Beyoncé Dazzles With a Sparkling Homage to Black Queer Culture at Levi's Stadium

At her first world tour in 2007, a 26 year-old Beyoncé Knowles asked the audience, “Are you ready to be entertained?”

A decade and a half later, at the first California stop of her blockbuster Renaissance World Tour last night, Mrs. Knowles-Carter came ready not just to entertain but to claim her throne. In a two-and-a-half-hour tsunami of songs, Beyoncé commanded the sold-out audience of 50,000 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, leaning heavily into the Black queer music and culture from the metallic world of her latest album, Renaissance.

Rising up out of the floor in a black Marc Jacobs miniskirt and platform boots, Beyoncé greeted a screaming stadium of silver-clad fans with five simple words: “Bay Area… I love you.”

Across an opening six-song block of mostly ballads, Queen Bey delivered a reminder that her vocals are still the foundation of her artistry, perching on a silver grand piano to serve an intimate “1+1.”

Beyoncé then plugged into the computerized world of Renaissance proper. Stepping out in a chrome bodysuit, the pop icon launched into “I’m That Girl,” “Cozy,” and “Alien Superstar,” the hyper-confident first tracks of her seventh studio album. She led her troupe of dancers and live band with the precision of a champion at the top of her game.

Dazzling projections on screen played with the concept of Beyoncé as a cyborg during the first hour, a tongue-in-cheek response to the criticisms that have followed the singer throughout her entire career: that she’s not “human” enough in her pursuit of perfection. As she deadpanned and pop-locked to the “Alien Superstar” lyrics, “I’m one of one / I’m number one / I’m the only one,” she challenged us to reconsider our expectations.

Throughout the show, Beyoncé paid homage to Black queer music and culture that inspired her Renaissance era: the voice of ballroom icon Kevin JZ Prodigy was ever-present, and dancers vogued during the mini ball that unfolded for “Pure/Honey.” The tour marked another acknowledgement of the Ballroom community in mainstream American culture, following the success of shows like FX’s Pose and HBO’s Legendary.

Beyoncé sprinkled musical nods to this community throughout the night like little love letters. To many, the flairs of First Choice’s “Let No Man Put Asunder,” or the strains of Diana Ross’ “Love Hangover” (expertly delivered in four-part harmony by background vocalists Tiffany Ryan, Karyn Porter, Natalie Imani and Tayler Green), might have just seemed like mere interludes. But to those in the ballroom scene, these tracks feel just as warm and familiar as “Crazy in Love” or “Get Me Bodied.”

Despite the stadium’s size, Beyoncé cultivated genuine moments of connection with the crowd: She invited attendees to sing the key changes in “Love On Top” a capella, and reveled in the sounds of paper and plastic shifting when the audience pulled out their fans for “Heated.” If she would have asked us to pick Levi’s Stadium up and move it six feet to the left, we would have found a way.

Such is the reward for an artist who has spent the past 25 years cultivating a fanbase that transcends the hard lines that the United States draws across race, class, gender and age. There was satisfaction in looking at a stranger and silently agreeing to take “Love on Top” up another half step, or noticing someone else also doing the iconic shoulder shuffle to “Diva.”

One of the night’s most electric moments came when Beyoncé introduced her 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter. Donning an orange and blue jersey with the Roman numerals “IV,” the protégé performed “My Power” and “Black Parade” alongside her mother under a Super Blue Moon, a rare celestial occurrence that won’t cross the sky again for another 14 years. Considering the rare skill required to lead an entire ensemble of trained dancers on a world tour before turning 12, it seemed fitting that Beyoncé would tell us to “give it up for Blue Ivy, a.k.a. Blue Moon.”

From 16-year-olds experiencing their Beyoncé baptism to sisters who traveled from across the country, the Beyhive made the concert into a full experience — celebrating the opulent and the divine diva that lives in us all, and supporting those whose identities put us at risk for violence. These are not far from the tenets of ballroom culture, and it’s what makes the Renaissance World Tour an occasion far beyond a concert.

It was a defiant, joyful release of personal and collective trauma, giving us all the chance to feel like a chromed-out Cinderella for the night. At the end of the show, soaring above the crowd on silver chrome disco horse that fans have jokingly named “Reneigh,” Mrs. Knowles-Carter said that she’ll “never forget tonight.”

Rest assured her Bay Area audience won’t either.