Night of 1000 Oscars
TIGLFF is excited in 2026 to launch the Trans Pride Dance Party & Gender Ball, themed this year as “Night of 1000 Oscars,” in partnership with the Central Florida Ballroom Collective. The evening will begin with a massive dance party w/ Dyke Nite St Pete for our local queer and trans communities, followed by a ballroom competition. This event is designed as a community fundraiser in collaboration with Swamp Bois and Doll Dynasty to support their Gender Affirming Care Fund.
- 7pm - 10pm Dance Party with Dyke Nite St Pete
- 10pm - 12 / 12:30 Gender Ballroom with Central Florida Ballroom Collective
Ballroom culture began in Black and Latinx queer and trans communities in Harlem as a space for creativity, self-expression, and survival. Houses formed as chosen families, offering care, mentorship, and support at a time when many trans and gender-diverse people were excluded from safe housing, work, and community. Balls became spaces to celebrate identity, resilience, and joy while also building networks of care and advocacy. Trans women and gender-diverse people were at the center of this culture, creating traditions that continue to inspire generations today. Ballroom has always been more than performance. It is a way to claim visibility, support one another, and resist systems that have historically marginalized our communities. Over time, ballroom has also shaped how trans and gender-diverse stories appear in film and media. From early documentaries like Paris Is Burning to series such as Pose, these works preserve the history, language, and creativity of ballroom while inspiring new generations of artists and advocates.
“Night of 1000 Oscars” is a return to our history to celebrate creativity, chosen family, and joy while supporting critical advocacy through the Gender Affirming Care Fund. Attendees can look forward to an energetic dance party, voguing runway moments, and a space to connect, dance, & experience joy.
- General admission will be $25
- VIP admission will be $50, and will include 1 free drink ticket & a TIGLFF Sticker Pack
About the Central Florida Ballroom Collective
The Central Florida Ballroom Collective (CFBC) is a community-rooted organization dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and sustaining ballroom culture across Central Florida while building leadership, safety, and opportunity for Black and Brown LGBTQ+ people, particularly trans and gender-nonconforming individuals.
Ballroom culture in Florida has deep roots stretching back over 3 decades, growing alongside national ballroom movements while developing its own distinct Southern and Caribbean influences. From house culture to local kiki scenes, Florida ballroom has long been a space of survival, artistry, competition, and chosen family for queer and trans people navigating systems that often excluded or erased them. Despite its vibrancy, Central Florida ballroom historically lacked consistent infrastructure, funding, and coordinated support to protect the culture and the people who uphold it.
The Central Florida Ballroom Collective was formed in response to that gap.
CFBC began as a collective effort by ballroom leaders, organizers, and community members who recognized the need for a unified body that could both honor the culture’s legacy and advocate for its future. The Collective was created to provide structure without control, resources without gatekeeping, and visibility without exploitation. Our work centers ballroom as both a cultural art form and a community-care system, ensuring that those who walk, judge, organize, and participate are supported beyond the ballroom floor.
Through balls, educational programming, leadership development, partnerships, and resource distribution, CFBC uplifts ballroom as a living cultural practice while creating pathways for sustainability, healing, and collective power. We believe ballroom is not just performance, but protest, resilience, and legacy, and Central Florida deserves a ballroom ecosystem that reflects that truth.
Ballroom Terms & Definitions
- Category - A specific competition style or prompt at a ball. Each category has its own rules, expectations, and judging criteria that participants must meet to be eligible to compete.
- Walk - To compete in a category at a ball.
- 10s Across (or 10s Across the Board) - A unanimous approval from the judges indicating that a participant has met the category requirements and advances to the battle rounds.
- Chop - An elimination from the judges indicating that a participant has not met the category requirements and will not advance to the next round.
- Battle - A competitive face-off between two or more participants who have received 10s Across, where contestants perform against one another to advance or win the category.
- Grand Prize - The top award in a category or ball, often accompanied by a trophy, cash prize, or title, awarded to the final winner after all battle rounds.
- Panel - The group of judges responsible for evaluating participants based on the category’s criteria and determining 10s, chops, and winners.
- OTA (Open to All) - A category designation indicating that the category is open to participants of any gender identity or ballroom identity, unless otherwise specified.
- Legendary - An honorific status awarded to individuals who have made long-standing, impactful contributions to ballroom culture, often recognized through years of excellence, leadership, and influence.
- Icon - The highest honorific status in ballroom, recognizing individuals whose influence has fundamentally shaped ballroom culture, categories, or regional scenes over time.
- Femme Queen (FQ) - A woman of trans experience.
- Women - Cisgender female who participate in ballroom categories designated for women.
- Butch Queen (BQ) - A queer cisgender male.
- Transman - A man of trans experience.
- Butch Queen Up in Drag (BQUID) - A queer cisgender male presenting as a woman in a specific category or performance context.
- Performance / Vogue - A category focused on vogue performance, drawing from elements such as hands performance, catwalk, duckwalk, spins, dips, and floor performance.
- Butch Queen Vogue Femme (BQVF) - A category where a butch queen performs vogue in the Femme Queen style, emphasizing femininity, fluidity, and grace.
- GNC (Gender Non-Conforming) - An umbrella term for individuals whose gender expression does not conform to traditional gender norms.
Trans Pride 2026 General Schedule
2026 Trans Film Lineup & Receptions
Night of 1000 Oscars Divisions & Categories
Each bolded division will receive the $150 top cash prize and trophy. All other division winners will receive a trophy.
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Performance: You are the prize! You are the moment! You are the Oscar! Bring in a mostly gold effect like the coveted award!
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Divisions: FQ | Transman | BQ | Twister | Women | Beginner | Oldway | New Way
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Sex Siren: You stepped right out of the silver screen into real life. Bring it in a black and white effect like the movie you just walked out of!
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Divisions: Transman | MF | FF | FQ
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Face: Just bring it as a Hollywood Star from a decade of your choice. Don’t forget your reference photo!
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Divisions: GNC | Beginners | MF | FF
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Best Dressed: Tonight is the Oscars, so bring it red carpet ready.
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Divisions: FQ | Transman | GNC | MF | FF
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