In this exclusive interview, we sit down with The Legendary Overall Mother Noa Angels of Europe’s First Legendary Kiki House: The Legendary International Kiki House of Angels, a pioneering figure in Europe’s vibrant ballroom scene, and the Greek Chapter of the house as well.
Since its inception in 2015, the Kiki House of Angels has become a beacon of artistic expression, empowerment, and community support for LGBTQIA+ individuals across Europe. Noa, alongside her founding members, created a space where passion, mentorship, and a deep sense of belonging are at the forefront. Through candid reflections on leadership, mentorship, and the evolving dynamics of the ballroom scene, Noa shares her personal journey, the challenges of balancing life with being a house parent, and her vision for the future of the Kiki House of Angels.

While the greek chapter talks about the concept of chosen family, the role of mentorship, and the importance of preserving the cultural legacy of ballroom while embracing its growth and transformation. What follows is a deep dive into the heart and soul of the first Legendary Kiki House in Europe with certainly a lot of influence in the scene.
The Legendary Overall Founding Mother
Noa Angels
My name is Graciano, in the ballroom scene I go as The Legendary Overall Mother of Europe’s First Legendary Kiki House: The Legendary International Kiki House of Angels. Founded in the summer of 2015, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
The house was founded by the following 5 individuals; Legendary Noa, Legendary Typhoon, Legendary Makaba, Legendary Azzaro, Mystique and Savphire. We all came together because we had a passion for ballroom but since we were very young in our own scene we decided instead of opening a major house, let’s do a kiki house. And that is how the journey of 5 friends began and changed a lot for the scene in Europe.
What does being a “house parent” or an overall founding legendary mother more specifically mean to you personally?
To me it means I’m one of the main leading figures the kids look up to and communicate with. It is of course also about educating them about the scene and their category but also about how you interact with them. Since having a chosen family does come with a lot. Some of the kids come to you for nourishment because kids in the lgbtqia+ community go through a lot of things so for me it’s important to be a support system for my kids but also be their friend so that they know they can always confide in me when needed to.

How do you balance being a mentor and keeping the balance within the house?
I think it goes arm in arm. What I’ve noticed over the years is that if there is internal turmoil within myself that it can reflect on how I react or respond in the house. So taking a break sometimes is crucial and needed. It is good to take a few steps back and recharge your energy so that you can give positive energy back to your house members, the house, the scene and of course yourself.
How do you approach nurturing talent and personal growth in your house members?
I approach it by checking in on my house members. I think the most important part of nurturing is actually talking and having a good connection with your house members. Everyone’s love language is different and if you’re a good house parent (in my opinion) then it’s knowing that every house member requires something different. This also makes me, the house parent, grow as well and learn more about people.
What is the most rewarding aspect of being a house parent? What is the most challenging part of it?
The most rewarding aspect of a house parent to me is actually the bonding and time spent. When we started the house, it was never really for us to create a house and win win win. We started the house as a group of friends and to me the friends, moments and travel we made all together are something I will cherish forever. The memories I wouldn’t change for nothing. The most challenging part at the moment for me is balancing real life with ballroom on the side. Growing up and adulthood is a thing so sometimes I have to take care of myself first. 10 years ago when we started it was more so fun because we were young(er). But now we do have to take care of our bills and everything else which is also really important. Other than that I still have fun coming in and out of functions.
What does “family” mean in the context of ballroom, and how is that reflected in your house?
The word “family” in ballroom represents a chosen bond rooted in mutual support, love, and shared passion for the culture. Ballroom houses and most likely chapters of each house are based on deep emotional bonds, which in biological families you probably not gonna find it. Family means people that you have chose that celebrate each others achievements and provide a free space to express yourself. Moreover, mentorships has a leading role in ballroom, while most of the people likely they don’t have a leading mentoring role in their life like an absent of their fathers or mothers. You will most likely see house parents taking those leading roles and trying to navigate younger members not only performance wise but general guidance in their lives.
What role does bonding play in the success of your house? How do you foster it?
Just because bonding was the first thing that held us together as a chapter, it still remains one of the most important values we trying to keep alive. To achieve that, we matter the most ethics that you can find in every healthy social group. We show genuine interest for everyone’s input, while we create space to express any ideas or concerns without the fear of judgment, so we can keep everyone involved and informed.
One of the first and most important things we realised before we join originallly the house is the bond between the people. It’s really rare to find and a bit hard to believe that we care, show interest and respect each other. It seems like it’s casual but it’s not. This is what we call success.
How do you ensure all members feel valued and included in the house?
There’s really no secret tip for this. It all comes down to maintaining the healthy relationships and dynamics with each member and the house as a whole. At the end of the day, a house (like any family) is flourishing when every member is contributing to its growth and feels loved and appreciated.
Personally, I prefer creating the space for each individual to feel safe sharing their emotions, experiences and skills with the rest of the house. This way, I feel like we’re sharing the tools to go past the hardships of ballroom or even life.
– Eevee Angels

