Why do you think it’s important for there to be a show exclusively for performers of color? Yeah that’s true, I think it’s us and the Gurlies and Black Market Burlesque. Myself, Dainty Dandridge, Eva Mystique, GiGi Holliday, Maki Roll, Angel, Aurora Wells, Bunny Vicious, Hell O’Kitty, Lana La’Rouge, and Fox Martin. Our first show was Black Friday 2014, in November I think last February we decided to “make it official” and become a troupe.Ĭool. Who’s in the troupe? And excited to hear there’s a troupe in DC! Was just having this conversation with Buster Britches about how the scene seems to differ between DC and Baltimore in that DC is mostly single producers doing shows while Baltimore tends to be more troupe-based. World Famous *Bob* was one of the performers and you had to be at least a size 14 to be a Glamazon. How long has Chocolate City Burlesque been around? My first burlesque show I saw was the Glamazons in 2003 in NYC. Because it was my second time it was slightly less magical, I could see some cracks in the production value, I thought, “I could do that.” I asked what I needed to join, was told I had to take a short workshop and the rest as they say was history.Ĭool! I kind of had a similar experience.

A random late night of interneting years later introduced me to Kitty Victorian and the DC Gurly Show. I was so excited that there was burlesque near me that I went to the next show. It was the coolest thing ever, so of course I went to the next one. I fell in love with Big Burlesque in San Francisco when I saw a clip about them as a fat teenager with body image issues. I was super-excited that there was band of brazen fat sexy ladies.

So the first question I ask everybody first time I interview – name, tagline if you have one, and when and why did you get into burlesque?Ĭhè Monique, not really a tag line per se, but mission statement maybe – Living out loud and in color, encouraging others to do the same. I think everyone who’s ever popped a pastie or twirled a tassel has thought about jumping out of a cake. When one actually considers the logistics of doing that though it quickly becomes a “No, that’s okay.” Chocolate City Burlesque and Cabaret Founder, Chè Monique had the chesticles to not only try it but have the act go relationship-damagingly wrong and then make a Fringe Show about it.

Soulstice music festival baltimore