Nicky Ninedoors remembers watching her first burlesque show. [The dancer] was totally revered and put up on a pedestal, she says, awed by the power exuding from a woman who was taking her clothes off in front of other people because she wanted to.
Today, that sense of sensual power exudes from Ninedoors every look, every pose. Its the sense of here I am, its all of me, and no, you cant have any of it but for five minutes I made you think you can, she says during an interview at the Roundhouse community centre, where she will join other Vancouver burlesque artists at Beerlesque, the Roundhouses major fundraiser, sponsored by Donnelly Group and Vancouver Craft Beer Week, on Sept. 20 from 6 to 10pm.
At last years event, she did a reverse strip tease. The lights came up on her in an imaginary boudoir. She was naked (except for tassles, of course) and, as her husband played bass, she sang In a Sentimental Mood as she slowly put on her beautiful dress which was her wedding dress and left the stage.
She smiles at the thought of the performance shes come up with this year.
Sitting next to her is Kristi Johanson, a fellow burlesque performer who also owns East Vanity Parlour, a mecca for women who love the glamour of the up-do with a little pin-up girl thrown in. Johansen styled Nickis hair for the WE Vancouver cover photoshoot and is also performing, as Callio P. Cock, at Beerlesque.
Women do burlesque, Johanson says, because theres something you need to get out for yourself. But youre doing it in front of a crowd so they can understand how youre feeling, she says. When I first started burlesque I was naturally insecure. It was incredible how liberating it was for me to expose myself and have people fall in love with you.
Imagine how youd feel about your body, Nicky says, if every time you looked in a mirror, you got applause. Thats what its like to feel the audiences response to your burlesque performance.
A classically trained musician, Nicky gravitated to burlesque as a more creative way to express herself. With classical piano, there is a set repertoire you have to learn and practise, practise, practise. With burlesque, I dont have to learn Bach if I dont want to. (Im more of a Chopin girl.) Burlesque pulls from so many different times and styles. It can be political, it can be pretty for the sake of being pretty. Modern burlesque pulls inspiration from every era, which opens things up for me artistically. Theres lots for me to play with. And glamour? Whats not to like?
