Tantalizing crowds may be well-trodden territory for most burlesque performers, but for members of the Sunshine Coast’s Boudoir Rouge Burlesque dance company, it’s only part of the story.
Boudoir Rouge Burlesque plans to present two high-spirited, adult-only shows at the Roberts Creek Community Hall on Feb. 17 and 18. The tone of each performance will be different, according to organizer Eileen Wright.
The first will cleave to cabaret-style conventions, with waiters delivering refreshments. The second is a feel-good free-for-all, culminating in an invitation to the dance floor.
Wright is a co-owner of Diamond Avenue Studios, which started the Boudoir Rouge Burlesque project four years ago as an experiment in radical self-acceptance.
“For [Diamond Avenue co-founder] Dallas Glittertush and me, it’s just in our nature to want to help everybody,” Wright said. “Dallas was diagnosed five years ago with bipolar disorder. I’ve had breast cancer. We’ve received a massive amount of love and support from our community. Our goal with our dancers is to help empower them to show them how powerful they are, and to heal whatever parts they need to heal.”
Proceeds from every Boudoir Rouge Burlesque show are directed to community organizations. Ticket sales from the group’s upcoming extravaganzas in Roberts Creek will support the Sunshine Coast Community Services Society.
The society is a non-government organization that provides support to Sunshine Coast residents through crisis response, counselling, housing, and advocacy.
The title for the February show, Boudoir Noir, reflects content that probes life’s darker chapters. Wright will perform a solo that subverts modern ideals of beauty.
“I’m going to go through a process in my dance where I realize that I’m beautiful just by being myself,” she said. “I don’t have to be this ideal. I can just be me.”
Boudoir Rouge Burlesque dancers are local residents who enlist without the pressure of an audition. Participation is not restricted based on age, gender or body type. Dancers have included cancer survivors, grocery store employees, and new mothers. What matters most, Wright believes, is vulnerability.
“The audience seem that these are normal people up there doing this, showing up with bravery,” she said. “Our last show was in May and there are still people coming up to our dancers telling us how much it meant to see that power on stage.”
In the upcoming show, a hockey-playing mother will use a solo to repudiate tomboy stereotypes, showing that sensuality and rhinestones can co-exist with ice skates and face masks. Another performer is a young mom with two children who uses dance to reclaim parts of herself lost to the rigours of maternity.
Both before and after their COVID-triggered pause in performances, Boudoir Rouge Burlesque spectators have reflected the diversity of its dancers.
“We have 19-year-olds who are excited for their first night out,” said Wright, “but we also have people in their sixties and older just wanting to see a good show. The comment we get from people who have seen burlesque in Vancouver and bigger cities is that we’re different. We’re different because we don’t hold auditions, and it truly is anyone who wants to come out.”
The sassy, sultry, scantily-clad stylings of Boudoir Rouge Burlesque take place on Feb. 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. both nights. Browse local listings on eventbrite.ca for tickets.
Correction: The name of the burlesque group was incorrect in an earlier version of this story. Its name is Boudoir Rouge Burlesque. Sorry for the error.
