“The “Drag Race France” competition has completely influenced my way of seeing Drag, comments Thibault. As soon as I saw a show, I said to myself that I wanted to do the same. I like ! This 29-year-old from Nice therefore did not hesitate to take his place when he learned that the tour was going to the Riviera capital this weekend. With her friend Melody, they try to follow their favorite local Drag every week, Millena B Rosein all the places where it performs.
For them, “there has always been Drag in Nice, but it has become popular recently, not only here, thanks to the Ru Paul programs posted on Netflix”. Thibault develops: “I have the impression that ten years ago, it was more hidden. The arrival of new Drags and better visibility have also dusted off the image we had of it, I think. Same opinion on the other side of the curtain. Millena B Rose also finds that the places where the shows take place are sometimes “a bit old-fashioned”.
Nice, “the place to be”
Tonight, this 22-year-old local star is testing the scene of the Madness of Edmonde, a new bar in the old town. “I hope it can become a place where people want to go, that this new place will breathe new life and will allow us to have the spotlight we deserve”, exclaims Millena B Rose . According to her, this is what is missing in Nice. “The problem on the Côte d’Azur is not the establishment or the multiplication of places for Drag, on the contrary”, she adds.
The artist only performs in Nice and is “very happy”. “If there was a ranking of the best scenes in France, I would easily put Nice in the Top 3”. As arguments, she advances the number of bars and clubs that offer shows very regularly. Two friends, Cédric and Fabrice, who came to see her and are very close to the community, support: “During the summer, all the Drag de France come to Nice. It’s more than a very good springboard, it’s THE place to be. Millena B Rose adds: “By the time I started as a professional, at 18, the Drag Niçoises who were present had done a very good job and were well integrated into the local LGBTQIA + community and respected as divas . Which was not necessarily the case in other cities. »
For Kris and Ben, owners of theOmega Club, a box that has been offering Drag shows since its opening in 2018, this “reputation”, has been created “a long time ago”. “Today, there are a lot of new things, especially related to Ru Paul and Drag Race, but locally, we were in place long before, they explain. There is a big local fabric. In Nice, there are no big things, but there are a lot of things with a format that allows you to be consistent all year round. And recently, there has also been a lot of professionalization. We bring in people and our Drags are also exported and have a real notoriety. We have two girlfriends who were booked in the United States in Los Angeles and Miami. »
The number of professionals has tripled in five years
This is also the case of saphyr, who spends his time going back and forth between the Côte d’Azur and Geneva. She also believes “to be lucky in Nice to do her job”. “Compared to other cities, we can be happy to have several establishments where we can do our shows”. With more than five years of practice, she soon became one of the “oldest” of the new generation of Drag Niçoises. “I got to know this environment thanks to the Bitch bar, place Rossetti, eight years ago. It was practically the only bar [qui n’existe plus désormais] where there were shows. “In parallel with this explosion of scenes, she notes a multiplication of” news “. “They must have been five before I started, we must be between ten and fifteen as professionals now. »
All interviewees stress the importance of contests to being successful in Drag. “It’s thanks to competitions that I became a professional”, explains Millena. Today, she herself is a member of a jury to determine which will be the “best baby drag”, a beginner, in the Swing competition. Cédric and Fabrice also became Drag thanks to this kind of competition. For Melody, it is thanks to these local or mediatized events, “that we break the cliché of Drag like a monster in the cringe cellar and we highlight the aspects of the show with the make-up, the dances. We now say to ourselves that the star in front of which we are ecstatic tonight, it could be the “girl next door” [comprendre le ou la voisine d’à côté] “.
Saphyre, also professionalized thanks to a talent contest, supports: “Thanks to Netflix, people realized that we were not just men who dress as women, that it was not unhealthy but a real job, real passion. “Thibault completes:” The big advantage of “Drag Race France” is that it made it possible to create a fashion around the concept and that people who were not from the LGBTQIA + community became interested in it. Afterwards, to see if, like all trends, it will not fall. For the owners of L’Omega, it is especially necessary to be careful “not to choke”. “You shouldn’t push too hard otherwise it will exasperate everyone”. In the meantime, an artist from the Drag Race tour will be present at the box as soon as the show ends at the Acropolis.