Bada Boom!

Last weekend, I did not go to church, but perhaps I should have after seeing Simone Sobers Dance's event, "Visions of Grandeur: An Evening of Burlesque". Before seeing the show at Theater 54 at Shetler Studios in New York City, the little bit of burlesque that I knew about was from the 2010 film starring Cher and Christina Aguilera, titled, "Burlesque".  So, I knew there would be sexy attire and removal of clothing (not down to nudity of course), and sensual, yet tasteful dance choreography.

The show started with guest artists, Alisa Fendley and Marissa Maislen, with a very unique burlesque piece. The interaction between the two women had quite humorous moments, with one of them portraying a shy demeanor and the other being persuasively sensual. However, I felt that some of the movement was awkward and had awkward transitions. I felt more confused than excited. There was little removal of clothing, which was fine, but I just didn't know what to expect because of the jagged, abrupt movements. The mood changed with the main artists of the performance known as "Chocolate Decadence", with Titilayo Derricotte as Mocha Snaps, Epiphany Davis as Red Velvet, and Simone Sobers as Cinnabunz.

photo credited to:
http://www.facebook.com/events/180885322045348/

They performed as a trio three times throughout the performance, and overall, there movement seemed too "cutesy" rather than sexy. Not to say they needed to be erotic and over-the-top, but their upbeat, cute movement overbalanced their sensuality. It was still enjoyable to watch. However, I would have loved to have seen better facial expressions and interaction with the audience because of the incredibly intimate setting of the stage to the seats of the audience. I was also expecting more cohesive movement with each other. In other words, a little bit more of rehearsal time would have made the movement even more enjoyable. I was most impressed by guest artist, Kamaria Dailey, who danced to Beyonce Knowles' version of the ever-famous, "Fever". She had great stage presence and interaction with the audience and was effortless with her sensuality and transitions. I thoroughly enjoyed her piece, and she seemed to have been a professional burlesque dancer.

The solos performed by each member of "Chocolate Decadence" varied greatly and were each enjoyable to the eye. The most extreme removal of clothing came from Simone "Cinnabunz" Sobers when her piece ended with her wearing breast tassels. She fooled me for sure, because when she turned around, I honestly thought she was going to be topless! But it was done tastefully and very sexy. There were 3 lucky audience members who were involved with the finale piece and got to sit up close and personal to "Chocolate Decadence". There was even a number that was done with a black light and the girls wore white lingerie and gloves. Overall the performance's individual pieces varied from each other, and it was nice to see the women had technical dance training included with their sensual movement. Burlesque is always going to be sexy, so these women conquered the task of being sexy and giving a good performance.


*mypointetaken*