Beads, pearls and rhinestones will make the Salt City Burlesque troupe sparkle when the group takes the stage at The Palace Theatre for a Sweet Valentease show. The night’s theme will pay tribute to Valentine’s Day, and the performers have been preparing for weeks, practicing their choreography and creating outfits.

Talia Shenandoah — whose stage name is Harlow Holiday — makes her own clothing and accessories for performances by hand. She cuts, sews and glues, adding sparkle with pearls and rhinestones– she said she can spend as long as 60 hours making the outfits.

“My motto is to sparkle the entire world,” she said, with a laugh.

Her stage name is a nod to old Hollywood glamour — think “Jean Harlow,” she said — and inspired by Madonna’s song “Holiday,” which she said celebrates life.

Inspired by classic burlesque, Shenandoah and Christina Suchon started the burlesque troupe in 2015, after meeting at a benefit show. At the time, there was only one other burlesque troupe in the area, which Shenandoah said hadn’t been active in a while. So, they decided to create their own.

Since then, the troupe has grown, and now holds performances with 12-18 acts at a handful of different venues throughout the year. They also invite performers from outside of Syracuse to headline shows.

The headliner for Saturday’s show is Aria Delanoche, an award-winning burlesque performer hailing from Chicago and Montreal. She won the 2018 Burlesque Hall of Fame awards for “Most Classic” and “Best Debut,” and is known as a “glimmer of light in the dark of night,” in the burlesque community.

Shenandoah said that when headliners like Delanoche come they support the Salt City performers by offering feedback. Even on their own, Salt City performers always workshop as a team during post-show meetings to discuss what worked well, what didn’t work and how they can make acts better.

The Salt City Burlesque troupe’s “Sweet Valentease” show features performances from a variety of burlesque dancers, including headliner Aria Delanoche. Courtesy of 48th and Pixel

The troupe has a family dynamic, Shenandoah said, and they bounce ideas off of each other. Their teamwork stretches beyond constructive critique, though — in the dressing room, they constantly help each other clip bras, glue on eyelashes and zip up dresses, said Eerie Rottica, a member of the troupe.

Rottica began at Salt City Burlesque as a stage kitten — someone who picks up after the performers on stage — but now, she’s a performer. She said burlesque is fitting for her because she’s always been a dramatic person.

“I always get, like, a high after performing,” she said, adding that her “Howl-A-Ween” performance was her favorite because of the ovation she received when she came out of a coffin onstage.

The troupe’s current stage kitten, Lola Amore, joined the company after singing at a Christmas performance one year, saying the camaraderie drew her in.

For many members of the troupe, the art of burlesque is empowering.

“I think it’s an opportunity for men and women to be expressive with their bodies in alternate ways that we don’t see every day, in a safe community,” Amore said.

Suchon — known by her stage name Mary Effen Sunshine — became intrigued by burlesque after watching a Netflix documentary. She said it allows her to express herself by portraying a different character, or thought, she has in mind.

“It’s really fun dressing up and, you know, pretending to be somebody else, even if it’s only for three to five minutes,” she said.

Her stage name, she said, was coined when someone told her to “look at the bright side” when she was facing a tough time in her life. Suchon told her friends to call her “Miss Mary Effen Sunshine,” and she’s gone by the name ever since, saying it matches her extreme and edgy performances.

The troupe hopes more people are exposed to burlesque and attend their shows, said Shenandoah, because there are many misconceptions about what burlesque is. People think burlesque is just girls taking their clothes off, she said, but it’s more than that: it’s an art form.

“There’s a lot of reclaiming power and sexuality in that. It’s not necessarily like, ‘I’m just going to take my clothes off,’” Shenandoah said. “There’s a whole art behind how I’m going to take my clothes off and how I’m going to entertain you and enthuse you while I do it.”

Salt City Burlesque’s Sweet Valentease will be at The Palace Theatre on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Published on February 5, 2019 at 9:31 pm

Contact Brooke: bnkato@syr.edu