 |
|
 |
|---|
Interview With Charolette Treuse by Cary Your new favorite color: Charlotte Treuse! Classic Burlesque has become a huge phenomena lately, what about it first captured your interest? I actually found my way to burlesque through sideshow. When I was a little girl, my mother had a book on human oddities and circus freaks. I decided I wanted to be a pony girl in a circus, and was for years fascinated in all things circus and sideshow. It was in that time period that I discovered Zorita, the legendary snake dancer. She was my first favorite burlesque star, and she lead me to research the other legends, and the neo-burlesque legends. I loved the way burlesque can combine classic elegance and beauty with dirty sideshow sex appeal.
What kind of performance do you put on? You know, it's funny, as attracted as I am to the more sideshow style of performance, I tend to do very classic routines. I have several fan dances, and glove/gown/boa routine set to the time honored "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". I am currently working on a dance with a snake puppet, and a Zebra striped pinup girl with a rather unusual reveal, so I will be adding a little more of the midway spice to my repertoire soon.
At what kind of events do you perform? I perform mostly at monthly and weekly burlesque shows in the Portland and Seattle areas, but I have been traveling more and more. I also coordinate burlesque a couple times a year with The Stolen Sweets, an incredible 1930's Boswell Sisters inspired Jazz band. I absolutely love performing with them.... it is a privilege to dance with such talented musicians, to songs like "St. James Infirmary" that have long histories of being burlesque favorites. As far as I am concerned, nothing beats performing with live music.
What's it like performing all over and experiencing the different scenes? I love being able to travel! I especially like getting to meet other performers from all over. Although the burlesque community is far flung, it is also small and accessible.... all the performers I have met, from the brand new to the legendary have been so warm and so eager to teach or to learn. It really is a beautiful, magical community.
Where is your favorite place to perform? I like to perform everywhere! I don't have a favorite location..... at least not yet. However, I am headed to New York in September for the Coney Island Rockabilly Festival, and since so many of my personal heroes hail from the Coney Island stages, I wouldn't be surprised if Coney Island takes the prize!
Has anything crazy ever happened at a show? Crazy things are always happening at shows.... my favorite to date, however, was the time the girls got kicked out of Goldendale. Seven of us girls and our entourage caravaned 3 hours out to a teeny tiny little town that has a fantastic retro bowling alley. We had been booked for a "Bowl-a-Go-Go" show, and we had shown up early, because Goldendale also boasts a silly concrete replica of Stonehenge, perfect for a burlesque photo shoot. As we were getting into our costumes and make-up for the shoot, Benny Tenpins, the owner of the alley shows up with a white-as-a-ghost face and a sheaf of paperwork. He didn't have a proper "Cabaret" license, and the good people of Goldendale were demanding we be shut down. This is at 5 o'clock on a Friday night, so there was no hope of just applying for a license. What to do? There was already people in the parking lot, wanting to see a show, and there we were all gussied up.... Benny discovered a loophole, and decided not to charge people. We would call it an invitation only private event, invite the town and suggest a donation at the door. Perfect, we thought, and the upset had just added to the intrigue! The show was going to go on after all! Nope, right before the show was supposed to start, the cops show up and told us that if any of us danced at all, Benny would be spending the rest of the night in jail. We were all totally incredulous..... there's no dancing in Goldendale? Where are we, on the set of "Footloose"? We ended up having a fantastic time, we spent the evening bowling in our burlesque costumes with the locals that had come to see the show. A fabulous photo journalist, Heather Inmoor, was there that night and documented the whole thing. Her pictures of the night are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifaey/sets/72157617616556912/
What do you think about pinup becoming part of the mainstream culture? I think it's great. Pinup and burlesque are true American art-forms, and it is wonderful to see more people becoming aware of our own history through a love and fascination with pinup culture.
Are there any other creative mediums you work in? I have always been very crafty. I am a jeweler and budding silver-smith, a photographer and a pen and ink artist, and I make the majority of my costumes, props and hats. Creating my costumes has actually become one of my favorite aspects of burlesque.
What kind of music do you like? Well, my favorite and most influential musician is Tom Waits. Hands down. I was lucky enough to see him on his "Glitter and Doom" tour, and I was in tears for the whole first act. It felt like being in church.
I am pretty eclectic though..... I listen to ultra-lounge, rock and roll, and everything in-between!
What do you like to do for fun? Honestly, I spend so much time in bars and nightclubs, since I am a bartender as well as a burlesque performer. When I have free time, my favorite thing to do is curl up and watch a movie with my boyfriend and our two spoiled cats.
See more of Charolette Treuse at: www.myspace.com/charlottetreuse
| See more of Charolette Treuse at: www.myspace.com/charlottetreuse
|
