Elephants Prove Discerning Listeners of Us Humans

‘Rise Up and Dance!’ is an international cabaret dance party that will benefit The LGBT Asylum Project on August 15 at Oasis. The goal is to support the queer immigrant community, as well as Team Oasis, both of which are facing a very challenging time.

The Colombian bombshell La Chichi (the gender-fluid alter ego of Juliano Wade) will lead this musical celebration of world cultures, along with flamenco dancer Damien Alvarez, strongman Toni Cannon, belly dancer Stefanie Schlief, acrobat Garrett Allen, and emcee Adam Sandel, with dance music by DJ Ion.

As co-producer of the event, this writer was knee-deep in preparing the show when the shocking news hit that after eleven years as San Francisco’s premier queer nightclub, Oasis will be closing at the end of 2025.

Suddenly, the urgent needs of our queer immigrant community were joined by the needs of Team Oasis. In an article in the Bay Area Reporter, Oasis owner D’Arcy Drollinger stressed how important it is for the community to attend Oasis events and shows, to help keep them afloat throughout the rest of the year.

“By closing the doors of the club, we’re opening up a world of new possibilities,” Drollinger stated.

A history of supporting queer causes
As Founding Director of Fundraising and Events for The LGBT Asylum Project, choosing Oasis as the site for our 2015 launch party was a no-brainer for me. Since then, the club has hosted many fundraisers for the organization, which provides legal services for LGBT immigrants who are seeking asylum in the United States.

When the 2016 presidential election ushered in aggressive attacks against immigrants and the queer community, we added the catchphrase “Now more than ever” to The LGBT Asylum Project materials. Support ballooned and the fundraisers multiplied.

Among the Asylum Project events hosted by Oasis was The Third Annual (and most grand) Mr. International Freedom Contest in 2018. One of the first contestants in this international male beauty pageant was our Mr. Colombia, Juliano Wade.

An alter ego is born
A multi-talented dancer whose styles range from tribal fusion belly dance to West African, samba, Latin, jazz, heels, and boylesque, Wade fuses acrobatic moves with his dance performances using props such as swords, candles, fire, fans, ribbons and more.

The Colombian-born American citizen volunteered his time to perform at many Asylum Project fundraisers. When he approached me to help him develop a comically exotic gender-fluid character called La Chichi, I was all in.

Oasis was our first and only choice for a venue to introduce this character, which we did in the 2023 show ‘Who the Hell is La Chichi? An evening of song, dance and mis-spoken word.’

The innumerable dance parties, drag shows, and film and TV parodies that Oasis has presented over the years have made it San Francisco’s premier queer-friendly nightclub. But to many of us, who’ve been dedicated to raising awareness and funds for an urgent cause (or have simply needed a place to launch an exotic alter ego), it has become so much more than that.

‘Rise Up and Dance!’ $25-$200. Aug. 15, 9:30pm, at Oasis, 298 Eleventh St.
https://www.sfoasis.com/events
https://www.lgbtasylumproject.org