ABOUT
House of Arch was founded by Chris Vasileiadi (they/she) in August 2023 with their house’s debut ball in October 2023. Chris studied at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) between 2020-2023 and graduated with a 1st class BA(HONS) in Dance, as well as receiving the Annual LIPA Dance Prize Award. One of the most special experiences during their time at LIPA was being part of House of LIPA, where selected 3rd-year students collaborate with LIPA’s costume department and form a House from scratch! Chris represented the House of LIPA as the Soloist (Open and Advanced) in 4 balls from October 2023 to May 2024, getting into the final battle twice against professional voguers. These balls were held by House of Suarez, founded by Darren Suarez, who has influenced this House and its expression in more ways than he can imagine.
To Mama D, thank you for being my first proper introduction to the world of voguing and for always pushing me to make something out of it.
Chris returned to the House of Suarez ball in October 2023, now a graduate and under their own solo House. House of Arch won solo in their debut Ball (Ball of Conspiracies by House of Suarez), in the city that feels most like home, Liverpool.
The ball was a place of queer joy, a place of magic that you very rarely find, and a place they wanted to be a part of in the long run.
That is how House of Arch was born.
ETHOS
A safe space for people of any identity to exist queerly, proudly and beautifully. Pronouns are a non-negotiable understanding and are applied.
In House of Arch nothing is too much or too weird, professional aliens in the making are what the House strives for.
House or Arch is all about fusion and fluidity. An Arch project is never going to just be one thing, have a label or stay in the comfort zone. Combining elements from traditional practices (such as ballet or yoga) and giving them an edgy twist of voguing, waacking or contortion is the dream. To take characters or stories that have always been told a certain way and portray them in a 360 degree angle. To take a straight line and simply, arch it.
A place where adagio meets death drops and box splits meet pussy drops ;)
A place where the outcasts can feel on top of the world.
THE MEANING BEHIND THE NAME
There are three meanings behind the name Arch:
Hyperextension and Contortion elements; representing bodies that have physical facility to overarch, overextend and offer a snake-like essence from their limbs and overall stance.
Proscenium Arch; A little shoutout to the beloved musical theatre world. The proscenium arch of a theatre, the feeling of being on stage, the theatricality and magic of stepping into a character that only exists in a four wall entity, or in this case an underground T shaped runway.
The Archer - Sagittarius Sign; Connected to a passion for astrology and how one’s birth chart can give you answers to questions you didn’t know you had. A reminder of the Fire element; her adrenaline and high frequencies of creativity. She is bold and raw.
