ATLRetro

Southern Fried Burlesque Fest; Thursday, March 8–Sunday, March 11, 2012; Courtyard Marriot and Conference Centre, 130 Clairemont Ave, Decatur, Georgia 30030; Weekend passes and show tickets available online and at the door. For more info, click here.

The Second Annual Southern Fried Burlesque Festival again is bringing the best performers from all over the world to Atlanta for a weekend full of sparkle, sizzle and spectacle!

Thursday night, the festival kicks off with Just Hatched, performances by new and promising performers (doors at 7 p.m.; show at 7:30 p.m.) Then at 9 p.m. Burlesque Legend Satan’s Angel takes the stage for “Have Tassels Will Travel,“ a One-Woman Improvisational play about the life and times of the star nicknamed “The Devils Own Mistress,” the Queen and originator of fire tassel twirling.  She has performed this act for over 40 years, lighting her tassels approximately 25,000 times all over the world.  The show chronicles Angel’s career from how she began stripping in 1961 in San Francisco, to a peek at how hers was no ordinary life. From following Bob Hope and the USO in Vietnam, appearing on the Gypsy Rose Lee television show, dating Clint Eastwood, Bobby Darin, Hedy Lamarr, and Janis Joplin, defying the convention of The Folies Bergéré in Paris, working with Ann Corio, Harold Minsky, Barry Ashton and running with The Rat Pack in Vegas, and two near death experiences.

Satan's Angel.

Friday Night brings The Free Range Burlesque International Showcase, featuring performances by Burlesque Legends Satan’s Angel, Shannon Doah and Gabriela Maze; neo-burlesque star such as Perle Noire, and headlined by Miss Exotic World 2002, Kitten De Ville (this week’s Kool Kat) as well as other amazing performers from all over the world! Last year’s Free Range was one of the best burlesque shows ever to grace an Atlanta stage, so in ATLRetro’s humble opinion, this show is not to be missed.

Saturday Night is the main event: The Southern Fried Burlesque Pageant has performers competing for Best Duet, Group, Variety and the Southern Fried Burlesque King and Queen!  The Pageant will also include a farewell performance by the first-ever Southern Fried Burlesque Queen, Siren Santina!  After the awards ceremony, let your hair down at the Southern Scorcher Showcase with performers from all over the Southeast, a special performance by Sadie Hawkins from Blast-Off! Burlesque, and headlined by Atlanta native, The Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins!

Perle Noire.

Be sure to stop by Sunday, however, for a Burlesque Legends Panel at 1 p.m., with neoburlesque star Kitten DeVille and classic performers Satan’s Angel and Shannon Doah.

From Friday to Sunday, you can also sign up for lectures and classes for all skill and interest levels. Whether you are a history buff, into crafting costumes, want to learn the basics, or fine tune your performance, this festival will have activities for all levels and aspects of burlesque. Learn entirely from seasoned burlesque performers, teachers, and legends, and leave the festival with all the tools you need to be the next Burlesque Aficionado! Don’t worry guys – all genders are welcome to attend classes!

As lovely and talented festival producers Katherine Lashe and Ursula Undress of Syrens of the South remind us, Burlesque is the art of the striptease, with a focus on the tease.  Performers occasionally strip to pasties, but there is no nudity in any festival productions. This festival is dedicated to the preservation of an art form that has become an international movement.