Two years ago in September, I went to my very first burlesque show - Bawdy Blue: A Burlesque Revue (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bawdy-Blue-A-Burlesque-Revue/134374633263126) and became instantly hooked. There was a slam poet, some comedy acts, and numerous beautiful young women who performed dance routines focusing heavily upon the tease aspect associated with the art and never venturing into anything that I personally would categorize as "dirty." Some might consider burlesque as something "unwholesome," and while it is certainly not for children, of course, there is a lot more to it than meets the eye, no pun intended.
Seeing that one show two years ago has grown into an avid in-person following of many different troupes in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and even nearby Rochester, as well as an online following of troupes in Madison, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois.
Over the course of that time, I have seen, met, and become friends with some of the most beautiful and talented acrobats, aerial artists, belly dancers, drag queens, fan dancers, hula hoopers, makeup artists, masters and mistresses of ceremony, peelers, photographers, pole fitness performers, producers, and singers, and all-around talented people, including some very interesting fans, and I feel so rich and rewarded for it.
Part of my respect for burlesque performers stems from the fact that, similar to the mermaids about whom I wrote the other day, people in the community are artists and athletes, choreographers and costume designers, creative souls that come in all shapes, sizes, skin colors, sexual orientations, et cetera. Through the magic of Facebook, I have been able to engage with many of them online on an ongoing basis, and then get to follow up on that by chatting with them at their shows. To my great fortune, many of the performers have welcomed me into the community with open arms - literally - as we now often greet each other with hugs.
That welcome was felt no more keenly than when two of my performer friends and one of their partners (also very much one of my friends in her own right) were gracious enough to join me for a dinner show in Rochester - The Midnight Muse (https://www.facebook.com/MidnightMuseBurlesqueRochesterMN) for my birthday on Friday evening. It promised to be a wonderful evening in the first place, as one of my favorite performers from Chicago would be performing, but to think that three friends would drive ninety miles one way to share the evening with me made it all so much better. It's difficult to explain, really, except to say that it was a very fun evening. The final flourish was that a professional photographer, Mike Currie of Southern Touch Photography (https://www.facebook.com/SouthernTouchPhotographyBoudoirFashion) was gracious enough to take photos of me with several of the performers. Special thanks to his wife, Sherry, for helping me to make some of the arrangements in advance.
If you saw my post from the other day (also referenced above), you know that I also consider myself a member of the mermaid/ merman community. One of my friends is very heavily involved in gaming, and another is a LARPer. Do you consider yourself a member of a niche community that others might not immediately understand? If you would like to share it, please feel free to comment below.
Special thanks to my friend Laura for letting me discuss the content of this post with her before I published it.
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| http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/new-york-city-burlesque-capital-world-ol-bump-n-grind-gallery-1.52018?pmSlide=1 |
Over the course of that time, I have seen, met, and become friends with some of the most beautiful and talented acrobats, aerial artists, belly dancers, drag queens, fan dancers, hula hoopers, makeup artists, masters and mistresses of ceremony, peelers, photographers, pole fitness performers, producers, and singers, and all-around talented people, including some very interesting fans, and I feel so rich and rewarded for it.
Part of my respect for burlesque performers stems from the fact that, similar to the mermaids about whom I wrote the other day, people in the community are artists and athletes, choreographers and costume designers, creative souls that come in all shapes, sizes, skin colors, sexual orientations, et cetera. Through the magic of Facebook, I have been able to engage with many of them online on an ongoing basis, and then get to follow up on that by chatting with them at their shows. To my great fortune, many of the performers have welcomed me into the community with open arms - literally - as we now often greet each other with hugs.
That welcome was felt no more keenly than when two of my performer friends and one of their partners (also very much one of my friends in her own right) were gracious enough to join me for a dinner show in Rochester - The Midnight Muse (https://www.facebook.com/MidnightMuseBurlesqueRochesterMN) for my birthday on Friday evening. It promised to be a wonderful evening in the first place, as one of my favorite performers from Chicago would be performing, but to think that three friends would drive ninety miles one way to share the evening with me made it all so much better. It's difficult to explain, really, except to say that it was a very fun evening. The final flourish was that a professional photographer, Mike Currie of Southern Touch Photography (https://www.facebook.com/SouthernTouchPhotographyBoudoirFashion) was gracious enough to take photos of me with several of the performers. Special thanks to his wife, Sherry, for helping me to make some of the arrangements in advance.
If you saw my post from the other day (also referenced above), you know that I also consider myself a member of the mermaid/ merman community. One of my friends is very heavily involved in gaming, and another is a LARPer. Do you consider yourself a member of a niche community that others might not immediately understand? If you would like to share it, please feel free to comment below.
Special thanks to my friend Laura for letting me discuss the content of this post with her before I published it.
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