Picture it. Fairview, 1985. A tickle trunk filled with old Halloween costumes, clothes, and his grandmother’s wigs introduces a young Dan to a world of imagination and dress up. From playing Granny Clampett in an elementary school play, to dressing up a hillbilly to go dumpster diving for furniture, to dressing up for the evening in disco / goth / vintage, Dan grew to love this world of make-believe. After coming out and moving to Red Deer, road trips to Calgary to see the Sunday night shows at Detours, featuring the fantastic talents of Eartha Quake, Cricket, the late Sandy St. Peters and the amazing Mr. Devon Mills, opened Dan’s eyes to the world of drag, and he knew it was a world he wanted to join.
After doing “drag” in Red Deer a few times as Octavia Lestrange, Dan moved to Edmonton, where his friend Mia, then known as Veronica Blackout, introduced him to Buddys. Dan found a drag mother in Eden Out, and together they settled on Gigolette on a name, based on an obscure musical of the same name. That didn’t stick though, and Dan changed his name again, to a character from said musical, Godiva. One night, after a few cocktails, another Buddys Beauty, Juanduh, pointed out that Godiva was Go Diva! And the big G and D stuck.
And a queen was born.
You have probably seen GoDiva out and about, perhaps doing one of her signature numbers. Life of the Party perhaps? Or something from “Wicked”? It might have been a number you didn’t know, because one of GoDiva’s joys is in finding things she’s never seen done and putting her stamp on it. Broadway mostly. Possibly something semi-obscure. Songs that tell a bit of a story, surely. The lipsync will be flawless, regardless of the number. As Dan is quick to point out, knowing your words is one of the first lessons new queens should learn. “God knows I can’t dance,” Dan says, “so I always needed to make sure I’m on with the lipsync.”
GoDiva started with just doing the bar shows. This opened a world of good memories, such as being in her first Buddys Beauties full production. A relentless Netta pounded Mein Herr into everyone during the hours of rehearsal brought a real sense of camaraderie and pride at the final performance. Other than the applause, it has been that camaraderie and those friendships that have kept GoDiva going, helping build Sunday shows at Buddys into something great, whether that was GoDonna shows (with Donnatella NE1) or Greasy Spoon shows. GoDiva was always big on bringing the Buddys Beauties outside of Buddys, and the first taste of that, a standing ovation at Coronation XXVII after their performance of “Vogue” wheted GoDiva’s appetite for reaching the broader community. That led to GoDiva winning Hey Drag Queen in 2004, which began her involvement with the ISCWR.
That involvement has gone on to include Mz Gay Edmonton 18, Entertainer of the Year, and Imperial Crown Princess. Being asked to run for princess “was a great honour” for GoDiva, although she is honest about partly wanting the title for the title. Yes, she knew it was going to be hard work, but “she was surprised along the way to meet so many great friends and to come to respect people for the hard work they put in. How they dedicate themselves to the betterment of the organization, its charities, and the community as whole, many of them behind the scenes and not on the stage.” Since stepping down as princess, GoDiva has been involved both on stage and behind the scenes, as a member at large on the board of the ISCWR, where she has striven to serve as a fair and a just voice without agenda.
Don’t get her wrong though. As much as GoDiva loves helping the community more, using shows to raise money while still having fun, she’ll still work for cash! After all, being an elected Empress takes money, and GoDiva can’t count the times she has been asked when she’ll run. Her answer is now as it has always been, “someday, hopefully, but until then I’ll continue to support as I have been.”
This is partly because drag has taught GoDiva so much. That she does like the spotlight and is not just a tag along. That with work and perseverance she can learn new things and better herself. That she has worth and something to give. They have made her stronger and more outgoing. “Dan is kinda shy, but GoDiva likes to rip peoples belts off. I think that the dichotomy was greater when I first started drag but over time the two have grown somewhat together”.
As much as she has learned from drag, GoDiva also has lessons to impart. One, she was given years ago by Netta, and it’s to talk to the people in the crowd before and after a show, and always try to introduce yourself to someone you haven’t met. “It really does go a long way,” she says. “And be nice, it takes time to get a bit of cattiness down just right.”
Originally published on QMagazine