I do care for my people. Meaning, I feel that I have lots of space (not because I’m fat) for my loved ones. The people who get it, get it. That’s all.
– Lava Angels
How does the Kiki House of Angels embody the values of the ballroom scene?
First things first the most important value as members of the Legendary Kiki House of Angels is to have respect to the ballroom culture and acknowledge our place in the scene. Respect not only the history but also each other!
What role does shared history or experience play in bonding your kiki house together?
That’s basically the reason we’re all in this house and in ballroom in general. Ballroom was created by people who were marginalized for their skin color, femininity, gender, sexuality and social class. So they formed a community, where the aspects of them that made them ostracised from society, were celebrated. This applies today too , to a different extend in some cases. The majority, if not all, of us have experienced discrimination for different parts of us. Yet, we form bonds (especially in a house) free from these discriminations, so we can heal each other and find a way to navigate our lives. Similar experiences and traumas bring us together to create this space so all of us can feel safe.
How has your experience in ballroom shaped your understanding of chosen family?
Either way we’ve experienced bonding with people for years and watching these connections collapse in one night. What we’ve learned from it was that whatever is best for you will come find you on its own, sometimes it’s great to fight for a goal that you’ve set, but maybe that goal was not meant to be achieved in the first place. Our Kiki house might be a chosen family, but not because we only chose it but because we chose each other too.
Many people believe that family is the only source of unwavering support, but my life experiences have shown me that this isn’t always the case. For us, building meaningful connections and intentionally choosing the people we want to share my time and energy with is essential. This philosophy is at the heart of our Kiki house, where chosen family and mutual support create a sense of belonging and purpose.

How do you see the role of ballroom houses evolving in today’s social and cultural climate?
Ballroom houses nowadays are evolving in many and different ways, especially in Europe. As society becomes more and more aware of LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice and gender identity, ballroom houses have an even greater opportunity to impact the community.
Elaborate in activism, safe space in web, cultural innovation, healing and building community strength. Although all these might sound promising and ideal, sometimes there are challenges that could negatively impact the role and the influence of the ballroom scene. More specifically, it might be created an exclusion within inclusivity. As ballroom scene grows, there’s a risk of people claiming to know who is “authentic” enough to join the scene, which can alienate newer or younger members. By that, we mean that we’ve experienced within ballroom some groups like trans women, non binary individuals or people from less urban areas feeling undervalued in favor of those with more access to resources. This can very easily lead to disconnection from the historical roots, like losing touch and connection with black and Latinx LGBTQIA+ community and let these vulnerable members get exploited by outsiders or even within the scene members.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to join a kiki house?
Joining a kiki house is an exciting step throughout your journey in ballroom, offering more opportunities to grow. Before expressing the desire to join a house you should travel and walk abroad, connect with members or build relationships online. Along with these, you should develop your effects and performance, practice makes perfect, be consistent and ask for feedback from more experienced members. After all of these your own path will be shown to you effortlessly.
Choose a kiki house that makes you feel safe. Safe to communicate. Safe to explore new skills and aspects of your identity. Safe to grow as a person in and out of ballroom. Everything else will fall into place.
Team:
LEGENDARY KIKI HOUSE OF ANGELS
GREEK CHAPTER
Photography ORESTES SPYRIDAKIS @_.ORESTES._
Creative Direction FILIPPOS VOGDANIS @PHILIP.VOGDANIS,
KONSTANTINOS TSAGKARIS @KONSTANTINOS.TSAGKARIS
Models EEVEE ANGELS/ SPYROS LAMPROU @PIES_MIA_EEVEE,
LAVA ANGELS/ EIRINI BAKOULA @_EBAK,
KIWI ANGELS/ FILIPPOS VOGDANIS @PHILIP.VOGDANIS
Stylists CHRIS PANTELIDIS @CHRIS.PANTELIDIS,
DAPHNE KOURENTZI @DAPHNE_KOURENTZI__
Make-up LAIDA BOUNA @LAIDA.BOUNA
Hair FILIPPOS VOGDANIS @PHILIP.VOGDANIS
Videography JOHN BARITAKIS @_EIRINAIOS_
Music Production PANOS SIGALAS @PANOS_SIGALAS
Studio BUSY BEE @BUSY_BEE_STUDIO_