Burlesque Hall of Fame 2014 Icons and Allstars

Sunday, June 8, 2014

How do you top 3 straight days and nights of burlesque events, meet ‘n greets, shopping, shows and late night par-tays? You go out with the biggest bang ever by pulling together some supersonic burlesque all-stars for yet another night of striptastic fun. I love this evening – the stressful build-up to the competition is over, the awards have been given out and it’s the last night for everyone to drink, be merry, and share in the collective glow of the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend.

So how do you start a big show like this? Riding onto the stage on a big shiny motorcycle would do it. And that’s exactly what El Vez, the Mexican Elvis did. In his sparkly gold jumpsuit, he rode across the stage on his “Hardley Dangerous” and was met by his gaggle of backup dancers. It was a fabulous group number that really set the pace for the rest of the show.

El Vez

When it came to the performances, I have to say that as soon as Australia’s Captain Kidd hit the stage, I knew he was making my Top 10 list of boylesque performers. This was my first time seeing his comic brand of clown-style burlesque and I love it. You’ve got this beautifully built tattooed tanned god, clad in a sparkly green bikini with matching bracelets and necklace, lime green legwarmers, disco stripper heels, Tammy Fay makeup, massive platinum wig… and trimmed mustache and beard! His hula hoop act was the bitchiest I’ve ever seen. He yelled at us then got pissed when the hoops fell – he was a perfect diva. When he tried to work with what looked like 2 dozen hoops and just wound up falling down, you know we all loved it. And in the end, when he’d stripped right down and pulled a Silence of the Lambs on us by tucking himself in, standing naked on the stage, we all went wild. Love, love, love!

KoKo La Douce

My first shot of Koko La Douce is just a big red ball attached to a pair of long lovely legs. And that’s how you know it’s going to be a fun act! Once out of the big balloon, Koko had even more balloons – ok, smaller ones – attached to the best corset I’ve seen yet. Skin colored and with a big pair of boobs (with nipples!), the corset really did make her look naked up there. Probably guarantees none of the photos will make it past Facebook sensors as well (damn you FB moral squad!) And who doesn’t like a traditional balloon act, especially when you add glitter exploding everywhere? And with that corset, it’s more fun if you don’t strip…

I love watching Trixie Little & the Evil Hate Monkey come up with act after act that are not only creative and acrobatic, but also draw on their amazing relationship to the audience. This extremely sensual and highly sexual performance had them entering the stage through a smoky haze with Trixie holding on to a crawling Evil Hate Monkey’s golden leash. Mrowr, so hot! You could tell by the look on her face that she had everything under control like a proper dominatrix. The highlight of the act had Trixie stripping while balancing acrobatically up on Monkey’s elevated feet. In the end, she gave into her desires as Monkey flipped her onto his back and walked off stage. I know I’m not the only one who needed a cigarette, am I right?

Tigger!, Tigger!, Tigger! He is the only boylesque performer I know who can come on stage wearing nothing more that a sparkly strap-on, heels, and earrings, with his nails, face, and hair did and convince us that he’s doing a full costume strip. These were classic burlesque moves minus the frills and fringe and it’s a testament to great technique when the moves are so spot on.

Stephanie Blake

Stephanie Blake was Miss Exotic World back in 1997 and 1998 – twice in a row! For someone who won the title over 15 years ago she is looking mighty fine and whoa, can that girl bend. I have a soft spot for red heads and Stephanie’s a tall glass of rosé coming on stage in her gold glimmer gown and opera gloves. Her stocking peels were beautiful but what really got me was the split she did coming off the chair after her peels. Low, low, low. Such flexibility. All that sexiness and and a film and TV career too – she was in the best of the best, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (one of my favorite movies!)

One of the prettiest performances of the evening was from Kristina Nekyia. I’ve seen her perform many times and it’s always been something different – from crutches to a genie to this one with a beautiful rose costume. I love roses, so pretty, smell so nice… her costume included a bra of roses, a blue skirt covered in red roses, and a rose sash in her hair. I imagined I could smell them… The performance showed off not only her beautiful body, but also her great moves, and at one point when she was down to just her rose bikini, she was crawling, writhing and performing splits on the stage. Set against her pale milky skin and black hair, the red roses looked gorgeous – it was like watching a pinup show, but sexier if that’s possible.

