Drag superstar Violet Chachki dominates Queer Portland Dance Party Betty

Since her last stop in Portland at Revolution Hall in 2022 for her one-woman show Much more meDrag superstar Violet Chachki took her burlesque act to the legendary Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris, making history as the first male performer to grace the stage of the 73-year-old cabaret theater (Chachki’s creator, Paul Dardo, is gender fluid). The RuPaul’s Drag Race The Season 7 winner has also added another high-fashion injection to her belt, lending her face and décolleté to Christian Louboutin’s new fetish-inspired perfume collection, j’influence.

Chachki’s Halloween weekend performance and DJ set at Betty – a quarterly queer dance party founded in 2021 by music and events producer Veruca as a purported centennial birthday party for the late actress Betty White – on Friday, October 25, featured the superstar. impressive stage presence and glossy professional shine, showing no signs of wear after almost a decade in the global spotlight.

Chachki descended the stairs of the Buckman neighborhood’s ballroom, The Evergreen, in a black latex dress, signature figure-hugging corset and a black and white feather boa, resembling royal ermine fur, with matching feather-lined latex gloves. She separated the crowd and dropped them all on stage in a number set to Lemaitre’s song “Closer,” with singer Jennie A. Chachki visibly laughing when Betty host Shandi Evans introduced her as “the most important thing” as a podcast host, and thanked the hundreds of mostly costumed Portland guests for making her feel safe enough to be herself every time she visited. She also humbly said that Paris Hilton is doing great.

The next best act on Betty’s stage was Portland drag artist Tomboy, who performed as a boxy, Barbie-pink rotary phone, wiggling giant rubber shoulder pads every time a conversation was made. If anyone at Betty’s was too young to have had a landline – a very real threat – Tomboy provided contextual clues with a mix of Carly Rae Jepsen, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé mixed in Scream-inspired fake calls. In addition to the absurd sensuality of the costume, Tomboy showed considerable charm and charisma.