I interviewed Tamashiro back in '06, a few months before Spurlesque hit the Quincy's stage, in an article for Avenue called "Sexy Subversion". It was a decent interview, he was a nice guy, but it seemed to me that he didn't quite get burlesque.
"Most people associate burlesque with pasties and fat girls," he said. "In my show, they're all completely top-of-the-ranks beautiful. They're extremely sexy, and really outgoing and gregarious, but they're also very good dancers at the same time, right?"
Good dancers, that's... that's good.
"I don't know about you," he continued, "but I started sniffing around the new burlesque troupes that are happening around, and I'll be perfectly honest with you, it just doesn't do it for me. It seems like there's a bit of kitschiness about it. They're dressed in period costumes, a lot of tattooed girls. It really is a fringe type of thing."
That's where we agree. Burlesque is a fringe type of thing. It's witty, satirical and counter-cultural... none of which characteristics have any place around Quincy's during the Calgary Stampede.
"I've trademarked the name Spurlesque, by the way, which I'm very excited about."
...
Master Sarah Moanies, the former MC of Kabuki Guns Burlesque, was always on message. No matter where she was interviewed, there was always a similar quote: "Burlesque comes from a day when sex and sexuality was still a mystery. A long black skirt with a tall slit up the leg is far more sexy than a mini-skirt."
(In my Avenue piece: "Burlesque hearkens back to a time when sexuality still had a little mystery and plastic did not make perfect. ... A long skirt with a slit up the leg is far sexier than a miniskirt.")
It's a good soundbyte, and that's why it kept getting printed. But more importantly, Moanies provided Calgary with a spokesperson for burlesque that understood its history, its image, and the need for a consistent message.
Contrary to Tamashiro's "pasties and fat girls", I'd argue that most people associate burlesque with the Pussycat Dolls who, unless I've been looking at the wrong photoshoots, don't subscribe to Moanies' long skirt philosophy. As a public face for burlesque in Calgary, Moanies reminded us that burlesque (done right) has more in common with old-style vaude
ville than with the French Maid.Alas, Master Moanies has left Calgary for warmer shores. We miss you!
The Kabuki Guns are still active. Admittedly, I haven't seen many of their recent shows... but I worry when I see photos of their latest fundraiser, a bikini carwash.
On Saturday, I headed over to the Palomino to see the Garter Girls (formerly the Calgary Burlesque Collective). I first encountered this group when they very generously performed at Swallow-a-Bicycle's Lust After Sunset party/fundraiser at Juilliard. They pretty much rocked, and helped to make the party a rousing success. When I heard they were performing alongside some rockabilly bands, I figured it would be a Saturday evening well-spent.
Don't get me wrong, I had a good time. But I have to admit, I was disappointed with the show.
Nearly every set started, and ended, the same way. The MC, dressed as Mrs. Claus, gave a sassy introduction. The dancer entered, stage right, in an elaborate costume. A Christmas tune was pumped through the speakers, and the elaborate costume was stripped down to panties and tasseled pasties. A quick tassel-twirl, and that's a wrap! Even Axis D'Evil, who gave a rowdy and respectable performance as a filthy, hard-rockin' Santa Claus, twirled tho
se tassels for her grand finale.You can imagine my delight, then, when Sugar Mae B. did something different.
When she entered stage right, she was already nearly bare, her panties and pasties concealed only by a pair of white-feathered shields that were part angel wings, part snow domes. Her dance was slow and measured, and whenever one of the wings made a broad stroke overhead, the other was there to conceal her, giving us only the briefest hints of skin. It was subtle. Mischievous. Seductive.
At the end, with a smirk, the wings finally parted.
But wasn't about the big finish. We already knew she was naked. It was about the experience.
(At least, it was for me. The douchebag next to me, on the other hand, gruffly called out: "Drop the wings, hon, we can't see anything.")
Now, I'm in no way impartial - Ms. Sugar Mae is a friend of mine. And, granted, her set didn't have much in the way of satire, or commentary, or transgression. But I was thrilled and refreshed to see the formula broken, and to be engaged by her sensuality instead of her sexuality.
Saturday night was a landmark for the Garter Girls; it was the final show for their founder, Betty Galore, before her indefinite hiatus from burlesque. It's hard to say what this will mean for the group. I, for one, hope that their next evolution shows less strip, and more tease.
Calgary's burlesque "community", as it were, is pretty much dominated by the KGB and the Garter Girls, but as I was writing this, I took a casual stroll through Google and discovered Burlesquercise, a burlesque-themed fitness dance class by Diva Di.
