A Burnaby performer is featured in the upcoming Vancouver International Burlesque Festival.
The festival runs from Wednesday, April 3 to Saturday, April 6.
Among the featured performers is Burnaby’s own Dee Twenty, who’ll take to the stage in the Showpony Soiree event at the Vancouver Playhouse on April 5 and 6.
Dee Twenty is a non-binary drag and burlesque artist who self-describes as “Vancouver’s gender-chaotic chameleon.” Dee is one of the founding members of Ghost Light Vaudeville Society, who has brought their own special blend of clowning and burlesque to a variety of stages and festivals around B.C. and Western Canada.
The festival features a selection of the most celebrated burlesque performers from across North America, including reigning Queen of Burlesque 2018, INGA, of Seattle, and the first Indigenous performer to be crowned the Queen of Burlesque, Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière from Montreal.
A festival press release promises “dazzling dancers, naughty nerds, bawdy drag performers and satirical stripteasers” in a variety of performances that include acrobatic stocking peels, rock’n’roll fan dances and an erotic performance tribute to Harry Potter, among others.
“We want to celebrate all forms of sexuality on our stage this year and present performers who reflect the people living in this dynamic city,” says the festival’s president, Sparkle Plenty, in a press release. “Representation is important, and seeing someone like yourself on stage creates a sense of belonging, proving that sexiness transcends size, age, race and more. Every body is a burlesque body.”
The festival also includes TIT Talks (Teach. Inspire. Transcend.), its own take on TED Talks.
Individual event tickets and weekend passes, along with full performer rosters and schedules, can be found at www.vibf.ca.
