Vancouver International Burlesque Festival Event
Bryan Skinner & The Rio Theatre present
Cinema Burlesque: Tumbling After & A Wink and a Smile
The first film is a 43min featurette. A mockumentary about a burlesque dance troupe, Tumbling After is a new comedy from Victoria BC Director Bryan Skinner. The troupe is co-managed by choreographer Jack Fontaine (John Emmet Tracy) and costumer Jill Monroe (Kelly Hudson). The troupe begins a downward spiral when it becomes entangled with a former neo-burlesque star, Rosie Bubbles (Johannah Newmarch) who brings her own agenda behind the scenes. Shot 'cinema direct'-style over four days, the 'documentary participants' improvised the entire film. While the director plotted the scenes, the films dialogue and actions are entirely improvised by the cast. Monday Magazine says it is “43 minutes of tension and hilarity”, the film recently won the Jury Award at the Waterford Film Festival (Ireland).
An intoxicating mix of private thoughts and public behavior, the feature length documentary A Wink and a Smile exposes more than the human body by putting gender, power, sexuality and social identity under the glittery spotlight, as it follows the lives of ten "ordinary" women who do something extraordinary - learn the art burlesque dancing and striptease
Students of Seattle's Academy of Burlesque have just six weeks to peel and reveal their hidden talents with little more than a tassel and a twirl. Seasoned burlesque divas strut on stage in their own entertaining, satirical and beautiful performances to illustrate the candid and often hilarious lectures by the Academy¹s headmistress, Miss Indigo Blue.
As director Deirdre Timmons draws back the velvet curtain providing a rare glimpse into the intimate experience, audiences watch with glee as Miss Indigo's budding divas learn to shimmy, shake, bump and grind their way into our hearts. Through their adventures, we see how a homemaker, a reporter, a doctor, an opera singer, a taxidermist and a college student, join the American cultural revival of burlesque, as it moves from fringe fascination to mainstream obsession, engaging a world where performance art and showgirl spectacle, music, theater and sensuality crash into over-the-top glamour - a world where many want to go, but very few dare.
Venue: The Rio Theatre, 1660 East Broadway
Date: Wednesday, May 6th
Doors open at 7pm, Show starts 7:30pm, Show ends at 10:30pm
Advance ticket price $10, Ticket price at doors $12