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Shimmy & Strut w/ Naimah

Charm City Burlesque & Variety Festival Workshop

Sat, Sep 28th 10:00 am in the Creativity Center Dance Studio

$25
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$22
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Charm City Burlesque & Variety Festival Workshop

Let’s get Ssssslinky! This fun and sassy workshop is for burlesque performers who want to explore belly dance movement. Spice up your act with thunderous shimmies, ooey gooey undulations, eye-popping isolations, and more. This class is designed to pull you out of your comfort zone and bring forth an all-new level of self-confidence with emphasis on style, grace, stage presence, and properly executed dance technique along with muscle control. This class also includes a brief discussion on similarities between the two art forms. The objective is to combine the snaky movements of belly dance with theatrical elements of burlesque to create movement that is visually stunning and impactful.

Student requirement for class: Comfortable stretchy clothing for movement, bare feet
Note: No street shoes or high heels; only dance shoes, socks, or bare feet permitted in the dance studio.

Instructor Bio
Naimah (she/her) is an award winning belly dancer from Baltimore, MD, and director of award-winning troupe, Amandari. With a background in ballet, modern, hip hop, African dance, and fine art, her style is best described as eclectic and eccentric. She teaches online classes on a multitude of topics pertaining to belly dance including history, culture, strength, flexibility, and more. She calls this format “Multiversal Movement” as belly dance and performance art in general is multidimensional. She is also a recently certified group fitness instructor. Naimah has produced many shows in Maryland and is currently the co-producer of Maryland’s largest belly dance festival, Art of the Belly, in Ocean City, MD.

Charm City Burlesque & Variety Festival

The second annual Charm City Burlesque and Variety Festival runs Friday, September 27 through Saturday, September 28 at Baltimore’s Creative Alliance, home to some of Baltimore’s best burlesque and variety shows.

Burlesque is many things. It is sexy. It is sly. It is seductive. It shines a light on the morals and foibles of modern life and mocks them openly. In Baltimore, burlesque is all of those things, and it is also unabashedly weird, strange, dark, funny, and a little bit twisted. Baltimore’s burlesque and variety stages have always welcomed the different and the avant-garde. Baltimore marvels in the filthy, the strange, the strangely beautiful, and the sometimes questionable, and it makes it its own. The Charm City Burlesque & Variety Festival celebrates all.

Events

FRI SEP 27 | 8PM | Filthy Gorgeous Variety

The festival kicks off with a celebration of the weird and twisted side of Baltimore area’s burlesque and variety scene. Expect to be both titillated and uncomfortable at the same time, in the most delicious way possible.

Headliner: GiGi Holliday
Hosted by: Delilah Dentata & Jim Dandy

SAT SEP 28 | 8PM | The Tell-Tale Masquerade

Masquerade with us through the eerie ambiance on Saturday night. Don your finest attire and join the sinister mischief makers and the dreamers as we take you on a journey into all that is dark and whimsy. Stick around after the show for a dance party with DJ Villainess as she spins dark beats and hypnotic rhythms.

Headliner: Audrey Love
Hosted by: Eden

SAT SEP 28 | Workshops 

10AM | Shimmy & Strut w/ Naimah
This fun and sassy workshop is for burlesque performers who want to explore belly dance movement. Spice up your act with thunderous shimmies, ooey gooey undulations, eye-popping isolations, and more.

11AM | Hosting Diverse Audiences w/ Mx. Eden
Burlesque audiences are just as diverse as the world we live in. And it’s a host’s job to make every attendee of every race, gender, and body size feel welcome. In this workshop, we’ll discuss gender-neutral greetings and other inclusive language every host should have in their vocabulary.

12PM | Dance Like a Diva w/ GiGi Holliday
In this class, you’ll be guided through a 2-4 minute routine that covers aspects of a burlesque star performance. From learning choreography that complements your style to mastering the art of costume removal with flair, you’ll acquire the skills and stage presence to captivate any audience.

1PM | Makeup Tips & Tutorial w/ Kit Valentine
Drag Queen Kit Valentine, the current reigning Miss Western Maryland, shows you the art of contouring, brow definition, achieving a dramatic look for the eyes, and more!

2PM | Beyond the Basics: Burlesque Costuming for All Levels w/ Bebe Bardeaux
Learn the art of creating stage-ready costumes that enhance your performance and captivate your audience! From corsets and feathers to rhinestones and appliques, discover how to craft costume “regalia” that tells a story and elevates your burlesque, drag, and other performance art to new heights.

The Charm City Burlesque & Variety Festival runs September 27-28 and is produced by performers Maria Bella and Tapitha Kix. The event includes performances and classes celebrating the wonderful, weird, and diverse art of burlesque and variety. The festival is inclusive, respectful, and cognizant of the people and places who have helped make Baltimore burlesque and variety what it is today – this especially includes the voices of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ performers, vendors, and partners who have been an important part in both the planning and execution of all events associated with the festival. The Charm City Burlesque & Variety Festival includes a committee that provides a forum for burlesque & variety community members to advise, inform, and offer critique to the festival producers.

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