At first, I was pretty sure this was another Spurlesque-esque cash-in. The class descriptions are ripe with high heels and Pussycat Dolls, and one of the advanced classes is titled "Chair Tease". But Di's resume looks pretty solid, and the site is also peppered with words like "confidence", "transformation", "empowerment", and welcomes "Women of all ages, levels, shapes and sizes." Who knows?
I guess Diva Di will be starting up her own troupe, The Little Vegas Dance Company, in '09. I look forward to seeing if they'll bring forward anything new.
The world is just begging for parody. Proposition 8. The economic recession. The pro-roguing of Parliament - hell, Canadian politicians are practically writing their own sketches. These things are gifts for anyone working in burlesque.
There's already plenty of nudity going around. It's time to see something inappropriate.
Believe me, Calgary is ready.
2 comments:
***I only read the article today though it was posted over a month ago. Excuse the tardiness Mark, but I don't feel I was in much of a state to discuss the topic at the bar last week. So here it is***
I hope you're right Mark, and I think you make some good points about the caliber of burlesque in Calgary. Perhaps it is the distraction of flesh, or the blinding glitter which accompany it, but I disagree that the routines hold no commentary. Although the Garter Girls, like most other neo-burlesque troupes, center the routines on the strip, we still find that there is room for social commentary (not necessarily political) within the genre. In fact the majority of our skits are about gender politics, amongst others about things like censorship and war. We take the 'kitschy' stereotypes talked about and perform or lampoon them for the audience to take what they may. In her Rosie the Riveter skit, Betty Galore is stripped from the workforce, pushed into the home and then decidedly strips that role. In another Galore skit, she performed as a string puppet to comment on the ownership of women's bodies. Betty Bombshell makes fun of religious fervor in her "Celebration" skit and the lack of public awareness in regards to the media in "Sly Fox". Miyuki Divine gracefully takes on the issues of exoticism and racial stereotyping as a geisha, and Axis D’Evil as a soldier strips herself of her uniform yet still surrenders to the inevitable consequences of war. I myself have taken on the role of burlesque queens past with extremely traditional feather fan dance and the appropriation of exotic imageries. I hope to evoke nostalgia for the glamour of yore and at the same time to make people think about these nostalgic images in light of a modern context.
All this being said, what’s wrong with stripping and a little tassle twirl? We keep in mind at all times that the burlesque strip tease has it’s origins in working class entertainment as well as the terrific opportunity for commentary. Burlesque is meant to be bawdy and fun. It is an admittedly low art form which does not degrade the fact that it is still art. We do hope in the future to continue to find new ways to perform the issues we care about on the burlesque stage, but in the formula of ‘introduction, enter stage left, clothes come off, twirl, exit’ there is many more layers then you seem to have observed. Perhaps a Christmas themed show was not the best show to have seen much in the way of satire (besides Axis’ grodie Santa), but it was one great opportunity to observe the hard work we put in to our costumes and choreography. In the end our goal may not be simply to instruct but to entertain also. Just like no one will listen to a poorly written script with important political commentary, no one would come see our shows if they were only substance no style. Maybe we haven’t gotten the balancing act down when it comes to portioning the Sugar and the medicine yet, but as a troupe which has only been around for a year, I can sincerely say we are working on it. Honestly.
And Mark, if you have any ideas on how to reenact the proroguing of parliament I will promise to let you direct a skit featuring yours truly.
Much Love,
xoxo
Sugar Mae B.
Well said sister. It's interesting that Mark would have such an aversion to the stripping aspect of burlesque and yet he states that he enjoys the historical aspect so much more...hmmm. Selective history, me thinks. What Mark seems to be have glossed over is the fact that an entire era of burlesque was based on stripping. It didn't seem that he had much of a problem with it when he approached me hand out and asked us to support his project for Swallow a Bicycle (talk about biting the hand that feeds you). I'm glad that you pointed out that sometimes burlesque exists to entertain more than anything. I don't know about you but I often don't want politics to get shoved down my throat, especially when I was hoping for some good, um, clean fun. It's all well and good to have an opinion and to be able to state that opinion but it's unfortunate that Mark decided to voice a somewhat limited view of what burlesque is and then pressume to back it up with all his "experience" in the genre. I would suggest to Mark that the next time he wants charity from a group of performers, instead of criticizing the gift, some support in return would be a tad more appropriate.
-Betty Galore
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