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<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cJuriji was born when I was 13 years old. I used the name to create my first hotmail address. It is the two first letters of my birth name and my two family names, because in Spain you have the father’s name and the mother’s name. It started also because since forever I know I’m trans and it was a way to be in this non-binary area. I was very androgynous, already as a kid. By choosing that name for me, it was like a statement because of my traditional birth name that was exactly the same as my father’s and grandfather\u2019s. Next to that traditional masculine energy, I always saw the women as the strongest characters making the decisions and I was very inspired by that. I always felt like I had to choose between those two sides. When I came out as trans to my parents, they told me they always knew that this day will come and it was such a relieve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt first, trying drag was a way for me to deal with my gender dysphoria and to understand my own body. I wasn\u2019t always comfortable in it and drag was helping me escape and discover my femininity. Of course, in drag I exagerate the feminine side because, I would never look the way I’m on stage in daily life. It is really two different things and it is important because some people don’t really understand the difference between a drag queen and a trans person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI work between Brussels where I created Benediction parties and Paris where I perform at cabaret Madame Arthur. Benediction is really about inclusivity, so everybody is welcome. We have cisgender people, trans people and non-binary as well on stage as in the audience. This is something I\u2019m really proud and happy about since it can be rare to be able to mix everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI like to perform songs on stage. It can be opera as well as electro music. When I am interpreting a song, I’m connected to the story of the song. For example, there is a performance I do often at Benediction where I am singing Dido\u2019s Lament with a latex historical costume. It is very dramatic because I am dying on stage. There is a fully naked dancer next to me and I open my veins and pouring liters of fake blood. It\u2019s all about transmission and transformation and there is madness and frenetic energy on the stage. It is very powerful. I love this baroque aesthetic. I like to be connected to horror movies as well. I also use feathers such as the castrati opera voices since I have a lyrical background from the conservatory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe arrival of RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race in the world of drag is really positive because it really gave an amazing platform for queens and it puts drag in this stardom level. Now, you can dream about becoming a drag superstar, which was not really the case 12 years ago. Actually, I think it’s so clever because it’s really funny. It’s really accessible and everybody is watching, not only the queer scene which is really amazing. There is still a difference between US girls and European girls even now it’s super mainstream. I think it’s great because the level is super high. What is important is to be a performer. It’s great to be beautiful and even if you’re not in this female persona, you can still be gorgeous. But that\u2019s not all, we have to go further. At the end of the day, if you want to be a performer, you have to kill the stage whatever you’re doing. It’s not only about aesthetics.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Juriji Der Klee is the first Brussels queen to join a RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":43223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556,30],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-43222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag","category-portrait"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot_20220221-165027_Instagram-1022x1024.jpg\")
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