Damon Evangelista

**Damon Richards-Evangelista** is an ambitious and aspiring ballet dancer from Allentown who, having been disowned and kicked from his biological family for his homosexuality, moved to New York City a homeless youth. He was brought into the ballroom scene by a new house Mother Blanca Rodriguez, soon taken into her graces at House Evangelista and gaining enrollment into his dream school. He also found himself in an unexpected romance with another soul by the name of Ricky.

Continuing his enrollment in Helena St. Rogers' class through scholarships and working as a teacher of vogue, Damon graduates from the New School for Dance, but finds his love life and family dynamics on edge.

## Biography

### Early Life

Damon was the only child of Lawrence Richards and his wife, the three living in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He sought an interest in dance, despite his father's disapproval.

### Disowned

After a class of dancing, Damon traveled back home by bus; entering the house, he retreated to his bedroom, placed a tape into the stereo, and danced in his room to the blaring music. However, he was interrupted by the arrival of his father. He was scolded, his father having discovered from a co-worker that he was attending dance classes behind his back and a gay magazine hidden underneath his bed. Damon confirmed the rumor of taking dance classes and that he was gay, leading to Lawrence repeatedly beating his son until he was pried apart.

Tossed onto the lawn and disowned by his father, Damon was confronted by his mother on his homosexualtiy; while she pressured him to denounce his sexuality as a sin, he stood silently before her, his belongings tossed to the grass. On his own, he traveled to New York City, resting in Washington Square Park and overseen by Pito.

### Invitation to Ballroom

Damon settled in a spot in Washington Square Park, performing dances he learned from school for money. He is approached by a woman who asks him about his talent and raises an invitation to join her new house and showcase his talent with the ballroom community. Though he rejects the offer, citing that his dreams were bigger than hers, Damon takes a trip to one of the balls held that night, being educated on the community by Blanca, amazed at the faces and the atmosphere that surrounded them.

Afterwards, the two sit in a dinner for pancakes and share personal stories about their respective upbringings. He listens as Blanca tells him of her time before transitioning, attending balls during the night in her young adulthood and confessing her transgender identity that led to her disownment. Given her phone number, he is welcomed to join her home at any time in the future.

Waking in the park to his backpack and belongings stolen from him, Damon is initially offered to enter sex work for money, rejecting the offer before seeking Blanca at her apartment to join her House.

### Tardiness and Punishment

Damon helps prepare Lil Papi Evangelista with a dance routine for the upcoming ball, though Angel and Ricky repeatedly tease. Checking his watch, he hurriedly gathers his belongings and rushed out the door to class, complimenting Papi on his improvement on the way out.

Arriving to the New School for Dance Studio late, he attempted to follow the instructor Helena St. Rogers; the class paused as he received a hard scolding from Helena. As he explained his tardiness, he was abruptly interrupted and told to leave the class. The following evening, Damon spoke with Blanca about her visit with his teacher. During the conversation, he was given a bus pass and became agitated when his punishment barred him from attending the upcoming Snow Ball.

### Auditions

Damon was approached after dismissing his own dance class by a recruiter who gave him a business card, informing him to attend an audition to join Madonna's tour. Attending and performing at the auditions, he and Ricky Wintour at two of the remaining dancers set to return for a second audition. He engaged in conversation with his former lover about their future as back-up dancers for Madonna, striving that they each improve and do their best.

### Graduation and Celebration

Damon performed his final dance at a student of Helena St. Rogers. Graduating the New School for Dance, he retreats home with his House family and friends for cake and drinks. As he attempted to give a speech to celebrate his newfound accomplishment, he was repeatedly interrupted by small comments from a drunk Angel. Gradually, the two siblings continued to insult the other's profession and life choices, Damon eventually revealing to Blanca that Angel had used cocaine. Despite Lulu questioning her sibling's strange behavior prior, Damon repeatedly tells his House mother that it was the truth, having witnessed the action with their eyes.

After Blanca commands Lil Papi to take Angel to her room, Damon argued with her, critcizing her attitudes since getting her own salon and her favoritism, failing to discipline her daughter. He turned his attention to revealing more secrets when Pray Tell interjects into the heated conflict, demanding Damon changed his tone towards Blanca; he informed that Ricky was HIV-positive and that he was in a relationship with Pray Tell.

### An Opportunity

During a ball, Damon approaches the Evangelistas, who initially appeared to converse without his knowledge. When asked about Angel telling her the truth of her drug use, he is shocked that Blanca continued to choose Angel's word over his. During the butch queen vogue category, he danced his anger out on the floor, scoring higher than his two other challengers. He walks away from a happy Blanca into the dressing room. There, he met Tori whom offers a touring gig for Malcolm McLaren.

