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Burlesque Appreciation Month 2022- An Introduction

In February of 2020, before the world changed, I challenged myself to write mini-essays every day to ponder and reflect upon ideas, institutions, but mostly people in the burlesque community who have made an imprint on me. I called it Burlesque Appreciation Month, and if you care to read any of those entries, you can find the whole blog here . I planned to do it again in February 2021, but the time came and went. I thought I'd get it done in March, then April or May, but my professional life was and has been both busy and unpredictable. I hoped to publish it in December, which marked my first in-person burlesque show in nearly two years when I attended the Savannah Burlesque Fest. Still no; who has time to finish writing and formatting a blog no one is even expecting during the holidays?  I noodled around, on and off, throughout the beginning of 2022, but the return of a live, in-person Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender is what forced me to finish transferring files, linking videos...
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Iva Handfull - Firestarter

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I have written about Iva Handfull's"Firestarter" rather extensively in the past, so I'll keep this brief. Just know that it's the thing that turned me from a casual fan of burlesque into someone who'd write a blog about 22 of his favorite acts.  I've even spoken about it and Iva in an episode of The Pastie Tapes podcast, which you can listen to here and almost anywhere else you find your podcasts. Quick recap: I saw this act at the first Southern Fried Burlesque Festival (now defunct) and it was like being slapped around while being hosed down in the best possible sense. It felt like a cellular change and a fixed point in time when the magnetic poles shifted and the earth began rotating in the opposite direction. It was markedly different than any burlesque I had seen to that point and it made me want to continue to seek out new, innovative burlesque acts. It's not exactly my burlesque Ground Zero. I had seen amazing acts from other world-class perfor...
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James & The Giant Pasty - Lady Liberty

James & The Giant Pasty as Lady Liberty from Benjamin Paley on Vimeo . Quite a few burlesque performers stay away from acts that are overtly political, though most have an understanding that the very choice of being onstage and semi-nude besides is a political act in itself.  Others have no problem utilizing performance as a method of critique and call to action, though blending social justice concerns with a concept that can still be entertaining to an audience is a tricky balancing act. That said, the origins of burlesque and vaudeville are rooted in poking sticks at dominant power structures and satirizing individuals who abuse their authority, including politicians, so anyone who argues that politics don't belong on a burlesque stage clearly hasn't been paying attention. That's a long way to go to say that "Lady Liberty" is a great burlesque act, but I'm feeling loquacious today. I've seen "half-and-half" acts utilizing monsters, goril...
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Memphis Mae - Internal Monologue/Nailed It!

Memphis Mae: Debut from Burlesque Hall of Fame on Vimeo . Have you ever watched a play or seen a concert and wondered "What is that actor actually thinking about to be able to cry on cue?" or "Is that singer remembering the life lesson he learned that prompted him to write this song or is he just checking out the groupies?” When we sit around and debate what super power we would choose if we could, flight, invulnerability and, yes, the ability to read minds are always near the top of the list (the best power to have would be teleportation, just so you know). So it's just plain generous of Memphis Mae to allow us access to her ongoing internal monologue in this performance, giving us a hint of the wonders of telepathy for a few treasured moments. First of all, this is a classic burlesque routine on the face of it, and Memphis is a fantastic performer, because, second of all, I don't think it works as well if the routine is bad...that's another bit of comed...
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Freya West - Typewriter

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"Mickey Mousing"is a technique used in film and television, especially early cartoons, in which music is timed directly to the action on screen, and where sound effects can lend a powerful underscore to exaggerate specific actions. Let's say a cartoon wolf in a zoot suit is walking down the street to some swingin' beats, twirling a stylish walking stick in time to a jazzy tempo. Then a sexy lady crosses the street in front of him, his eyes telescope out of his skull, and a distinctive foghorn "Ah-ooo-GAH" emanates from somewhere unseen. That's all Mickey Mousing. The wild, wild Freya West utilizes this concept beautifully in her typewriter act, with shimmies and shakes perfectly considered and synchronized to mimic the actions of the machines most of us were forced to utilize for a semester of high school home economics classes. The number is spry, it's whimsical, and all-around it's a breath of fresh air in a show. The service bell delightfully ...
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Sydni Devereaux - Gold Beads

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  I've stated more than once in these mini-essays that my taste tends to run to neo burlesque. It's just the way I'm wired. But sometimes a classic act comes along and absolutely entrances me.  Since I'm writing about it, Sydni Devereaux's "Gold Beads" routine is obviously one of them. I'll once again note the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend stage itself. The Orleans Casino showroom is where I saw this act, and that stage is HUGE, easily the biggest platform on which I've seen burlesque. I've heard performers discuss how it can swallow up even the most seasoned dancers who aren't used to its dimensions.  I don't believe it's possible for a stage to minimize Sydni's charisma, especially with an act this shiny and radiant. Sydni has loads of stage presence, and in "Gold Beads" she knows when to take her time and when to move.  She sells moments of both motion and pause with ease. And THAT COSTUME.  It's simple in conc...
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Lady Lola LeStrange - Cheesecake

Lady Lola LeStrange - Best Debut 2019 from Burlesque Hall of Fame on Vimeo . Here's another example of a mostly classic number, and I love it for a lot of reasons, mainly because of the performer bringing it to the stage. Every burlesque fan has a list of performers who could sit quietly on the stage for five minutes and we'd eat it up, and Lola LeStrange is part of that subset for me. The first time I saw Lola perform was in an improvisational burlesque show elimination-style competition where the performers may have known a couple of general themes, but had no idea what their specific music might be, couldn't repeat costumes from round to round, and might even have to team up to perform a duet in the event of a tie. It's fun for an audience and a decided challenge for a performer. Lola MURDERED IT DEAD and basically won in the semifinals. I was smitten immediately. Lola's costume in "Cheesecake"is a striking pink and blue. I rarely have strong notes o...
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