15 Mar Telluride Theatre: BURLESQUE, Opera House, 3/21 – 3/22; 3/27- 3/29!
Telluride Theatre once again hosts Burlesque, live at Telluride’s Sheridan Opera House.
Doors & SHOW Bar, 7 p.m.; show time 8 p.m.
Ages 21+ only.
Seating is limited. CHEAP THRILLS has already sold out; limited seats remain for the Thursday, March 27, HOUSE OF SHIMMY SHAKE performance. Tickets are on sale now at https://telluridetheatre.thundertix.com/events.
Go here for more about Telluride Theatre.
What started out as class for 11 women 14 years ago, grew into a winter of education, creation and rehearsals, culminating in home-grown performances in support of Telluride Theatre.
The week of events resurrects the raucous and raunchy variety shows of Telluride’s vaudeville era. Ig features dancing, comedy – not to mention lovely local ladies numbering 40+ this year.
Beginning burlesque classes teach newbies the basics. Over 8 weeks participants learn to shimmy, shake, strut, strip and tease. That group “graduates” in the CHEAP THRILLS, Friday March 21 & Saturday March 22!
Sasha Cucciniello and Melissa Sumpter have taught the class together for all 14 years.
“It has become a rite of passage. A celebration of sensuality, the body and a huge community building, a way to bond, have fun and explore a different side of themselves,” states the class founder and show director Sasha.“People who take this class all attend for different reasons. But everyone comes out changed. We all do. Burlesque taps into the sensual, beautiful, individual, confident side of ourselves. It is an honoring of who we are.”
CHEAP THRILLS is a showcase of the class work: each student creates a character, devises their own piece, even makes their own pasties.
Thursday March 27, Friday March 28 and Saturday March 29 THE HOUSE OF SHIMMY SHAKE, Telluride Theatre’s “advanced” Burlesque performers – some who have been performing for since the get-go – present their new original Burlesque show: WELCOME TO TELLURIDE!
“Twelve years ago, we started producing the advanced show to give performers the opportunity to continue to expand their craft. It has grown and grown… and now we create our own polished show each year. The HOUSE OF SHIMMY SHAKE is its own troupe with serious, dedicated Burlesque performers,”Sasha adds.. “Every year we choose a different theme. This year we went in a whole new direction, diverting from pop culture to celebrate our tiny town and all things box canyon. WELCOME TO TELLURIDE is a love letter in burlesque form to our town. We have been having such an incredible time making this show for everyone.”
WELCOME TO TELLURIDE is directed by Sasha,, co-directed/choreographed by Kelsey Trottier, and features over 30 locals.
Burlesque: A brief history
What’s the difference between a burlesque performer and a stripper?”
Burlesque shows often include stripping, but your average strip club will not include any burlesque. But a favorite answer to this question (courtesy of A. Randy Johnson) is “strippers make money; burlesque dancers make costumes.”
The word “burlesque” comes from the Spanish or Italian word “burla” which means to mock, trick, or joke. The original use of the word burlesque dates back to the 16th and 17th century when it was used to describe parodies and grotesque or ridiculous imitations, often of authors or artists of the time.
Victorian burlesque was essentially musical theater parody of popular ballets, operas and plays. For example, Shakespeare plays were common subjects. Attractive women were included, often dressed as men, but the shows were only moderately risqué in style. At this stage there was no nudity or striptease involved in burlesque. The Victorian burlesque humor was more similar to that of the English pantomime than the burlesque you see on stage today.
When did nudity first become part of burlesque?
In the late 19th century, shows featuring what we now call “striptease” started appearing simultaneously and independently in both America and Paris. In America, stripping was seen on both the vaudeville and burlesque circuits, with the trapeze artist Charmion famously performing a “disrobing” act on stage in 1896, later caught on film by Edison. In Paris theaters such as the Moulin Rouge, there were acts featuring scantily clad women dancing and in tableaux vivantes (“living pictures” where performers do not move or speak). It was in this environment in the 1890s that an act was first performed during which a woman slowly removed her clothing … looking for a flea!
In the 1920s and ’30s striptease became a predominant part of burlesque. In American burlesque shows, such as those put on by the Minsky brothers, high-profile “star strippers” such as Gypsy Rose Lee, Tempest Storm, and Blaze Starr were featured. In the 1930s, in England, Laura Henderson started putting on nude shows in the Windmill Theater (although the law would not allow the performers to move) and Josephine Baker danced in a banana skirt, semi-nude, at the Folies Bergere in Paris.
Prohibition and a crack down on burlesque theaters started the decline of burlesque in America in the 1940s. In England in the 1950s there were still touring striptease shows to try to attract audiences back to the declining music halls. The 1960s, in both England and the U.S., saw the introduction of topless go-go dancers. However, by the 1970s, burlesque had all but died out everywhere.
This quote from Wikipedia sums it up nicely: “Neo-burlesque acts can be anything from classic striptease to modern dance to theatrical mini-dramas to comedic mayhem.”
Where striptease is involved, which it most often is, the emphasis is on the tease rather than the strip and most often performers only go down to G-string and pasties rather than full nudity. Although neo-burlesque performers are often inspired by a nostalgia for the glamor of the old days and enjoy honoring previous burlesque performers in their acts, neo-burlesque is taking its own evolutionary path as newcomers to the scene bring their own perspective and approach.
Today burlesque is nothing short of an art form.
As Telluride Theatre will prove once again.
Telluride Theatre, more:
Telluride Theatre is committed to advancing the performing arts in our region through innovative productions, education programs and community involvement.
The company creates theatre that lives in moments of truthful human connection, promotes joyful celebration and is an open dialogue, accessible to all audiences.
Learn more at telluridetheatre.org.
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