New York Burlesque Festival Opening Night
I was at the Bell House for the Teaser Party for the 15th Annual New York Burlesque Festival. I was impressed by the performers and the host. The World Famous *BOB* hosted the festivities in her old stomping grounds. It was refreshing to see her in person giving quick quibs and snappy comments. I never been to the festival and this was a treat seeing some of the performers you follow on Instagram or Twitter in person performing what they do best. The event was a celebration of burlesque across the world(there were some international performers) and for having my cherry popped for the first time it was great. The Bell House seem to be the perfect venue for these types of shenanigans on a Thursday Night.
The opening act was Pearls Daily and she set the tone with her movements which was very graceful. From there it was a mix of female and male dancers who came with their distinctive style and in some cases their own music. I was extremely impressed with a few like Taradise, Ivory Fox, Boo Bess and Jenny C'est Quoi who did a driving scene reminiscent of the 1950s. There was only intermission dancers who got some serious love from the patrons in the audience. My highlight was MFA(Mutha Fuckin Akynos) who brought Black Girl Magic with African drums and dancing. Finally seeing her in action made me realize I need to come to more burlesque shows. I missed out on so much in the last couple of years I got to make up ground big time. Other than MFA, Zyra Lee Vanity also put on a show based off the Fresh Prince theme song. The closing act Darlinda Just Darlinda closed the show by ripping up Donald Trump's picture while decorating in American colors. I never been so proud of being a countryman witnessing her actions. Overall the party was a teaser for the weekend's festivities which I didn't get a chance to do but there's always next year and I will definitely try to cover more ground next time around.
Thanks to Thirsty Girl Productions for the opportunity and I will send those questions soon.