When members of burlesque troupe Salome Cabaret gather for their final group rehearsal before a show, there are jokes.
“Superman says these are fun. I assume he’s talking about your boobs,” one girl said, reading and commenting on a text from another’s boyfriend.
There’s also collapsible laundry hampers, glitter and of course plenty of boob talk — all part of the burlesque troupe’s do-it-yourself approach.
Salome Cabaret hosts a generally themed show once a month, giving a little direction to the performers’ acts. From there, it is all them. Everything, from the initial idea to costumes, songs and the final execution, is the brainchild of each individual performer.
“If we have an act that we want to do, we say, ‘Hey, this is our idea.’ Each of our acts, everybody pretty much makes up their own,” said Jackie Haney, better known by her stage name Shotgun Sarcelle. “Any solo, any group dance, you make up your own moves, your own costume. Everything like that. Nobody puts it together for you and does it.”
After weeks of brainstorming and collaborating, dress rehearsal is the final chance to walk through the acts. It’s also where the rest of the troupe provides constructive criticism, correcting bra choices, arm movements and props.
It’s a method that can help performers with big ideas like Erin Locke, who goes by Delinda d’Rabbit on stage, pair them down to a more stage ready level.
“Probably the most challenging part is getting the costume together, designing and everything. I make my own costumes from scratch, so it’s all a matter of planning it out and sewing it and gathering materials,” Delinda d’Rabbit said. “I have such big, giant visions of what I want things to look like, so bringing them down to a practical level, something we can actually do on a stage in a smaller venue is the biggest challenge for me because I’m eccentric.”
It’s also an exchange of confidence as the performers encourage each other to embrace their bodies and sexuality, exactly when drew Shotgun Sarcelle to Salome in the beginning.
“It just seemed cool because of all the confidence all the girls have …,” Shotgun Sarcelle said. “It interested me.”
Once they get the hang of planning an act though, performers see and hear inspiration everywhere. Shotgun Sarcelle has always been a dancer, but where she didn’t often mentally choreograph routines to songs she heard on a daily basis as a hip-hop dancer, she admits it is irresistible when thinking of burlesque routines.
“After taking the classes and doing this for a while, it’s really hard for me to listen to a song and not come up with a burlesque number. It’s really weird,” Shotgun Sarcelle laughed. “I just think of a song, and a lot of times, if it’s really catchy and I really think it’s a good number, I start with the song and then think of ‘Okay, what would my costume be?’ and then once I get those two down, I go with that and do the performance.”
It’s a movement Delinda d’Rabbit echoes, agreeing that every element of a performance generally falls into place.
“Once the idea comes to you, it all pretty much flows,” Delinda d’Rabbit said. “I’d say the most challenging part is making it look how you imagine it.”
Then, a few days later, it’s show time and the biggest transformation is about to take place — from everyday girls with a million racing ideas to a performer with a show to be seen.
“I like the transformation of going from this face and a whole bunch of foam rollers into what I am on stage — becoming my character. You get the lashes, you get the makeup. The very last thing of course is the lipstick, and you’re just like ‘boom’,” Delinda d’Rabbit gushed. “You go from this normal person to this awesome showgirl. It’s a huge transformation. It’s lots of fun.”
Delinda d'Rabbit
