The 55-year-old drag queen first entered the scene as a club kid in Washington, D.C., near his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, where he met Juan Aviance, the House Mother of the House of Aviance. He quickly gained a glimpse of underground nightclub culture and earned his name, sending him on a new trajectory of self-exploration and entertainment.
But it wasn't until Aviance moved to Miami Beach during the 1990s, at the height of South Beach's status as a gayborhood and home to a budding drag culture, that he learned everything it takes to stand out in the community.
"It was like going to drag school," Aviance tells New Times, recalling the guidance and support he received from icons like Kitty Meow, Adora, and Paloma. "Let me tell you something: they took care of me and taught me. I was a part of this big group that was a lot like me, and it was kind of my time to navigate myself. But I was very grateful because they took me in completely."
Aviance fondly recalls his time on South Beach, from sharing three-dollar meals at a local diner with other queens to flirting with European boys coming into town and running into late designer Gianni Versace, whom he still remembers as a "very sweet man."
He is set to return to his old stomping groups for his debut at the Palace Bar on Sunday, April 14, during Miami Beach Pride. For him, the upcoming performance feels like a full-circle moment.
"My first big performance ever was actually right in front of the Palace," Aviance says. "It was on a long white stretch limo, and I got out and did a Grace Jones number and everything. That was major for me. Then, after that, every Sunday, I had another location where we did another show and another show, so I just built off of that."
Years later, Aviance was beckoned by his House Mother to join him in New York City to take part in the underground ballroom scene, a world that most mainstream audiences have only gotten a glimpse of through FX's Pose, the documentary Paris Is Burning, and Madonna's hit single "Vogue."
But even back then, Aviance wasn't — and still isn't — your typical drag queen. His baldness is a staple of his on-stage persona, along with his ability to blend his masculine and feminine identities. Given the ballroom's competitive nature, Aviance says it was often hard to find the right category for him to fit into.
Then his music started to pick up in the ballroom even years after he had left the scene, including his first and esteemed single, "Cunty," and other mainstream hits like "Din Da Da."
"I wasn't really trying to be a girl, and I really wasn't just a gay boy. I had been genderbending, which is very chic now," Aviance explains. "But my music in the ballroom is where I did receive my 10s. 'Cunty' was for the fem-queen categories, and 'Din Da Da' was used for hand performance. And I knew nothing about this. So when I hear about this and I go see it, I can't believe it. I guess that's where my legendariness comes from because not only am I part of the ballroom, but I am part of the thread of the music of the ballroom."
Since then, Aviance's star continuously rose to levels he had never imagined, enabling him to work closely with big names like Madonna, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Cher.
Today's generation is acutely aware of Aviance's presence after "Cunty” was sampled in Beyoncé's single "Pure/Honey" from her ballroom-honoring album Renaissance, an accolade that made him literally pass out on the floor the first time he heard his voice on the track.
"What's so great about ballroom culture is that the kids are very protective of it, and they let everyone know that if you're coming in here to take this from us, darling, that's not happening," Aviance says. "I think what Beyoncé did was the most incredible thing — she handed it back. She took what she could put with her music and held us up. I mean, what other billionaire Black female could hold up a whole culture of Black people — Black gay, trans, and lesbian folks — and literally hold us up like this and go, 'They have a story, and they're beautiful, too'? I mean, it's just incredible."
Still, Aviance's journey wasn't without its challenges.
Even in his personal life, he sometimes came in contact with hateful and what he deems "ignorant" people in the city, especially being part of an older generation of the LGBTQ community where there was less awareness and acceptance of queer identity.
In 2006, while walking the streets of New York, a group of men attacked Aviance, wiring his jaw shut for three months and leading him to stop performing altogether. It was a profound turning point in his life, leading him to seek refuge back in the Sunshine State and find support for the mental and emotional trauma that followed.
Since then, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis introduced and recently expanded upon the state's Parental Rights in Education law, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. This is in addition to bills passed by the House that limit gender-transitioning treatments, bathroom use, and children's permitted attendance at drag shows.
Beyoncé sampled Kevin Aviance's iconic track "Cunty" on her track "Pure/Honey" off her 2022 album Renaissance.
Photo by Thomas Evans Photography
"Florida has always been a major place for me — it's where I went to rehab, it's where I went after my beating, I got my hair license there, and my family and my fans are still there," Aviance says. "I hear that they're going through it with all that political stuff, but I just don't understand that because everyone there is just so out there and gay, and the fact that they're trying to stop these people from being homosexuals or being drag queens or whatever just doesn't make sense. Everybody loves drag queens and gay people, and I never see the negative part of it. But all it takes is one bad apple to come in and try to shake things up."
Despite the challenges facing one of Florida's most vulnerable communities, Aviance is more than ready to bring a heart-stopping performance to the town that once introduced him to the colorful and gifted world of drag.
It's a homecoming of sorts, with Aviance returning as a seasoned performer and DJ whose legacy is forever solidified, even in the mainstream, resolute in his commitment to spreading love and acceptance through his art.
As Aviance prepares to take the stage at the Palace for Miami Beach's most important celebration of queerness, his performance promises to bear his signature blend of old-school classics and infectious beats, inviting audiences on a journey of self-expression and liberation.
"Come there to dance and come there to be put on a journey," Aviance says with a flashing smile. "What really saved me in my life is something very simple, but it's that the show must go on. I always had to perform, always had a rehearsal to go to, and that meant more to me than anything. I think people saw that in me, and I thank God for that because that is what I live for. So the show must go on."
Kevin Aviance. With Carlos Rojas. 10 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at Palace Bar, 1052 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach; 305-531-7234; palacesouthbeach.com. Admission is free.
