Carnivàle Debauche, along with their friends from Defy Gravity and Bruiser Queen, held their Once Upon an Ever After extravaganza at The Accord this past Friday. “Carnivàle is an exceptional burlesque group and we are so happy to collaborate with them,” said Defy Gravity Owner/Operator Sarah West. “This troupe takes it beyond the basics of the burlesque genre and incorporates fantastical and emotional numbers that empower the audience and the troupe members themselves.”
Planning for the show began in May of this year, and the theme of the production focused on the fairytales we have all grown up with. The aerial artists from Defy Gravity took the stage first.
“Defy Gravity tries our best to incorporate the theme that is chosen by Jamie Hines, the troupe’s owner,” said West. “We had lots of new faces and a few first time performers and everyone did incredible!”
After a brief intermission and some stand-up from the evening’s Master of Ceremonies, Carnie Barker Steve, Carnivàle Debauche wasted no time getting the crowd fired back up. Fairytales were never quite this interesting.
“The show themes really come about organically between our choreographer and I,” said Hines. “After that we jump into the rehearsal process- creating a set list, choosing music, creating costumes, scheduling dance rehearsals, and finally ending in a tech week right before the scheduled performance.”
“Our soloists have done an incredible job of tapping into their character’s voice and creating unique and entertaining concepts and movement for their solos,” said Hines. “When the performers and the audience are having a good time, then you know you’ve done something right.”
West shared Hines’s sentiments. “I had the opportunity to talk to a member of the audience who had seen several burlesque troupes across the nation,” she stated. “He mentioned that this troupe is like none other he had seen. If you haven’t had a chance to see them, it is definitely a MUST!
Bruiser Queen closed out the show with a short set of fan favorites. Check out their video for the song “I’m Yours” below.