Cabaret New Burlesque, 2011
They are American, overflowing with vitality and proud to be round! These are the gargantuan creatures of the most outrageous show of the year: the New Burlesque Cabaret. Antidote to the anemic models that symbolize the artificial and sinister fashion, the New Burlesque girls conquered the French public – with the help of Mathieu Amalric’s film On Tour which was dedicated to them. The show is a mixture of eccentricities inspired by the burlesque humour of silent films and queer codes.
Ultra kitsch decors, flaming red or blond hair, unabashed curves, outrageous make-up and above all provocative costumes.
The New Burlesque is a revised version of a genre which is firmly rooted in the English and American music-hall traditions. Originally, burlesque shows were a mix of social satire, musical acts and sexual innuendo, and they became the basis of the American theatrical scene during the 1920s and ‘30s.
Gradually, the genre dwindled to the most simple expression of on-stage nudity, becoming a synonymous of striptease.
Since the 1990s, the revival of the burlesque, known as Neo- or New Burlesque, has drawn inspiration from these two periods, reintroducing elements such as theatre, choreography, glamour, humor, satire and a splash of mayhem into the striptease.
This work was made by following the Cabaret New Burlesque for 2 months during their last tour in Paris, from the Theatre de la Cité to their nominations at the César 2011.