Bringing burlesque to Bloomington

It’s 1 p.m. on a Sunday, but inside Jake’s Nightclub, it might as well be Saturday night.

The lights are low and warm, and two women walk onto the raised stage, one in a tight, black leotard corset and heels, the other in a long, blue sequined dress and elbow-length red gloves. Rhinestones stud the base of the second woman’s false eyelashes.

Music starts, and the two women stop to stand next to each other on stage. The corseted woman begins to take off the other woman’s gloves with her teeth.
This is the dress rehearsal for the Bloomington Burlesque Brigade, the city’s only burlesque troupe.

The two women — who go by the stage names Vixen Vajazzle and Scarlet Nopantson — will perform in shows at 10 p.m. and midnight Saturday at Jake’s Nightclub. Doors open at 9 p.m.

The Brigade was founded in 2009, but the group it grew out of was founded in 2001 by Jada B the Emcee.

Jada B said the original group, called Verbal Terrorism Productions, was founded in reaction to 9/11.

“When you bomb a place, it’s theatrics,” Jada said. “So we were like, what pushed these people to go to such extremes? And what kind of other theatrics could you use to get your point across?”

The group was originally a poetry and performance group. Jada said she thought about bringing burlesque into the mix, but was hesitant.

“Bloomington was, like, not even ready for that at that point in time,” Jada said. “And there wasn’t the infrastructure, in terms of people.”

In 2009, Jada received the chance she needed to bring burlesque to Bloomington.

“The health center was actually doing this thing called Sex Week,” Jada said. “They knew that I did stuff around town. ... They asked me to do something for Sex Week, an artistic event. I think really they were thinking really small, but they said, ‘We have a lot of money.’ And I said, ‘Oh, really? I would like to do a burlesque cabaret.’ They were on board.”

The event in 2009 was a huge success, Jada said, and the official Brigade was born from that event.

Scarlet said she knew Jada for years through the queer community in Bloomington, before she joined the Brigade.

She said burlesque is a much different experience than other performances she has participated in.

“I’ve been performing in different ways for a while,” Scarlet said. “But burlesque is a lot more satisfying than acting for me because I get to control so many different aspects that I couldn’t before.”

She found she could control her own costumes, choreography and concepts for her routines, Scarlet said.

The women also typically purchase these items themselves. Although they are paid a bit for their performances, Scarlet said, for the most part, the women work regular jobs during the day.

“We have full-time jobs, most of us,” she said.

Vixen also took a while to join the Brigade. She said she spent time debating whether to join.

“It takes a lot of nerve to get up there and perform your art that way,” Vixen said. “First, I started stage kittening, which is where you pick up clothes after the performers. So, I did that for a while and kind of worked my way into it.”

During the dress rehearsal, Scarlet said she still gets nervous before shows, but not as much as before her first performance.

“The nerves never go away,” she said. “But the first one’s just, ‘Don’t freeze up,’ ‘Oh my god, are they going to cheer for me? I hope they cheer for me,’ and ‘Oh my god, I’m getting naked.’”

Although burlesque shows consist of skits, singing and other performances, nudity and stripping are often part of the show.

Scarlet said the nudity doesn’t bother her as much now.

“It’s really empowering to have people yell and clap for you and genuinely enjoy what you’re doing,” she said. “It’s a sexual type of performance, and people are looking at your body, and I think it’s nice to be appreciated.”

Vixen said she also still gets nervous before shows, but that she finds yoga helps her, as well as deep breathing.

“I don’t think the nerves ever totally go away, and that’s really part of the fun of it,” she said. “It’s an adrenaline rush.”

For the show this Saturday, Jada is trying to ease the performers’ nerves with the dress rehearsal and by making sure everyone has the routines down.

Jada said their events typically draw about 200 people per show. She said of those 200, 100 are a result of Jada’s recruiting and advertising, 50 come from the girls’ recruiting and the remaining 50 are completely new customers.

Vixen said many of her friends know she does burlesque as a hobby.

“Most of my friends know and have been very supportive,” she said. “My family knows and has been supportive.”

Then Vixen laughed.

“But it’s not usually the first thing I discuss with someone,” she said.