Burlesque
This is a very interesting article by Dan Savage, and it's making the rounds in the burlesque community.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-burlesque-shoah/Content?oid=4399613
"...Because without some negative feedback, without criticism, the local burlesque bubble is destined to burst."
When I started burlesque, I tried very hard to spend time w/ my audience after every show to find out what they liked and didn't like. But as I got more involved in the community, and more personally invested in what was more like a HOBBY than a JOB (b/c I wasn't making very much money)... I started to care more about challenging myself to grow and learn and accomplish new things. I now would like to receive the approval of my peers, perform at a level I am proud of, and mentor new performers.
I agree w/ the commentor who said: "Why not support something that has a following, builds community, and obviously people enjoy or else they would not be packing out the house." b/c A) I agree that the community is precious even if it's not super profitable or achieving great strides of progress for *art* and B) ticket sales ultimately determine success.
On the other hand, I have seen plenty of bad burlesque. I have seen a lot that is just amatuer, clumsy, awkward. I have seen a lot that is way too personally charged-- like a performer trying to make a political statement and just failing. I have also seen a lot of "pretty" burlesque that frankly bores me.
I often am cringing on the sidelines, wondering how the audience can tolerate what I'm seeing. Do they notice? Am I just a burlesque snob? I would LOVE to hear what the audience REALLY thinks of me.
I do think that burlesque as a Ticketed Stage Show and burlesque as Free/Cheap Bar Entertainment are too very different things and should be held to different standards.
As much as I love the community, I don't think we challenge each other enough as peers. I would also love to know what my peers honestly think of my performances. I wish we could tell each other what we'd fix, and give each other ideas. Why isn't this happening more?
I love burlesque and as it's becoming more mainstream, I really hope we, the performers, can hold on to control of what we are putting out there and telling the audience what they should expect, and delivering. I would be really bummed if burlesque is truly doomed to be the next cool thing to hate on, making it okay to bash women and our bodies and our sex appeal in what has been a fairly safe haven so far.
What do YOU think?