the one and only Natalie Lepore, mother of CTX’s House of Lepore. 

Rococo Rebellion, the 2026 Ball theme, takes the historic Congress Avenue venue back to 1775. Thompson says that since the Ball’s start, there was talk of tackling a royal aesthetic but that a combination of Bridgerton fandom and the current moment’s emphasis on fighting against social mores pushed it to the front this year. 

“‘Rebellious’ has sometimes a negative connotation,” Thompson says, “but I think our community, we fight for what we believe in. We show up. We don’t fit into the norms; we don’t want to fit into the norms. We’re rebellious in the best possible way – that moves change forward.”

Change is at the heart of the Ball’s very origins, according to Thompson. “I remember looking around [while] going to Pride events,” he says, “and not seeing events that really centered and spotlighted queer people of color.” While he acknowledges Pride spaces are by their nature inclusive, “I also believe that queer people of color, Black and brown trans people, have made such significant strides in the Pride movement that it just felt weird to not have spaces where they were centered and spotlighted.” Together with co-producer Sawyer Stoltz, Thompson’s Majestic dream started to move forward. A major piece? Adding ballroom culture.

As the first mother of Texas’ kiki scene, Natalie made a big impression when she and Thompson first met on a date – but not with each other. “I was going on a date with one of Natalie’s friends,” Thompson recalls. “I arrived to the restaurant, and Natalie and I hit it off instantly. It was like [her friend] wasn’t even there. He was in the middle, and we were just reaching across to talk to each other.” After that initial meeting, Natalie invited Thomspon to a Lepore-hosted ball, which he says is where the wheels really started turning: “It was like, ‘We have to bring this to the Paramount.’”

The Majestic Ball this year lists five cash-prize categories including Runway (“aristocratic opulence with a rebellious twist”), Vogue Performance (“grand enough for the palace, but fierce enough to start an uprising”), Best Dressed (“lavish, extravagant, and unforgettable”), Face (“your beauty should command the room like true palace royalty”), and Bizarre (“[serve] a headless Rococo nightmare inspired by royal executions and palace rebellion”). Introduced later in the Ball’s timeline, the Bizarre category remains one of Natalie’s favorites. “I always look forward to that,” she says. “Every year it gets bigger. It’s crazy, because these are just normal people from the community, and their effects look like something that could be in a movie.”

A unique aspect of the Ball is that every category is OTA (open to all), which invites audience members to take their chance in competition. Natalie’s advice to first-timers? “Do your research,” she says. “If you see a category you like, go on YouTube – but don’t just watch one ball. Watch multiple balls of that category so you can really see what’s going on and also be respectful of the culture.”

Although five categories is less than other Texas ball lineups, Natalie says Majestic still reigns as the largest in the Lone Star State. 

“There’s no [other] balls that are two floors,” she says. “It’s part of Texas ballroom history. We’ve created some of the first $1,000 winners in Texas ballroom, so when they talk their shit on their résumés, they say ‘I’m a $1,000 girl.’ It puts respect to their legacy. It’s part of their legacy.”

This article appears in June 5 • 2026.