Burlesque like Copenhagen has never seen it before
The audience had better keep their eyes alert and expect a slight blush when New Burlesque Festival 2011 lifts its legs and bares its bosoms in an untraditional manner in ‘The Brown Meatpacking District” on October 7th-8th and November 25th-26th. Last Autumn, New Burlesque Festival 2010 took Copenhagen by storm. It boasted seven sold-out evenings, bare breasts in all major dailies and exceptional experiences for the spirited audience who attended what was Denmark’s first burlesque festival.
New Burlesque Festival is now ready to offer a new exclusive programme, for which leading artists will be flown in from both the USA and the UK. Copenhagen has never seen the likes of it – and that is exactly the aim of the New Burlesque Festival: to give Copenhageners a little extra, to up the beat and to feel the city pulse pounding like it does in New York, London and Berlin.
Burlesque that wants more than just clothes-shedding
New Burlesque Festival guarantees you total experiences as Warehouse9 offers seductive and sensational extravaganzas, glamour and nostalgia. And none of it confines itself to the stage; it completely envelops the audience with its decadent scenography and with musical accompaniments created especially for the occasion as well as an inimitable/peerless/unequalled host who will guide the audience through the night, plus an absinth bar, which should create the right abandoned atmosphere. Spectators can expect more of the shows than garments coming off, since intelligent, humorous and artistic courage are at the centre of the festival. The intention is that, after the stage lights have been turned off and the glitter swept up, the audience will have experienced more than just some bare skin. As curator and performer Christian van Schijndel aka The Gentleman puts it: “Be prepared to be challenged by and confronted with performances which will make you think while at the same time entertaining and greatly amusing you”.
The burlesque that you can enjoy at the festival addresses and comments on the mainstream aesthetics, the consumer society and the social hierarchies of today; this is playful cabaret with tongue in cheek and something to say.
Girls against boys
“Mainstream burlesque has grown popular, but this blossoming has given rise to two special characteristics: Burlesque always involves striptease, and it’s usually women taking off their clothes,” says Christian van Schijndel. New Burlesque Festival breaks with this trend and offers a more nuanced and multi-faceted programme. First we have the evening Boy O Boy – a boylesque cabaret in which the three gentlemen Tigger! (US), Ryan Styles (UK) and The Gentleman (UK/DK) can be seen treading the boards.
The second evening programme, Grrrlesque, presents Foxy Tann (US), Molly and Me (UK/DK) and Frk. Flyv (DK) – three colourful powerhouse women with a repertoire containing much more than striptease. Grrrlesque carries references to the feminist punk movement Riot grrrl, which emerged in the USA in the beginning of the 1990’s, advocating feminine empowerment and focusing on sexuality, gender and racism. “The grrrlesque evening features artists who articulate and transform stereotypical images of women. These are strong female burlesque artists who also incorporate texts – either in spoken word form or in song – and that is something you rarely see in the burlesque scene,” says Christian van Schijndel.
New Burlesque Festival 2011 is an eldorado for any Copenhagener who’s thirsting for that something extra and something more, who dare to expand their horizons, and who get off on underground extravagance/extravaganzas and artistic quality – “and don’t worry, there’ll still be some naked skin,” concludes Christian van Schijndel.