‘Legendary’s’ Dashaun Wesley Brings Authenticity to HBO Max’s Gag-Worthy Ballroom Series

HBO Max’s competition series Legendary is unlike any reality TV you’ve seen before. The show is a dazzling spectacle that immerses you into the world of ballroom. The show has lots of contestants, lots of moves, lots of looks, and—the greatest understatement of them all—lots of attitude. From the eight houses vogueing their way through the competition to the panel of fiercely opinionated judges, there’s more personality in this series than in any other show on the new streaming service.

That’s why Dashaun Wesley is such a standout in Legendary’s very talented crowd. As the show’s resident master of ceremonies, it’s Wesley’s job to keep the show moving, the vibe up, and all the egos in check—which can be difficult considering that the judges don’t mince words when it comes to what they think about the houses.

But this is, quite literally, the gig Wesley was meant to do. Through 20 years of experience in ballroom culture as well as runs on America’s Best Dance Crew and Pose, Wesley’s honed his skills as an emcee and knows how to turn the party, control the crowd, and—if need be—lay down the law. Following Legendary’s grand entrance on HBO Max as part of the new platform’s inaugural lineup, Decider chatted with Wesley about how Legendary brings ball culture to the masses and how we can support the scene from our own homes.

---

Decider: What is your ball culture origin story?

Dashaun Wesley: I would say I started—ooh, I started back in like ’99. So I was a teenager. I found this world, this community, this life early. And I’ve had an amazing opportunity to be exposed to it by going to the West Village and seeing a DJ carrying a boombox. There was a crowd around him, and they were walking to the Christopher Street Piers. I was interested in what was going on. I got the opportunity to see vogueing. I just couldn’t get enough. From that moment forward, I kept going back everyday and meeting people and creating friends and family, and started competing. It’s been going on since then.

That made you a natural fit for Legendary. How did you get involved with the show?

What they had done originally is contact all the leaders of parts of the ballroom culture in Los Angeles, and had a sit down and a talk and a chat about—and this is Scout Productions. They had to sit down with their parents and talk about the idea and what we can do and how we can contribute. The sit down was two years ago. It started out as having a conversation. After years of working with us and shooting a pilot and having these conversations about how we can make sure this can be a great show, we had the opportunity—[they] brought me in as a host and an emcee. I was very excited about that, you know, still leading the culture.

Legendary feels like the first time we’re seeing a purely ballroom show on TV, too. How did you bring that authenticity to Legendary?

Well, the number one thing to bring that vibe is having what’s happening and currently going on at this very moment. You have those participants, the contestants, and the cast of the show are those who compete in the culture, still to this day. So it’s a very good component to the authenticity, having everyone who does it there. And then making sure that the categories and descriptions and the vibe of the event goes on. Even in the audience, they had members of the ballroom culture put on buses and hauled all the way to Stamford, Connecticut. That’s where we were shooting, and they’re a part of the audience. You got the feel; when the audience doesn’t agree, you can hear it. When the audience loved it, they shouted and screamed. So it kept the vibe and made sure that we kept the real deal of what it is. You know, that’s how the culture is.

Connecticut feels as far away from New York ball culture as you can get. How did it feel being on that set? Did it feel like you were back in New York City?

It was like 30 minutes away from New York City, from center city. But I think once you got inside the room, my job was to make sure that everyone felt like and they knew they were there at a ball. But it’s very interesting—balls happen all over the world at this very moment, in the U.S. in different cities. We have the ball culture in Boston, we have it in D.C., we have it in New York, Chicago. We have the Midwest like St. Louis, and Indiana. We have Texas, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia. So it’s really all over the place. We just felt like we were in another city, and you’re about to do another ball.

Legendary feels different from other reality competition shows. The aesthetic feels heightened. You’ve been part of other reality shows before, so was Legendary as different on set as it feels to us at home?

Well, definitely different for myself for being a host on a show! So that’s one thing. But that was also a good challenge. I think when you see how we create our ideas, and how we put it on paper and then bring it to reality, that’s what makes it so exciting and so different from everything else. I think one thing about the ballroom culture, the ballroom scene—we have balls often. There’s many opportunities to create when you have category descriptions. So to create these outfits and bring it to life, when everyone has the same description, but you get to see the different variations of how people think of one specific thing and how we come together to compete in that.

