One of the things I've come to love
about burlesque and the multidisciplinary artists who create it is that I
sometimes learn an appreciation for things that I didn't previously
feel were "my thing." For the most part, modern dance styles are not for
me, but then I saw Rebel Vitale make them part of her burlesque tapestry, and I had to rethink what I thought I believed.
Like or dislike something, that's OK. Not everything is for everyone. There are thoughtful, passionate, artistic people who may not like burlesque in general, and that's fine. But you should experience a good version of something before you dismiss it.
I first saw Rebel perform at the 2nd Smoky Mountain Burlesque Festival. She made quite an impression, I heard, at the first show at the first fest, which is the only show at that festival I've missed in four years, because the crowd that night was INTO HER. They were WAITING. Even though her style of performance was a bit foreign to me, her style is not the only thing that makes her special. Rebel is SO DAMN INTENSE she can make an audience feel whatever she's feeling. She can literally sway an audience's mood with her own, in some sort of broadcast empathy. She could be inert for most of her act and she could still make an audience feel some sort of way. That is a special skill for any performer to master, and Rebel is one of the best.
Rebel performs frequently in her relatively new hometown of Asheville, North Carolina and also produces the Savannah Burlesque Festival, one of the most promising fests in the country after just two triumphant years. She's been recovering from an injury that prevented her from performing at 100% for several months, and knowing her singular drive, she'll be trying to prove that humans actually CAN exceed 100% effort. Yes, she'll be laughing at basic notions of math and science.
Has modern dance become my thing? No, at least not yet. But I'm glad I get to have Rebel Vitale try to change my mind.
Like or dislike something, that's OK. Not everything is for everyone. There are thoughtful, passionate, artistic people who may not like burlesque in general, and that's fine. But you should experience a good version of something before you dismiss it.
I first saw Rebel perform at the 2nd Smoky Mountain Burlesque Festival. She made quite an impression, I heard, at the first show at the first fest, which is the only show at that festival I've missed in four years, because the crowd that night was INTO HER. They were WAITING. Even though her style of performance was a bit foreign to me, her style is not the only thing that makes her special. Rebel is SO DAMN INTENSE she can make an audience feel whatever she's feeling. She can literally sway an audience's mood with her own, in some sort of broadcast empathy. She could be inert for most of her act and she could still make an audience feel some sort of way. That is a special skill for any performer to master, and Rebel is one of the best.
Rebel performs frequently in her relatively new hometown of Asheville, North Carolina and also produces the Savannah Burlesque Festival, one of the most promising fests in the country after just two triumphant years. She's been recovering from an injury that prevented her from performing at 100% for several months, and knowing her singular drive, she'll be trying to prove that humans actually CAN exceed 100% effort. Yes, she'll be laughing at basic notions of math and science.
Has modern dance become my thing? No, at least not yet. But I'm glad I get to have Rebel Vitale try to change my mind.
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