Professionals and students dressed in drag at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to show their support for the LGBT community and equality on campus. The annual Rainbow Rave Drag Show hosted by the Alliance took place on Nov. 22. The event was held in Velzy Commons and drew a crowd of approximately 300 students and faculty.

“I was here last year, and I can’t wait for the show to start so I can see some of the reactions people have,” Chelse Lumzy, senior biology major, said.

This event was not only for entertainment, it also brought light to the LGBT community.

“The first time that I went to this event a couple of years ago, it was a real culture shock. Coming from a small town and having minimal exposure to the LGBT lifestyle, I had never experienced something like that. Now after I have been to a couple of shows I feel it is important to have this event for that reason,” Tracy Dammen, senior agricultural business major, said. “Many students on this campus also come from small towns and are also not exposed to that lifestyle. I believe it is important that students have the opportunity to experience this event in a safe environment.”

Kyra Vitale and Roxy Heart were the hostesses of the Rainbow Rave Drag Show.

“We have been doing drag shows since we were 16 years old,” Vitale said.

The performers were more than willing to go out and get the crowd involved. The show had multiple performances consisting of dance routines and lip-syncing to many well-known songs. Along with the professional performers the show also had one drag king and one amateur performer.

The UW-Platteville Belly Dance Club also put on a performance at the show.

“The Belly Dance Club chose to perform at the Rainbow Rave for multiple reasons. I am the President of the Belly Dance Club and the Vice President of the Alliance Org., and I really wanted my two clubs to overlap at one point,” Anna Rinaldo, President of the Belly Dance Club, said.

This event was to help promote equality on campus and the Belly Dance Club wanted to be involved.

“The Belly Dance Club is involved in a lot of causes, one of them being equality for all, and the Alliance also supports that cause,” Rinaldo said.