The show being on HBO Max also means it will potentially bring ballroom to an entirely new audience, like the people signing up for the service just to watch Friends. What’s the selling point, the basic thing that people need to know in order to step into this world?

The selling point about this, and making sure people understand, is like: we want you to go through many things at this moment. Number one: we want you to see what we go through and also have the eye inside the community about what goes on. Because it’s out there in the world. We’re all over the place. You can find us within a few clicks of going on social media. You can pick us right up. We wanted to let you know about what the core is, what we’re all about. What do we go through? How do we come together to show our talents when we have an opportunity to do so? There’s some people who are still going through problems and situations right now that use [ballroom houses] as a safe haven, so they can get away from their problems. We want you to see what’s the core of it.

Another thing we want you to see is—you may familiarize yourself with someone, you may like a house, you may like the way someone moves, you may like the way someone talks, you may like the way someone dresses. We want you to go, like, “Oh my gosh, I can connect. I can see what that person means. I can see myself being there.” And then also the emotional part that you get when the competition happens, and someone that you do like don’t win—you’re there like, “I cannot believe this is going on. What’s happening? This isn’t right!”

In Episode 2, you really step into your own as the emcee, especially when there’s a discrepancy about the specificity of a category. How do you defuse those situations?

Oh, you got so much to see further on in the season. [Laughs] It’s also knowing I have a job, and this goes even when I’m doing a ball somewhere in the city, in New York City. When you’re on that stage, you have the job to make sure that the audience understands that the competitors are competing in due time, that the judges are doing whatever that they have to do in order to make sure that the votes are being counted right, and you’ve got to make sure that everyone’s entertained. And if you can’t defuse a situation, it can fall over. So, your job is to master a ceremony. You’ve got to make sure everything is flowing and going correct. Sometimes, if you’ve got to stop things, you’ve got to stop it. Sometimes, if you’ve got to say something, you’ve got to say something. Because I believe after I said something, I said: “DJ pump the beat before I pump someone’s beat!” But that’s how it is. You be like, “Okay! Let’s get this together, guys. Pull it together.” It’s like the parent telling the kids what’s up. Don’t do that. Yes, do it. Be very mindful about the choice that you make as well, too, because you still want to make sure things are going. Oh, it’s a job. It’s a job.

You make it look so effortless—and you also look great while doing it. The looks that you turn as the emcee are just as eye-catching as the competitors. How did you develop all those looks for every episode?

This is the great part about this show, that we have so many components of people who are a part of the ballroom culture who are within, now, to help create this beautiful show Legendary. My stylist Eric Archibald is an icon in the ballroom culture for runway and also fashion. He has this aesthetic that no one has, and he’s a part of the ballroom culture. He came in and, oh my gosh, I felt like a model on that runway every time! And I can’t take that away. That’s the thing about the scene. You want to get dressed, you want to wear your outfits, and you want to have full confidence in whatever you do.

Legendary’s dropping in a wild time where we’re all stuck at home. How can viewers help keep the ballroom scene thriving right now, while they’re stuck at home? If the show attracts a new audience, how can they help?

We have so many different programs and places that help out the ballroom culture and community as well, too. For example, as far as non-profit organizations, we have House Lives Matter, where all the leaders and parents and those in the community help. We all sit and talk and figure out ways of how we can make the community better as well as assisting a lot of things that’s going on within the community. Whether it’s like a violence or drugs or homeless, whatever we go through, we try to have these conversations and make it better. Because we know we’re going in a completely different place with ballroom. And there’s many different in cities. Like House Lives Matter, you have GMHC, which throws a non-profit ball every year. It’s the biggest ball of the year. So if you ever have a chance in New York City, it opens back up, you should attend a Latex Ball in New York City. It’s these places that really assist us, in making sure that we do what we have to do.

The first two episodes of Legendary are available to stream right now on HBO Max, with new episodes dropping every Thursday at 12:01 a.m. PT.

Stream Legendary on HBO Max