Moisture
Festival showcases bawdy burlesque pleasure
By
Kai Sandvig
Business Editor
Posted April 8, 2007
Relegating
the business editor to review a burlesque show may seem like an
inauspicious gambit, but maybe this writer can prove otherwise.
I figure all humans find themselves desiring basic needs, even a
tidy business editor.
By the way,
burlesque is
a
direct descendant of the Commedia dell’arte that originates in
nineteenth century music hall entertainments and vaudeville. In
the early twentieth century burlesque emerged as a populist
blend of satire, performance, and adult entertainment.
As in
previous years, burlesque was again
part of this year’s Moisture Festival.
The
festival showcased its dark underside
in bawdy fashion on March 24, called “Libertease,” with women
and men playfully taking their clothes off to the delight of an
occupancy crowd at The ACT in Seattle.
Hosted by a
woman on stilts and wearing a top-hat called Madam X, the idea
of burlesque progressed through act after lascivious act.
Entertainers performed sensual dances using an array of
different props to cover their reproductive organs. The Zebra
Kings contributed the context to most of the performances with
saucy swing band numbers.
Certain
themes were certainly raunchier than others, but the most
synchronized and comical few included female aerial acrobats
sensually swinging around large rings in the air, while one
woman’s passion ran amok so badly she needed to satisfy her
carnal needs with a monkey friend. Now I do not condone
bestiality, but when presented comically to “Total Eclipse of
the Heart,” I feel an urge to perk up and pay attention; I mean
hell… why not? A man dressed in a monkey costume skipping around
in a g-string that fully displays his hairy satchel is a true
sight to behold!
Aside from
the sullied moments in the show, burlesque illustrates the
beauty in sexuality, particularly the beauty of a woman who can
find a creative way to remove her clothing. The underlying theme
of a man giving into his becoming a slave fetish did provide a
secondary plot to “Libertease,” which arguably pleases most
women, whether burlesque performers or not.
Not too
shabby for a business editor, right?
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2006 All content property of European Weekly unless where otherwise
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