Becoming Jupiter Love

Frank Hope transformed into Jupiter Love over ten years ago, and since then he has changed the way the world views him. Jupiter Love helped him make his way onto the hit HBO TV show Legendary to compete for 100 thousand dollars.

Growing up in Detroit being young, black and gay, Hope says he found himself running from bullies everyday. He describes his younger self as being quiet and timid with glasses. When he was 15, he and his friend skipped school and went to the Ruth Ellis Center, a safe haven for LGBTQ+ youth of color. It was there that he discovered the Ballroom dance scene. When he saw the dancers moving their bodies, swaying their hips, and forming their arms into art he said to himself, “I can do that, I know I can do that.”

Hope was shy and didn’t vogue in front of people for a full year before he began joining Ballroom Houses. He bounced around for a few years until he found a home in the House of Balenciaga. The House of Balenciaga was established in 2002 and by the time Hope joined in 2014 the house was considered legendary. The competition was steep to be a part of the Balenciaga’s due to there only being one to two openings a year.

For the past 7 years he has vogued in the catergory butch queen vogue fem with the House of Balenciaga and has become a legend in the ballroom scene. He says, “ballroom builds character, it helps you understand a different level of yourself, it helps you not to have any barriers.”

The House of Balenciaga applied for the second season of the ballroom competition show Legendary on HBO with 5 members. Hope says during the application process, “we came in confident with our skills and said to the producers, “we will see you in a few months.”

The house of Balenciaga lasted the full 10 weeks of the competition and placed second. “After analyzing the experience I liked it, during it was the hardest thing I have ever done.” Hope went on, “I learned to waltz, I learned choreographed dances, I walked the runway, and I capitalized on every opportunity.”