With behind the scenes help from Trixie Minx, the event has become leaner and meaner in the past several years, and now features three 30 minute shows with group numbers from several troupes across the city.  The format allows for a wide sampling of NOLA burlesque without the feather fatigue that can result from an endless parade of solo acts over the course of one three hour show.  Most notable this year is the addition of Queerlesque, Ace Falcor’s collective revue of queer burlesque performers.  The 2012 line-up may indeed be the strongest yet, including MCs Chris Lane (FDT), Ben Wisdon (Slow Burn Burlesque), and relative burly newcomer Michael Brian Miller (The Storyville Starlettes), plus an array of the hardest gigging performers in New Orleans, all under one fractious, troubled roof.  May this night tease and titillate, and perhaps help the CAC heal its wounds, those both internal and within the local arts community it has alienated.

In contrast to the CAC’s woes, the local burlesque community has grown unequivocally more robust in the event’s six year tenure.  This growth is in no small part to the work of Bella Blue and her New Orleans School of Burlesque, which will stage its latest student showcase on July 19 at the All Ways Lounge.  The school has birthed several local dancers who can now be seen on stages around the city, including Burlesque Ballroom regular Blu Reine and May Hemmer of The Storyville Starlettes.  While The Starlettes are taking a bit of a summer siesta, Burlesque Ballroom will be running all summer long, featuring live music, a rotating cast of dancers, and free admission every single Friday at midnight at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse.

Aspiring performers can also take class with Roxie LeRouge, the hardworking powerhouse who splits her time between Slow Burn, Fleur de Tease, and now regular classes at The Yoga Room.  On Saturday June 23rd, the petite pistol will teach a 90 minute class from 7-8:30 and plans to continue teaching classes on a biweekly basis.  Roxie, a burlesque evangelist to the core, plans to take her show to Alabama and christen Auburn’s Balcony Bar with their first ever burlesque performance Saturday, June 30th.  

And in case you miss Queerlesque’s debut on the CAC stage, be sure to check out one (or both!) of their shows next Saturday June 23rd at the All Ways in celebration of Pride weekend.  Queerlesque has been around since the spring of 2010 and has the distinction of being only one of a handful of shows nationwide devoted to including performers of all gender expression and sexualities, which typically makes for an exciting, and artistically charged evening of sexy, category defying striptease and performance art.  The early show, titled “PRIDE ALL STARS: The Queerest of the Queer,” starts at 9pm and features performers from La Familia and Vanity NOLA, as well as several of the Queerlesque regulars who recently rocked Atlanta at the Mondo Homo festival.  At midnight, stick around for “We’re Sexy and We Show It,” a late night, racier show featuring local burlesque ladies.  

So come out, keep some ice in your glass, and get sweaty with us.  Next month brings even more badassery, including a brand new Speakeasy Burlesque showcase at a mid-city venue, plus another installment of Freaksheaux to Geaux as well as Slow Burn’s Peepshow Freakshow, featuring a guest performance by Shake Our Souls contest winner, The Dirty Blond.  Stay tuned, stay safe, and stay sexy, my friends!

CORRECTION: The date for Bella Blue's Burlesque 101 Showcase was first listed as June 22. It has been changed to July 19.