Burlesque runs the gamut of outlandish ideas in its dedication to keeping an audience rapt and celebrating the seductiveness of the female form. Some troupes even have “Star Wars”-themed events where wookies and storm troopers shimmy to cantina music. And while that schtick may be a fun way to attract people who wouldn’t normally venture to a burlesque show, there’s something about the vintage, smoky, jazz-club incarnation that is timeless, and a tad tawdry, that keeps burlesque relevant.
These days sex, sexuality and nudity in all forms are available at the touch of a screen. Call up anything you want on that smartphone; it’s nobody’s business but yours. However, you may find there’s more satisfaction and reward in going to an actual venue and being titillated by skilled performers who have put time, money, energy and sheer creativity into choreographing their show.
Glam Bam! Burlesque has just such a treat in store. Based in southwest Florida, the Glam Bam! crew specializes in the neoclassic tease and the old-school bump and grind. The art of cheesecake may seem, to some, a — pick your indictment — lowbrow/backward/depraved/ pursuit. But that kind of sanctimony misses the point. Burlesque promises a bit of the mystery and joie de vivre our everyday lives tend to lack, and it delivers with more art, humor and gameswomanship than the thumping, dollar-powered entertainment at strip clubs.
Burlesque is about smoking, drinking, dancing and being bad, but not so bad that the vice squad will round you up and toss you in hoosegow with everyone else who got collared at the speakeasy. It’s badness of the type you find in characters in John Waters films, where kink itself is the protagonist. American striptease burlesque traces as far back as the late 19th Century. Its canon of performers ranges from Josephine Baker to Gypsy Rose Lee to Blaze Starr to Dita Von Teese.
There is no unredeemable sin in scantily, inventively clad ladies dancing for your enjoyment. So bring the Gitanes and order a martini, and don’t be such an L7! This will be a night to party like it’s 1929.
Glam Bam! Burlesque performs on July 20 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach. ADVANCE TICKETS HERE!
~ Tim Moffatt
