Tuesday Tease: Barbarellesque Blasts Off in Baltimore This Sunday!

November 12, 2013
By Jimmy Berg

Well, last weekend was Burlycon here in Seattle and over 600 members of the “glitterati” descended upon our fair city for four days of classes, parties and networking. We were honored to host Saturday night’s hospitality suite and got a chance to chat with some old friends and meet some new friends. Unfortunately, we quickly ran out of food given the increased number of attendees but were able to send everyone off with the great earrings that we were giving away. Would love to see some shots of folks sporting the earrings. Feel free to share them on our Facebook page!

Me and fellow BPTer Michelle also taught a class on effectively ticketing a burlesque event and had a great group of fully engaged producers that not only seemed to learn a lot from the class but also brought a lot of great advice themselves. There seemed to be more of a focus on producers this year at Burlycon, which is great, as these are the folks that are going to bring the art form to new audiences through effective marketing and shows that push boundaries and expand the definition of what burlesque is.

All in all, it was a great weekend. There seemed to be a larger contingent of burlesque performers and producers from outside the Pacific Northwest than last year and one such performer/producer was Kay Sera from Baltimore-based Compound Productions 50/50.

They are producing a tribute to Barbarella, the 1968 sexy, sci-fi Jane Fonda romp, with Barbarellesque: An Ecdysiast Theatrical Experience this Sunday, November 17 at The Windup Space in Baltimore. We highly recommend that you check it out. The producers at Compound Productions 50/50 promise that this is “More than a themed show and beyond nerdlesque, this fully scripted performance follows the film’s delightfully cheesy plot and dialogue and adds even more sexy silliness with striptease and song!”

Check out the original trailer and you can already see that this movie was bound to get the burlesque treatment eventually. I’m just shocked that it hasn’t happened until now.

Tuesday Tease: This Week in Burlesque!

July 30, 2013
By Jimmy Berg

One thing that I love about the modern burlesque scene is that it’s constantly looking for things in popular culture to parody or pay tribute to. I mean, technically, this is what the original definition of burlesque was: “a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.” This week, we have some great events that do just that. We got a tribute to Saturday morning cartoons happening in Seattle, a Wizard of Oz-themed show set to the music of Pink Floyd in New York and a tribute to Joss Whedon in Baltimore.

Ironically, what we think of as “classic” burlesque, isn’t as much about parody as it is about sensuality and grace. We got tons of shows that feature burlesque of the early to mid 20th century variety as well. There are burlesque classes and festivals happening and even a 6th annversary party for Atlanta’s Syrens of the South! Also, Gotham Burlesque in New York is offering a special discount for this week’s show for our readers.

Basically, this week’s Tuesday Tease is just an opportunity for us to brag about the amazing producer that work with us and highlight some of the amazing burlesque events happening this weekend. I guarantee you’ll find something to get you off the couch and out supporting your local burlesque scene.

Looks like this is going to be one HOT August!
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Tuesday Tease: The Great Burlesque Exposition

April 2, 2013
By Jimmy Berg

This past weekend, our East Coast Ambassador A.J. Andrews and I had the honor of attending the Great Burlesque Exposition in Boston. This incredible showcase of burlesque talent was celebrating its 7th year of existence and both A.J. and I were bowled over by the amount of talent that was presented to us over the course of this past Easter weekend.

This week on the Tuesday Tease, I’ll give you a breakdown of, what proved to be, an incredible weekend featuring burlesque royalty and newcomers alike. I personally left Boston feeling inspired and excited for the future of burlesque and I have to give a big shout-out to Scratch and Miss Mina, the Exposition’s founders, for putting on an amazing festival.

So, without further ado, here’s what went down:

Friday Night:

Friday night’s kick-off show, The Rhinestone Revue featured a wide spectrum of burlesque talent: from classic burlesque to comedic burlesque routines to boylesque and I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite act since they were all so incredible but I will talk about a few of my favorites.

The Boston Babydolls are Boston’s “home team” burlesque troupe and Mr. Scratch, their director, is the organizer of the Exposition. The act was a Vegas-style number set to the JXL Remix of Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation.” The only lighting in the act was from flashlights that the girls were holding and they used them to great effect to create an exciting routine that had the audience on their feet screaming for more. To me the act was able to feel new and exciting, while paying homage to classic Las Vegas showmanship. Well done Babydolls!

A couple other highlights for me were two girls from BPT’s hometown of Seattle: the always graceful and stylish Shanghai Pearl (pictured) and Scandal from Bohemia, who did an act to Weird Al’s “My Bologna” that involved meat pasties and a big ‘ol sandwich. The centerpiece of Shangai’s act was an absolutely stunning peacock costume and her effortless grace impresses me every time I see her perform.

Dot Mitzvah did a great operatic routine to an Yma Sumac song. The high notes were not lyp-synced! She sang it all while taking it all off. Boylesque performer Paco Fish did a hilarious routine in a judges wig and robe, which ended with his gavel in a most compromising position and Canadian performers St. Stella and James and the Giant Pasty, did a highly original act that was inspired and super sexy, with references to great works of art.

On the classic side of things, modern-day burlesque legend Jo Weldon did an incredible fan dance that was a tribute to Pink Light Burlesque, an organization that she founded that offers free burlesque lessons to breast cancer patients (See video below). Cherokee Rose displayed some impressive tassel twirling technique and Canadian performer Burgundy Brixx busted out a sweet boa that ended up being a robe in disguise.

Tuesday Tease: Barbarellesque Blasts Off in Baltimore This Sunday!

Tuesday Tease: This Week in Burlesque!

Tuesday Tease: The Great Burlesque Exposition

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