Michelle L’Amour

You know when Michelle L’Amour is on the bill, the performance is going to be something special. When the act is called the “Ritual Calling of the Gods of Fuck,” well then, you pretty much know it’s not going to be a Kumbaya singalong. Clad in a gold bikini top and gold sash across her hips, draped in a sheer blue and gold fur-trimmed cape, Ms. L’Amour proceeded to mesmerize the audience with the sexualized ritual that had her dancing, gyrating, thumping and twerking across the stage. Climaxing with frenzied hair twirling and splits, in the end her assistants crowned her with a gorgeous feathered head piece. The gods must have been pleased.

The more I can see of Perle Noir, the happier I am. From fast frenzied dancing to slow romantic performances, her varied acts are all fantastic and this one was no exception. A two-parter starting out in a sparkly green gown and duster, it started out quite classic with some fast rhythm thrown in to get the blood pumping. Stripping out of the beautiful gown revealed her signature “peacock goddess” costume of sheer brown and purple bikini top and panel skirt, minus the headpiece. That’s when the act got really going. Striking poses, fast movements, a frenzy of panels floating through the air. The music was fast and thumping and everyone was hooting along. It all ended with a flurry of feather fans.

Oh, the Stage Door Johnnies – not one, not two, but three handsome boys stripping on stage. All for us! I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t love watching Jett Adore, Ray Gunn, or Bazuka Joe. They were perfect in their choreography as per usual, giving each member some spotlight time so we could admire and adore. I just wish the lighting had been a little less mysterious so I could have seen the act a little better. I know, mood. I hope to see this act again so I can do it justice with better photos.

Foxy Tann & Wham Bam Thank You Ma’ams

Foxy Tann and the Wham-Bam Thank You Ma’ams performed a pot culture act that I’m not sure hit the mark as well as it would have back in my hometown of Toronto (we’d love it here). Coming out on stage in a cloud of smoke, the group was clad in green and sported green silk and feather fans, the handles of which resembled cannabis leaves. Dancing to Cypress Hill – with Foxy Tann doing an awesome job of rapping a good chunk of the song – it made a real statement, but maybe to the wrong audience. I bet this would be awesome in NYC or Toronto or Vancouver and with a non-performer audience.

Las Vegas’ only naked magician – that’s Dusty Summers. OK, well she wasn’t actually naked for this act, but she did entertain us with her banter while she performed some fun magic and card acts on stage. She’s definitely still got it.

The Dolls of Doom whom I’ve seen before and liked, performed an act with some interesting lighting choices that made it hard to see their act from the back of the showroom. Unfortunately I kept getting a spotlight straight in my eyes and couldn’t take any shots. I hope to see the act again to I can shoot and review it.

Not only were there amazing acts by some of my favourite performers, but this was also the evening for presenting of the Sassy Lassy awards, given to folks who have contributed a lot to the burlesque community. This year’s recipients were Vivienne Vavoom, Torchy Taboo, and Grant Phillipo.

Torchy Taboo

Torchy Taboo, a burlesque performer and promoter not only received her award, but also performed a routine that had some audience participation with her strutting down into first row of the showroom. Grant Phillipo, who has had a long and illustrious career as a costume designer, burlesque performer, producer, and more, and is a legend in the Las Vegas and Hollywood scene had his award presented to him by the gorgeous duo of Jett Adore and April March who wore humongous feathered costumes.

So in the end it was 5 days, 4 nights, 13 events, 14,000 photos, lots of Gin & Tonic…. and so totally worth it. I finally got to hang out with with my editors–yay!– [ditto yay! –Ed.,] friends and new peeps, and just be surrounded by burlesque 24/7 for a long weekend in all its permutations – glamorous, humorous, in curlers and hung over.

So. When’s the schedule going up for 2015?

Be sure to check out our comprehensive coverage of the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend, including J.D. Oxblood’s daily Hangover Highlights, an interview with out queen Midnight Martini, and Photolena’s recaps and galleries of all four nights and various events throughout.

All photos ©Olena–Photolena–Sullivan for Burlesque Beat. Performers may use shots for promotional purposes, but please credit properly with photographer’s full name and a link to this piece. All other requests please contact us to acquire permission.