Senior Jaime Whitaker, also known as Avery Leigh, has performed in all of Spectrum’s fall and spring drag shows since 2010. His journey from novice performer to a self-described “queen of curves” culminated in an emotional performance at the Bad to the Bone drag show on Saturday.
For his final performance as a Ball State student, Whitaker chose a routine far different from anything he had ever done before. He switched his upbeat mixes for a ballad and changed from his sequined leotard to a T-shirt and shorts.
The performance created a “clear connection that I am Avery and that I am [also] Jaime,” Whitaker said.
“It represents something that wasn’t originally in my four-year plan. I never even thought of performing in drag. [But] I believe everything happens for a reason. I wholeheartedly believe that I was meant to become Avery.”
His freshman year, Whitaker gave in to his friends’ suggestions and agreed to perform at Spectrum’s 7 Deadly Sins drag show.
“I sort of agreed to it at first, just joking and not really sure if I would go through with it 100 percent,” he said.
The night of his first performance, Whitaker introduced himself to the drag world as Avery Leigh, dancing to Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night.”
“Everybody in the audience just went crazy,” Whitaker said. “The reaction that I got when I was performing was something that I have never been able to duplicate. Having that experience firsthand, of just being on stage and having all these people on Ball State’s campus screaming and yelling for you, it was super awesome. And so I did it again, and then I did it again and then I just kept doing it.”
Whitaker is no stranger to the spotlight. He said he performed in his first play when he was in the third or fourth grade and joined show choir in high school.
“[My high school] had a very competitive show choir and so that got me buckling down into singing and dancing,” Whitaker said. “I feel like all of that sort of paved the way for me to be a drag performer because I do sing live sometimes when I’m in drag. I dance heavily in all of my songs.”
Whitaker kept his two personas separate when he began performing as a drag queen.
“Outside of drag, I never felt good about myself,” Whitaker said. “But Avery, as soon as I created her, she always got compliments.”
Whitaker listened to popular advice from one of his idols and changed his mindset.
“One of my idols, RuPaul, always says that you need to look into the mirror and tell yourself you’re beautiful until you believe it,” Whitaker said, “And so that’s kind of what I did.”
He began believing in the connection between his drag queen persona and himself.
Whitaker told himself, “You’re Jaime but you’re also Avery. We are the same. So if Avery is beautiful, you’re beautiful.”
“When I did bond my two personalities it was just something that – now it’s official, nothing can hold me back. There’s no mountain I won’t try to climb or river I won’t try to swim across.”
Since his first show in 2010, Whitaker has performed at about 20 shows. He has also recently submitted an audition tape for the reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race.
“[I] never had the intentions of getting into drag and performing,” Whitaker said. “It was just something that happened, and had it not happened I would be a completely different person than I am right now.”
Whitaker plans on moving to California to get a degree in cosmetology, and pursue a career in runway and fashion makeup.
“Regardless of what I do or where I go, I’m always gonna take the skills and the heart that these shows gave me and I’m going to continue to do drag for the benefit of other people,” Whitaker said. “Even though it’s my last show as a Ball State student, I refuse to let this be my last show at Ball State.”
GALLERY: Check out photos from the drag show
Read More
Yorktown baseballs’ offense stalls early, falls to Shelbyville
By David Moore / 3 hours agoWith few conference games left on the schedule, this was an important series for the Tigers. However, in the end, the Golden Bears swept the season series over the Tigers with an 11-6 victory.
Students gather to protest for Palestine at Frog Baby Fountain
By Staff Reports / 6 hours agoA student-led protest kicked off near Frog Baby at 4 p.m. May 1 in solidarity with Palestine amidst the country’s conflict with Israel.
‘Last piece of the puzzle:' Ball State softball is graduating 10 seniors after the 2023-24 season, all of whom impacted the program farther than the stat sheet.
By Zach Carter / YesterdayA packed senior class has helped lead Ball State to success on the field and in the locker room.
