LGBTQ Urban Dancing Goes International: An Interview with Kobe Revlon

Last summer for Pride 2021, cast members of the hit HBO Max dancing competition show Legendary sat down with People’s World to tell their experiences about coming from Black and Brown working-class families in the projects and what it was like to grow up gay and/or transgender in these communities. As one could imagine, it’s hard enough being Black or Brown in the U.S., so adding another layer of oppression—in this case sexual orientation or transitioning genders—only complicates one’s status in society even further. But what about adding a third layer? Immigration.

The great revolutionary civil rights leader Claudia Jones was a woman, Black, and an immigrant to the U.S. from Trinidad and Tobago. She was therefore “triple oppressed.” This year, we sat down with Cyril Adaine (aka Kobe Revlon), a Black, gay West Indian from the overseas French department of Guadeloupe, to discuss his life as a dancer and his recent experience as a competitor on Legendary.

“I’m 27 years old now,” Kobe says. “I was introduced to the ballroom dance scene in 2014 at a gay club in Paris where I met Mother Keiona Revlon, who introduced me to Father Vinii Kobe. But it wasn’t until a few years after being in the ballroom scene that I finally had the courage to come out to my parents.”

Kobe grew up on the island of Guadeloupe to a mother who was (and is still) a dancer and a father who is a police officer.

“I credit my mother with my initial interest in dance. Thanks to her I was enrolled in ballet and jazz dance classes from a young age… but nevertheless, I still struggled with coming out of the closet for years and when I finally did, my parents accepted me with open arms.”

The ongoing struggle with accepting LGBTQ persons is more intense in parts of the Caribbean and West Africa where many of these governments and religious institutions still maintain laws implemented to criminalize homosexuality. But Kobe, like many other LGBTQ West Indian and African immigrants in Paris, found refuge, acceptance and even a new family in the ballroom community.

In addition to Kobe’s representation in the House of Kobe on Season Three of Legendary, fellow house members Nunoy (Phillipines), Vinii (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Gigi (Cape Verde), and Keiona (Ivory Coast) also hail from formerly colonized countries where homosexuality and gender-affirming surgeries are looked down upon with disdain and often criminalized. 

But the members of the House of Kobe (founded in New York City by Tony Revlon in 1989) aren’t stopping at expanding to Paris. Their membership includes LGBTQ people across the European continent from Poland to Spain.

“It’s OK to be gay and Black and live the life you truly want,” Kobe says. “Just keep being you, no matter what culture or religious background you come from.”

In light of growing homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia in Europe with far-right, populist political campaigns like that of Le Pen in France nearly winning the presidency, the House of Revlon has stepped up to hosting events to educate the public about the importance of gender-neutral bathrooms, safe sex practices, anti-discrimination laws, and overall inclusion of LGBTQ people into society. 

Kobe made it to the semi-finals on Season Three of Legendary, currently works as a dance instructor in Paris, and travels across Europe and the world to teach the art of vogue and to participate in balls himself.

He not only is a champion when it comes to dance, but has also triumphed in the categories of runway modeling at balls such as best-dressed, pretty-boy realness, and Realness with a Twist. “Realness” in the ballroom scene refers to the performer striving to appear as much as their heterosexual/cisgender counterparts as possible.

When asked about what direction he would like to see the international ballroom scene head towards, Kobe responds, “We must set an example to LGBTQ people and other minorities as a whole. No more fighting. Let the balls finish instead of arguing with each other. Sure, shade is a part of ballroom, but keep it classy and fraternal.”

Photos courtesy of Kobe Revlon and HBO Max