There is so much top-choice burlesque inspiration in musicals, everything from the vampy vaude-villian murderess Velma Kelly of Chicago to the gender-bending burst of fabulous that is Hedwig, titular leader of the Angry Itch. A quick tweak of some lyrics and you could be Maria from West Side Story lilting about how slutty you feel.
Last Sunday night, the Blood Ballet Cabaret explored the sinful side of song with The Musicals Show, hosted by the effervescently perverse Sherwin, looking very elegant in a ruched black dress and long gloves.
The classics of the genre were well represented, with Penny Romanoff tapping and stripping her way along 42nd Street, and Lady Hoops flaunting her tits and ass and proving that her hooping skills were a ten with a song lamenting the important of a dancer’s looks from A Chorus Line called ‘Dance: Ten, Looks Three’.
Lady Josephine not only channeled but oozed Hedwig with a bold yellow wig and a truly dragalicious make-up job, in her homage to the animated sequence that accompanies ‘The Origin of Love’. As if using yellow paper lightning bolt to separate her top wasn’t enough, she delivered a fierce round of cheek-painted booty shaking that really got the crowd roaring.
Where the Blood Ballet really stand out from other burlesque troupes is their incorporation of circus performers. As soon as I walked into the Belmont and saw the thick loop of metal chain hanging from the ceiling, I hoped I’d get to see some aerial performances and Petite Pandora did not disappoint. She bends and contorts her body with so much ease that she looks like she’s made of rubber.
The lone male member of the troupe who bared his body during the show was the fire spinner, Phoenix. Usually I wouldn’t recommend playing around with a double-ended flaming wand between your legs, but he pulled it off with flair and panache. Being right up at the front, I could actually feel the wall of heat coming off the flames, adding to my sensual enjoyment of the experience.
Two of the performers were brave enough to take it up a notch by singing their songs live: Sucre a La Crème’s with a sensuous take on Evita and Libertine Rose’s sultry rendition of ‘Macavity, The Mystery Cat’ from Cats, complete with eyeliner whiskers and glitter paw pasties.
For the final act of the evening, the troupe’s founder, Ms. Bloody Mary Anne chose ‘Whatever Lola Wants’, a song very close to my own heart, as I also used it as a basis for a recent burlesque act involving a costume made of glitter-filled balloons and a sharp dagger. Her interpretation of the Damn Yankees classic took it in a gleefully macabre direction: after a series of men bring her unimpressive flowers and chocolates, from behind a sheet we see her silhouette rip a man’s still-beating heart right from his chest. She proceeds to drain the blood from the organ and shake it into a Blood Ballet Martini, the perfect fuel for stripping down to a saucy little bondage-looking lingerie made up of black leather and chains. She always gets what she aims for indeed!
With an impressive variety of acts performed by the gorgeous cast, the Blood Ballet delivered a truly titillating night. It’s always great to see girls end their acts with big smiles on their faces, soaking up the applause while bouncing and twirling their nipple tassels. The troupe’s next performance takes them on the road to Toronto on Saturday, May 12th.
Photos by Chris Zacchia, for the full saucy sexy photo set check out our FB page and don’t forget to ‘like’ us 😉
Thanks for the great article!