The next day in his room, he began packing for the tour, staying silent to Blanca's attempts to talk to him until she apologized for not believing him about Angel's drug use.

### Return to Mother

Damon, being informed of Blanca's condition in May 1991, traveled from Paris back to New York City, where he reunited with his house Mother. Helping her prepare to leave the hospital, he shared stories about his travels through Europe while touring, even establishing his own house.

### Relapse

Sobering from alcohol abuse, Damon settled back in New York City with Mother Blanca, gathering with friends and family as they watched O.J. car chase on television. After several comments from a drinking Pray Tell, Damon pulls him aside, taking him to his room in an effort to help him combat his own alcoholism but is quickly ignored when the doorbell rings.

Damon relapsed into drinking; he makes the choice to contact a cousin in Charleston and moves to live with them.

### Brighter Future

In 1998, Damon settled in Chicago, where he established three dance studios and was dating a new man .

## Relationships

### Romances

* **Ricky**: Striking an elating friendship that quickly moved into romance territory, Damon and Ricky began with rough beginning after Damon placed importance on his academia over seeking a love life. The two, however, worked past the incident and, after officially joining House Evangelista to walk the balls, the pair continued to grow as a special union, harboring highs and lows as the months moved on. With time, the two became physically apart but still romantically involved, as Ricky traveled on tour as a dancer and Damon finishing his semester in the school of dance. Ricky returning home, the two caught up on missed time together; this was quickly cut short through the death of a friend and an altercation with a boy whom claims to have slept with Ricky while on tour. Under consideration, the two separated, Damon citing claim that he did not fully valued himself over their union. After a momentary period of silence from Ricky, Damon managed to reconnect with Ricky, through casual conversations as both boys attempted to join in Madonna's tour. When both boys failed to make the cut, they were recommended to apply for Solid Gold television show, having been restarted by Jim Stuckey; the pair danced alongside Riddle Rene and, though Ricky advanced that he wished to renew their romance, Damon suggested instead that they settle with a friendship, uncertain of their possible career in dance. When Damon was finally prepared to get back together with Ricky, Ricky confessed to being HIV-positive and also to potentially exposing Damon to the virus, causing Damon to angrily kick Ricky out.

### Friends

* **Blanca Rodriguez**: Since the establishment of the House of Evangelista, Damon and Blanca have strived to have a budding mother-child bond, Blanca having been the first loving and nurturing being to take him under their wings.
* **Lil Papi and Angel Evangelista**: Damon frequents a sibling-like relationship between both Papi and Angel since living under the House of Evangelista. Their relationship became strained during Damon's graduation celebration but they repaired their relationship prior to Damon leaving for his tour.
* **Pray Tell**: Damon's relationship to Pray Tell has been as a guidance and faternal figure, though at times, the two came at odds after the initial revelation of his romantic relationship with his former boyfriend Ricky.
* **Helena St. Rogers**: Damon has grown to have a strong relationship with his dancer instructor and teacher since joining the New School for Dance. Despite one incident that threatened to crush his opportunity to excel in her school, Damon and Helena regularly complimented each other.

### Enemies

* **Chris**: Damon encountered the face of a young man whom made claim that he had an affair with Ricky while on tour. Repeatedly in disbelief and enraged by the accusation, Damon came to blows with the individual, forcing Pray Tell to shut down the ball early for the night and led to the eventual break-up between Damon and Ricky.

## Gallery

* Promotionals
* Behind the Scenes
* Videos

Pose Season 1 Meet Damon Teaser FXPose Season 1 Damon Walks Teaser FXPose Season 2 Damon Teaser FX
## Behind the Scenes

* In an early draft of the pilot episode, Damon was a sex worker.
* Warren E. Hull is a stunt double for Ryan Jamaal Swain in the role of Damon Richards.

## Appearances

 **Appears**
 "Mother's Day":
 **Appears**

 **Appears**
 "Something Borrowed, Something Blue":

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Twitter @StevenCanals - https://twitter.com/StevenCanals/status/1389058879250567172 (May 2, 2021)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 1.01 *Pilot*
3. ↑ 1.03 *Giving and Receiving*
4. ↑ 1.04 *The Fever*
5. ↑ 1.05 *Mother's Day*
6. ↑ 2.05 *What Would Candy Do?*
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 2.08 *Revelations*
8. ↑ 2.10 *In My Heels*
9. ↑ 3.01 *On The Run*
10. ↑ 3.02 *Intervention*
11. ↑ Distracify - 'Pose's Damon Was Barely Featured in the Season 3 Premiere Due to a Family Tragedy (May 5, 2021)
12. ↑ 3.07 *Series Finale*
13. ↑ Twitter @StevenCanals - https://twitter.com/StevenCanals/status/1314571152786890752 (October 9, 2020)