Burlesque, Vaudeville, Commedia dell'arte : Burlesqueology by Stacey Merrick : Performance Art, Neo-Burlesque New Burlesque, Performers and Costumes

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The second my foot landed on the ground at the airport in Seattle last Monday morning I called my friend Erin to make sure she was comfortable staying at my house.  I was exhausted and still dusty from the Nevada desert after enjoying a week of camping at the Burning Man festival.  Actually, I was beyond exhausted and I had that sticky feeling that comes from lack of sleep and lack of regular bathing for many, many days.  I felt like I needed to shave my tongue.

"Hey, wanna go to Bumbershoot?" chirped my San Franciscan visitor through the phone.  

Duh.   Of course I do.

Bumbershoot is an annual music festival held for the three days of Labor Day weekend at the Seattle Center in Downtown Seattle, where you will find famous Seattle landmarks including the  Space Needle and EMP.  Although there are usually some big names at the festival, including Wu Tang Clan and comedian Janeane Garafalo this year, most of the artists who perform at Bumbershoot are college radio darlings, rarely touched by mainstream media regardless of how awesome they are.  My favorite this year was Lyrics Born, a band whom I had previously only heard one song.

The performers of The Can Can did an abbreviated version of their show on an outside stage late in the afternoon by the big fountain in Seattle Center where kids frolic in the water.   Moms and dads, don't worry, the show was as G-rated as a Disney cartoon.  The Can Can band was really amazing, and I was in awe of the flexible female dancer's... flexibility.  There were also male performers, which is generally not typical for modern burlesque performances unless the man is an emcee.  Very cool.

The one performer who seemed to be lacking any skills to keep my attention was a woman who simply shimmied up and down the stage.  I am guessing her performance was limited to the fact that she couldn't do a striptease in a G-rated atmosphere, but burlesque has evolved into more than just stripping.  Burlesque involves a talent of, if nothing else, dance and movement, and the only thing this girl could do was wiggle her hips as if she learned everything she knew about dance from taking one belly dance class.

Overall, I was impressed with The Can Can's performance and I recommend checking out one of their shows located in Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA.