Over 500 LGBTQ women and friends came out to the Ballroom at Bayou Place for the Kindred Spirits Dance, a tradition carried on by the Montrose Center to honor queer women by providing a safe and affirming space to dance the night away.
Beneficiaries of this year’s event include AssistHers, Lesbian Health Initiative, and Seniors Preparing for Rainbow Years (SPRY).
Background
Kindred Spirits was more than a nightclub that Marion E. Coleman founded in 1980. It was a community center and a hub for Houston’s LGBTQ community, hosting organizational meetings, fundraisers, and theatrical presentations. It became a focal point for many women and an important place where our community gathered during the AIDS crisis to help organize care for those in need. The bar closed in 1989, but over the years, many patrons asked Marion to hold a reunion dance. In 2002, the first Kindred Spirits Dance was held, with proceeds benefiting local nonprofits serving LGBTQ women.

