January 9, 2014
Brown Girls Burlesque Workshop
Friday, October 18, 2013, was my first time watching the Brown Girls Burlesque (BGB) Lovelies perform. In my previous post, I mentioned that my friend and NY-based PR partner Janna Zinzi is part of the troupe, but the stars never aligned for me to see them in action until this past weekend. And, as an arts lover who thirsts for consuming AND participating in ‘less traveled’ art forms, I was thrilled when the BGB Lovelies agreed to stick around to facilitate a DC Tease workshop for the community. I served as the DC event producer for the workshop and secured our studio space, conducted community outreach and media outreach. It’s important to note, when I describe BGB as a ‘less traveled’ art form, it’s not because they just arrived on the scene–women of color have always performed burlesque, but their stories were hidden or omitted from its history.
BGB co-founder Miss AuroraBoobRealis draws strength from heightening the visibility of Brown and Black women in burlesque. In a recent discussion she stated,”Even if I’m performing burlesque in a space where I’m the only Brown body, I always state that I’m a member of the Brown Girls Burlesque Lovelies, so people know I’m not alone, and a fierce collective of women of color exists.”
FollowTags: Brown Girls Burlesque, burlesque, class, dance, empowerment, New York, passion, Washington, women, women of color, workshops