Roxi D'Lite - Moonlight Cyrenade

Roxi D'Lite Moonlight Cyrenade from Roxi D'Lite on Vimeo.

Just a note before I get into the meat of this mini-essay. The video presented above will give you a taste of this amazing act, but because of YouTube "Mature Content" regulations and file size limits on this blog account, I have to direct you here to see a version of it from top to bottom.

Now that that's out of the way , I've never been less than thrilled watching Roxi D'Lite perform, and when she broke out a Cyr Wheel on stage I was THE MOST thrilled. It was actually the first time I recall ever seeing a Cyr Wheel in the first place, and I've since seen it more frequently on burlesque stages as sideshow and fringe art practitioners become more common there. So this number was an educational gateway for me on top of everything else.

If a burlesque act is a totality of various elements, costume, music, movement, pose, playing to a crowd and building drama to an apex, Roxi's routines are as complete a package as you'll find.  That lavender dress is breathtaking, and her parade to an electroswing beat claims the breadth of the stage. By the time she gets to the Cyr Wheel, you've already witnessed a stellar burlesque act; it could end right there and be satisfying.  But she DOES use the Cyr Wheel, and that's the series of exclamation points to the "Hot damn!!!!!!" she coaxes out of your throat as she spins in it.

"Midnight Cyrenade" is beautiful, graceful, even athletic. Pulling it off requires patience and a commitment to the vision of the piece and the training time it takes to master the Cyr Wheel. Roxi always tries to bring that something extra to her numbers, and who doesn't enjoy a bonus feature with their burlesque?


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