Have you ever been to a burlesque show? Have you ever seen gymnastics? Have you ever seen a comedy show? Have you ever seen a dramatic play?
Ok…now have you seen ALL OF THOSE THINGS AT ONCE? I recently did, at Scandalesque’s Under The Big Top. The show is probably best described as a circus-inspired, scandalously dramatic, stunt showcase.
Though the show did not include fire breathing, there wasn’t much else it didn’t incorporate. Photo courtesy www.scandalesque.comThe performers in this show were absolutely amazing. I went into the small theater at the Phoenix Center for the Arts thinking I would be seeing some dancing and acting from scantily clad women. Well, I did see that. But I also saw so much more from these people! Just to give you an idea of how excited I was to see this show, here’s the description I read from brownpapertickets.com:
Tormented, a young girl struggles for freedom from the the Ring Master and only life she knows, the circus. Under the Big Top, takes a sexy dark look inside the underbelly of a circus. Patrons will experience a full spectrum of emotion; starting with the opening of the show consisting of a drug induced orgy and belly laughs from the comedic emcee's; then be enticed by the delightful Burlesque Balloon Beauties, terrified by the eerie killer mermaids and then relaxed by whimsical nymph clowns dancing on the moon. Expect to be enchanted by beautiful cirque acts, dynamic dancers, spectacular fire arts and so much more!
You’d be pretty excited too right? Granted I was a little anxious to go to my first burlesque-like show (read: jealous to see prettier girls dancing better than I ever could), but the show’s hosts quell all apprehensions before the show with their witty rapport, and audience interaction. They also popped back up periodically throughout the show to lighten up the mood after some of the darker acts.
The stunts performed included, but were not limited to, the following: pole dancing, both vertical and horizontal; aerial ring dancing and routine; balance beam tricks; a black light table dance by an insanely flexible and neon-clad woman; flamenco style tap-stomp dance; mermaids dancing in nets; and stilt walkers.
Yeah, you heard all of that right. All of which were performed with very little clothing.
My favorite act was probably the vertical pole dance. A woman stepped out onto stage with gold beads in her hair, wearing green/blue-ish bra and panties with hints of gold. She extended her arms, stretched out gold shimmery wings, and struck a pose. She reminded me of Cleopatra for some reason (I think it was the hair). She then shed her wings and climbed onto the vertical pole. The moves this woman could pull on a vertical pole were nothing short of amazing. Half of the time it seemed as if there was nothing holding her up but her fingers or toes. After about five minutes or so of twisting and turning and flipping on this pole, she struck her final pose and the audience erupted in applause and whistles.
Creative Director David Garcia told me that his favorite part of choreographing and directing the show was working with all the different performers and seeing all of their amazing talents.
Perhaps the most disappointing, but understandable, part of the show was the ban on photos or videos, hence the lack of photos or videos included in this post.
However, you may be able to find some photos in the blog section of Studiocentric Photography and you may be able to find some videos on their YouTube page . . . I mean, y’know, maybe.
If you’d like to reach me with comments, concerns or suggestions you can email me at anconrad13@gmail.com or tweet me @alliectersely
