Burlesque Appreciation Month 2020 - An Introduction

In February, I decided to celebrate what I called Burlesque Appreciation Month on my Facebook page. Twenty-nine days, twenty-nine mini-essays about burlesque performers, personalities, ideas and institutions that have come to mean something to me in my decade or so as a fan of the art.

I began with a mental list of possibilities that numbered well over twenty-nine. I knew I'd not be able to get to everything I considered. As the writing commenced, it became clear that I was best-served writing about performers I have met and spoken with about their history and artistic process. I further narrowed it down to people I actually was friends with on Facebook, but again, that left many writing options I simply didn't get to.

Every day, I began my essay with this descriptor/disclaimer, and it only makes sense to copy it here for everyone to read:

"Just some quick notes on methodology, 'cause I'm a nerd. While I have some idea of what I'll be writing about in broad strokes, I haven't locked anything down, so I'll legitimately be writing each day off the top of my head. I do this not to exclude anyone or anything, but to piece together some thoughts in hopes that, in 29 days, I'll have celebrated an art form I've come to love in the best way I can, and I hope to be inclusive in that respect."

Who am I? I hope that question is revealed somewhat in each of these mini-essays, but I'll answer here, too. I'm a burlesque fan and a frequent attendee of shows and festivals all over North America, and I've been fortunate enough to develop friendships with several international burlesque performers, producers, support staff, and, of course, other fans. I've had a small hand in producing and sponsoring burlesque shows, and I hope to do much more in the future, but my goal is to continue to see burlesque as an educated enthusiast, first and foremost.

I may make minor edits as I re-read and re-post everything, but this should be 99.9% exactly what I wrote each day in February 2020. Things have changed in the weeks since these essays were originally published due to Covid-19, so some references to future events may no longer be correct. I will do my best to leave notes in those instances.

Read in peace, and please reach out if you enjoy this project.

Best,

Paul Lewis

Twitter - @TheOneWhoKnox

Instagram - @1WhoKnox 

Day 1 - Iva Handfull

I could start with a few different things, but the only place that feels right isn't at the beginning, which was a Velvet Hammer show in Los Angeles in the waning days of that troupe. It wasn't with a few other shows featuring world class entertainers who still rank among my favorites. It was at the very first Southern Fried Burlesque Festival (R.I.P.) when I saw Iva Handfull perform that I truly became a burlesque devotee.

It was her Firestarter act because of course it was. I don't even particularly like the song, but I certainly noted that it wasn't a typical music selection for a burlesque routine (or at least the burlesque I had seen to that point). I was used to fan dances being light, airy confections, with the fans acting as graceful, winglike implements, or gently expressive extensions of the arms and fingers. As Iva swirled and stomped and treated her fiery feather fans in nigh-violent ways I'd never seen fans utilized before, almost like razors slicing through the air, my third eye opened to the possibilities of burlesque. It could be a radical statement of individuality and personality. It could be whatever the hell you wanted it to be.

Had I not experienced Firestarter when I did, it's likely I would have continued going to shows, and another act could have had the same effect at a later date, but Firestarter was it for me, and I couldn't be happier that it was.

Iva remains a powerful and unique performer, a blockbuster producer, a thoughtful educator and a community servant through BurlyCon, the yearly burlesque education conference.

She's also my friend, and I love her.

Thanks, Iva.

Day 2 - Burlesque Hall of Fame

It's Super Bowl Sunday, so it makes sense to write a little bit today about the Super Bowl of Burlesque, The Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender aka "BHoF", held in Las Vegas in late May/early June every year. It's a fundraiser and P.R. opportunity for the actual Burlesque Hall of Fame & Museum, which is a lovely little museum space which is open year round in, you guessed it, Las Vegas.

Imagine the best burlesque show you've seen, and stretch it over four nights.

The first night is all about innovative acts and hypnotic performers and is the perfect survey of where burlesque is RIGHT NOW.

The second night honors the history of the art and the many women (and a few men) who have been keeping it alive for decades.

The third night features over THIRTY acts and, no matter how you feel about competition in the arts, the titles awarded this night, including Queen of Burlesque, mean a hell of a lot to the people pursuing them.

The fourth night is a bunch of performers who have won those titles in previous years just blowing the doors off because they have nothing left to prove.

My first year attending was 2012 and I thought I knew a few things. I didn't know A DAMN THING. The high level the performers who are accepted to grace that stage are consistently working at bent my mind. And since performers come from EVERYWHERE ON EARTH, you get to see stuff you'd never catch unless you traveled most every week all around the planet to see a show or two.

If burlesque has a Mecca, it's Las Vegas in the early summer. The call to prayer aka advance ticket sales usually start in March for members of the museum. I know where I'll be June 4-7, 2020.

NOTE: Due to Covid-19, Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend was rescheduled to August 27-30, 2020.

Day 3 - Ballet

I can't say I know a lot about ballet. I lack the ability to discuss big chunks of performing arts like music and dance because, while I know some words and concepts, I don't understand how they practically come to life on a stage (other than practitioners work their ass off to master their craft). I just don't have the vocabulary to do them justice.

It may be a bit of a cop-out to simply say "I know what I like," but in this case I have to resort to that. There have been so many times I've been thrilled by a burlesque performer and, in discussing their history which led them to the stage, I find they studied ballet for a time.

