Donyella Dupree was named winner of Pride Union’s annual Totally Fabulous Drag Show for the second year in a row. The show took place at Goldstein Auditorium on Friday night and was hosted by drag queen Shangela from the television show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

“It’s so much better knowing that I have people with me, and the excitement all over again brings back so many memories,” Dupree said. “I can’t — I’m just speechless right now.”

With four backup dancers, Dupree performed to a medley of songs that included “Bang Bang” and “Burning Up” by Jessie J and “7/11” by Beyoncé, to name a few.

Dupree — who wore a black dress and the same six-inch red heels she wore during the drag show preliminaries two weeks ago — had the largest standing ovation of the night. No other performer had as many audience members come up to give her monetary tips, all of which will be donated to the Q Center and to Vera House, Inc.

Other performers included Papi Huale and AJ, who performed to a medley of songs that included “Mambo No. 5” and “Uptown Funk” and gave roses to the audience during their performance; Lance Cacao, who gave a raunchy performance of “Do You Take It In The Ass” followed by and EMillz and SB, who performed to One Direction’s “Best Song Ever”

Kitten and Lou, a burlesque performer and drag king, respectively, also entertained the crowd with two of their own raunchy performances that had them almost naked by the end of each one.

Each contestant was judged based on three criteria: lip syncing, coordination and charisma. The judges were Michael Riley, associate director of the LGBT Resource Center; Karess Gillespie, residence director for the first year experience; and Tiffany Steinwert, dean of Hendricks Chapel.

“There are many people who don’t think religion and drag shouldn’t go together,” said Steinwert,a first time-judge. “But it’s really just about being open to all identities and gender expression.”

Shangela, who has hosted Pride Union’s drag show for four years now, opened and closed the night with her own performances. She had the final performance — a medley of songs by Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child, bringing the crowd to its feet throughout the entire performance.

“The energy here at Syracuse University is amazing, especially with this drag show,” Shangela said after the show. “I perform at universities all across the United States, but here at Syracuse, there’s just something about the love and support that they have not only for me, but for each other. And that’s why I keep coming back.”

Published on February 28, 2015 at 1:49 am

Contact Clare: clramire@syr.edu