Dressed in pumps and curly red wigs, UF students danced their way down a light-lined runway as disco lights flashed Friday night.
UF’s Pride Student Union held its sixth Drag Ball in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. About 200 students watched as the drag queens recreated the 1970s and 1980s drag culture.
"Tonight is a night to commemorate them," said Damian Gonzalez, co-president of PSU.
Gonzalez and Hiram Martinez-Cabrera, the co-presidents of PSU, hosted the event. Martinez-Cabrera, wearing a red dress, black pumps and shoulder-length red hair, asked students to get out of their seats and surround the runway.
Liz Reeds, 20, shimmied in her leopard-print jumpsuit, shaking to Jennifer Lopez’s "First Love." She blew kisses for the cameras and her fans.
"Last year was very amateur for me," she said. "I really stepped up my game."
PSU also encouraged audience members to show off their best poses and runway struts. The winners got a black pump with pearls at the tip of the shoe.
Santa Fe College English and political science freshman James Hardison and his friend competed for the pump.
"We were pulled into it, but then we were like, ‘Go hard or go home,’" the 19-year-old said. "I was nervous, but I was still hot."
Contact Caitlin Ostroff at costroff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @ceostroff
Burlesque dancer Kitty La Tuch performs a sultry routine to “Feeling Good” by Michael Buble during Pride Student Union’s Drag Ball on Oct. 16, 2015. La Tuch was among five performers who lipsynced, sang and danced to current songs in the Reitz Union grand ballroom to celebrate ‘70s and ‘80s drag culture.