Now, I love many a performer who never wore a tutu or would even think of going en pointe. Some of my absolute favorites have no formal dance training at all. But I must admit that, for my eyes at least, ballet training and its emphasis on grace and precise control of movement translates powerfully well to the burlesque stage.

Usually, when I compliment someone and their formal training becomes a part of the conversation, they usually lead with "Yeah, all those years of ballet sure paid off!" as they acknowledge the disconnect between the "proper" art of ballet and the ignominious, oft-misundrrstood art of burlesque. Speaking only for myself, I love that disconnect.

Burlesque is not just about people taking their clothes off. It challenges convention and recontextualizes other forms of art to create something new. I find it gorgeous that one of the most stereotypically disciplined forms of dance finds itself frequently deconstructed and respun into something no less graceful and powerful, just more naked.

Day 4 - Lola Frost

I wish I could post a time-lapse photo of my aura taken while watching Lola Frost perform, because that would better illustrate the energy she brings to her audience moreso than clumsy human words.

I saw Lola's "Mummy" duet with Cherry On Top at my first BHoF Weekend, and it's still one of my favorite acts I've been fortunate enough to witness live. I wrote a few things about it in a blog I used to play around with, she read those things and replied, and pictured here is when I actually met her at BHoF 2013. I am often nervous meeting people I admire, but I had no trepidation with Lola Frost.

Truly great performers bring a multitude of skills and talents to the stage, but also often have one shining thing that sets them apart like a flaming beacon. Lola is better than anyone I've seen at connecting deeply to an audience instantly, making 50 or 400 or 2,000 people feel that she is somehow performing directly to each of them individually. Jane Smith in the standing room only section who just casually bought a ticket on a whim and showed up late is still going to be leaving that show with a bone-deep sense that she saw something special, even transformative.

That's not just because Lola kills as a dancer and all-around performer, she radiates a wavelength that, when a scientist learns how to measure it, will be used to treat depression and other chronic ailments. Her "Drink Me Sober" routine is as cathartic an experience as I've ever had watching someone on stage.

Lola recently returned to one of the great burlesque towns in the world, Vancouver, BC, Canada and was just certified as a pilates instructor besides still owning every stage she walks upon. She is a stellar human being, a thoughtful friend, and equal parts serpent and panther, aka a "Serpanther." Usually when a dangerous animal is spotted somewhere, the local government enacts quarantine zones and warns residents to stay indoors. Vancouver hung up a "Welcome Back, Lola Frost" sign and threw a party.

Day 5 - Lola LeSoleil

One good Lola deserves another.

Yesterday I waxed rhapsodic about Lola Frost. Today I'd like to say a few words about Atlanta's Lady of Legitude, Lola LeSoleil.

I think it's fair to say that, when Southeastern burlesque is discussed, it's not as well-represented on the international stage as several other areas I could name. And while it may be true that New York City has more headlining performers per capita than Atlanta, that doesn't mean that the best of The Dirty South can't stand toe-to-toe with everyone else. Lola LeSoleil is Exhibit A in that argument.

She's never less than magnetic on stage, but in ways, she's as good a performer off-stage. Some of her greatest numbers feature her entering from the audience, working the crowd, building anticipation so that when she finally arrives in front of everyone, they're primed to go crazy. Which they do, every time.

Lola is one of the few Southeastern performers to solo at BHoF. Her "Stood Up" number there speaks to so many things she does well...telling an empowering story, owning an innate sense of musicality, and communicating a sheer joy expressed through movement. I love the moments when she just lets it fly onstage and dances it out, because she can MOVE, but that number also shows she can work with relative stillness and still never lose her audience. Why? Because STAGE PRESENCE.
She's also frequently the most stylish lady in the room, both at burlesque events and just hanging out IRL, but you can see that in the picture.

I met Lola before she became a performer at, ironically, a burlesque show, when we were just a couple of people looking to enjoy a fun show, so I've been fortunate to witness her progression as an artist after she decided to perform herself. Some people work and get on stage for months or even years before it clicks for them and they truly up their game. I think Lola had "It" from Day One.

Day 6 - James and the Giant Pasty

We're going back to Canada today, home of one of our great Boylesque performers, James and the Giant Pasty.

I had seen James perform at BHoF a couple of times (though never in competition for King, strangely enough), but got to know him fairly well a couple of years ago at the 2017 Toronto Burlesque Festival. We had a conversation about baseball, and when I can find a dude to intelligently discuss sports with in the burlesque community, I take it as a happy sign.

At that festival I saw James perform what was my favorite new act I saw that year, his Statue of Liberty/Donald Trump piece. It's overtly political, of course, but still inspiring, hopeful and entertaining. I've since seen it twice more when James has toured through Atlanta and I've found it just as awe-inspiring every time. It's a clever and beautiful act.

Despite not yet being accepted as a King competitor, James IS a member of the acclaimed Boylesque T.O. troupe, which has taken the "Most Comedic" title at BHoF. It was well-deserved.

James and I have spoken at length, so I'm somewhat privy to his work process, and when I add up who he is as a person with who he is as a performer, he's one of the most thoughtful, funny and downright innovative people who happen to make burlesque their primary art form. Regardless of titles or other honorifics, when I think of the all-around best Boylesque performers in the world, he's right there.

NOTE: Since the original publication of this essay, James was selected to compete for King of Burlesque at Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend 2020.