Lifestyle

Celebrate Being Queer at the House of Yes

Photo by Kenny Rodriguez

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If you’re looking for a scene where you can experience singular sights and sounds in a space that celebrates inclusivity, we have one word for you: Yes.

Dancers and Drag Queens and DJs

What do aerial dancers, drag queens and world class DJs have in common? Besides their ability to capture an audience, you can find them all at House of Yes. The performance arts space is located at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick. Inclusivity and consent are de rigueur at this multiple-room venue. It hosts rotating slate of unique programming including sexy circus theatre shows, interactive poetry slams, nights that celebrate vogue dancing, and electronic music sets stacked with high profile artists drenched in projection mapped visuals. These are taken to the next level by the costumed revelers in attendance.

Radical Self Expression

“One of our core missions is radical self-expression, which definitely resonates with the queer and drag communities in Brooklyn,” says Marketing Director Jacqui Rabkin. “Costuming, turning a look and being the most fabulous version of oneself imaginable is especially empowering for queer folks who are sometimes forced to hide or diminish their identities in family or work-related environments.” Weekly costume-required parties are a haven where lovers of all things fabulous may amplify their essences in sensational themes like Glitter and Retro Disco. Others seek to show some skin at the nightspot’s recurring “House of Love” party. Revelers flaunt fetish looks and answer a call to ‘go outside your norms and embrace the full spectrum of gender and sexual possibilities.’

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Gender Fluid, Gay, Lesbian and Trans

“Our staff consciously books gender-fluid, gay, lesbian, and trans performers and DJs so that our audience can be face-to-face with queer artists on a nightly basis,” Rabkin says. Among their resident artists is Sammy Jo, a DJ who believes that House of Yes has greatly expanded his own attempts to reach a broader the community. “Every time I play there, I feel a deep sense of trust between myself and the patrons,” says the artist. “If anyone from House of Yes asks you to DJ, drop everything and do it. Take off from your other gig that night; call in sick the next day – Do whatever you must! This place is important and you want to be a part of it in any way possible.”