Review: THE CAROUSEL OF BURLESQUE at Foulds Theater

Written by guest reviewer Nancy Burnham

Nancy Burnham received her BFA in dance performance from the New World School of the Arts in Miami. She was a board member of the Florida Dance Education Organization from 2004 to 2011, started the National Honor Society for Dance Arts for the state of Florida in 2006 and was its Chairperson from 2006 to 2011. She received her MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University in 2014.

Friday evening at the Fringe Festival of Fort Myers was filled with wit, illusion and seduction with the presentation of The Carousel of Burlesque! at the Foulds Theatre at the Alliance for the Arts at 8:30 PM.

The Carousel is presented by Pixel Winters and Freckles Galore who both hail from Naples. The evening took the audience on a trip through the history of burlesque, where it has come from, its importance and impact, how it has changed and where it is going. The evolution was demonstrated in vignettes by Winters, Galore and other performers including Lela Starlit and LaBelle Michelle.

The tantalizing, talented and humorous emcee began the show by starting the audience off on a little sing along so to speak. The audience became the sounds of a drum in an old fashioned typical strip tease. The carousel begins with a trip back in time to 1868 and Lydia Thompson and her group of chorus girls, The British Blondes. They toured the United States with a combination of comedy, music, social satire and bold sexuality.  They then ventured into burlesque being presented as a cultural act and for educational purposes and the act of “Little Egypt” and belly dancing. The carousel of time moved then into the art of fan dancing and the technique and challenges early fan dancers performed so elegantly. The journey continues into the 50’s and 60’s and the strip club culture and finally into the 80’s and 90’s with a resurgence of old school burlesque ideas being brought by Madonna and others. The early 2000’s brings a Latin American homage.

The evening is filled with shimming, shaking and sauntering through different eras of this art form. It is also incredibly inspiring and empowering. This is a performance that is for audience members 18 and older. Don’t miss this brave and inspirational showcase of the history of burlesque in The Carousel of Burlesque!

Two more performances on June 3 at 7 pm and on June 4 at 2:30 pm. For tickets, call 239.939.2787.