Archive to Applause
Dancing with the Ghosts of Burlesque
Burlesque is a historical art that represents a rich, queer theatrical legacy but how do we honour the visions of our originators while bringing our modern insights, ingenuity, influences and innovations? In Archive to Applause, we develop techniques to create homage and tribute acts that evokes our historical ghosts. Through archival research we can channel feminist flappers and follies, and grind with the gritty ghost gals of downtown dime houses to understand not just how burlesque perform was sexy in its era but how it was socially and politically subversive. Building upon theory on queer legacy and performance genealogies, this workshop seeks to challenge what it means to embody and perform history, while developing student’s critical awareness of concepts of historiography, time and death. We bring a contemporary practical imagination across aspects of choreography, costume, gesture and expressions that intermingle with feminist interventions into the archive.
What to bring: Bring your performance shoes, notebook & one item of historical inspiration – be it a glove, panel skirt, favourite photograph or video clip that you’re working on developing into a new or existing routine. (I will have some of my own VERY special collections of items on display too).
Accessibility: Modifications will be provided for people with mobility restrictions.
Experience level: All
Crystal A
Alyssa Kitt