Ballroom: Panelists

Moderator: Kenya Hutton

As a social justice, equity, HIV prevention, and sexual health advocate, Kenya Hutton has worked to address a number of determinants of health among communities heavily affected by HIV and other health disparities for over 20 years. Throughout his career, he has advocated for HIV prevention on the local and national level and brought awareness to LGBTQ young adults as well as members of the House/Ball community. As a result of his service to these communities, he has been honored with several accolades, including the Dorian Corey Wisdom Award, the Michael J. Harrington Humanitarian Award, the Award of Excellence from the Washington DC Ballroom Coalition, and the DC Black Pride Presidents Award, among others.

Kenya collaborated with local nonprofits and the DC Health Department in 2019 to develop an educational program focused on providing potential employment opportunities for ballroom community members interested in becoming certified Community Health Workers. Kenya spearheaded the development of the Capitol Ballroom Council during this period, which allowed ballroom leaders to develop programming and advocacy for the House/Ballroom community in addition to providing valuable programming insight, which resulted in him being one of the co-founders of the Capitol Ballroom Council, Inc. A non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. Kenya continues to push the envelope in making ballroom culture recognized as a vibrant, resilient community worthy of praise and support by non-ballroom mainstream organizations.

In recent years Kenya has been a leading voice in the discussion urging research and interventions addressing substance use within the ballroom community, especially Crystal Meth use, as well as developing systems to provide relief support for the ballroom community during the COVID-19 pandemic and most recently the MPOX outbreak. The work of Kenya Hutton is dedicated to the enhancement of the health, economic, and social well-being of marginalized and disenfranchised communities.

Panelist: Anky Miyake-Mugler

Icon Legendary Two-Time Hall of Famer, Anky Miyake-Mugler, is one of the primary catalysts for the inception of the Carolina Ballroom Scene. Walking multiple categories but finding his niche on the microphone,  he turned his ballroom talents into pure comedy, as he has performed on some of the most iconic stages such as: The Apollo Theater,  The Kennedy Center,  The Laugh Factory, and The Comedy Store. His first feature film, I Hate Love, is currently out on Tubi. “Sweet Little Oakes Boy” his first hour long comedy special, arrives in March on Amazon Prime.