Burlesque: It’s all about the tease
Bebe Mercy, one of the newest talents, has moviestar beauty, Star said. “She brings the old-school charm to the mix. She’s also an aerialist,” Star added. Mercy could perform tricks suspended from the ceiling.
Star, too, will play hostess and most likely a teacher who has a crop, not a pointer. “You’ll learn more than you ever learned in your sexeducation classes in school,” Star vowed.
She has been presenting burlesque shows for 17 years in Orlando. The Ladies of the Peek-A-Boo Lounge perform at The Venue every first Friday of the month and at Stardust Lounge every third Wednesday. They also do cruises, private bookings and special events.
Star also has been producing VarieTease for 15 years. Those shows, which are more like theater with a story and choreography, will have a season from September through the Fringe Festival in May.
And Star will offer the Ladyboys of the Peek-A-Boo Lounge starting Oct. 2 at The Venue. “It’s that mid area between burlesque and drag,” Star said. “We’re breaking the mold of burlesque and letting the boys have some turns.”
Star came to Orlando 17 years ago by way of Atlanta and New York. She was a dancer who liked to perform in the burlesque realm and started at Southern Nights, a local gay bar.
She had planned to be in Central Florida a year, then leave. “But I saw an opportunity in the arts community to grow and be a part of something so cool,” she said. She cited Creative City Project (an annual arts event downtown), the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, her Venue and the response after last year’s Pulse nightclub attack.
“Orlando is making a statement with art,” she said.
Star described the burlesque industry as booming and says the form has gone more mainstream thanks to model Dita Von Teese, the Pussycat Dolls and the 2010 movie “Burlesque.”
“It’s a way for women to express themselves in an environment that’s acceptable, to show off their creativity,” Star said. “They take pride in performances and costuming. It’s really cool to see the empowerment it’s given women.”
After 24 years in the industry, she compared staging the shows to eating breakfast. “I’ve been doing this so long,” she said. “I do what I love, and I love what I do.”