Thu 7/31 @ 8:30PM
Fri 8/1 @ 8:30PM
Sat 8/2 @ 8:30PM
Who would have thought four years ago that Cleveland would be home to one of the country’s biggest burlesque festivals, with three nights featuring more than 50 performers, coming in from New York, Las Vegas, Dallas, San Francisco, Montreal, Boston, and even Limerick, Ireland?
Bella Sin, that’s who. When she started her burlesque troupe Le Femme Mystique a decade ago, just as the burlesque revival was starting to gain steam, she was already bursting with ideas about how to grow the art form she loved. One of those was a major festival, which she debuted at the Beachland Ballroom in 2011 as the Ohio Burlesque Festival.
This year, the fourth annual Ohio Burlesque Festival will fill the Beachland Ballroom for two nights on Friday (“The All-Star Show”) and Saturday (“The Gala”), while an opening night party will take place on Thursday at Mahall’s across town.
On Saturday afternoon at the Beachland, some of the visiting burlesque stars will be offering classes for those who want to learn the ropes or brush up their skills. There’ll also be a “glitter mart” there, featuring vendors with costume and jewelry items, makeup, and other glamorous stuff.
If you think burlesque just means girls taking off their clothes, think again. Each performer develops distinctive themed routines, often featuring narrative arcs. They may be humorous, romantic, or even macabre. (One routine last year featured Red Rum, a Chicago performance artist, stripping out of mummy wrappings, pictured. She’ll be back on Friday this year, doing one of her other creative routines.) Almost all include intricate or creative costuming; many include props, rudimentary stage sets or special lighting. Music and sound effects are carefully selected to match the mood of the routine. And some girls bring in additional skills, including singing, acrobatics or hula hooping.
Another thing that separates burlesque from mere stripping is the variety of body types onstage, something Sin is extremely passionate about. She’s often said, “I want every woman to feel proud of her body.” So you’ll see tall girls and short girls, stick-thin girls with the sort of flat chests skinny girls usually have, and big girls with big breasts.
You’ll also see a variety of performers in true burlesque/vaudeville fashion — comedians, singers, drag queens and, for the straight ladies and gay men, “boylesque.”
Speaking of gay men, they figure heavily into Sin’s program. A full-figured gal herself, Sin says she found her first non-judgmental acceptance in the gay clubs. And she has returned the love with her volunteerism (for instance, for Cleveland Pride) and fundraising. Civic and political activism is a large part of what she does, and all her events include a charitable component. Among other things, the festival gives out “Golden Buckeye” awards to nonprofits and community activists. Her “Charity of the Year” being honored at this year’s festival is the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland.
She’s an outspoken advocate for women’s rights as well. Last year, when the governor signed a budget bill that included limiting a women’s right to control her own body, Sin called the governor’s office to voice her disapproval. Sin, who emigrated from Mexico at the age of 10, asked if she was allowed to register an opinion as a legal resident alien and was told “no.” (The governor’s poorly informed staffer apparently did not know that legal resident aliens may make contributions to gubernatorial campaigns).
Infuriated, she started immediately making plans for a rally at Cleveland City Hall, which took place the following week. It featured speakers from Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, as well as state representative Nickie Antonio, and attracted around 75 people of all ages. Antonio is a recipient of one of this year’s Golden Buckeye Awards as well.
Tickets range from $20 for a one-day advance ticket to $50 for an all-weekend pass.
Go here for more information.
Bella Sin, by Anastasia Pantsios
Lakewood, OH 44107
Cleveland, OH 44110