history and closure of unapologetic burlesque
Unapologetic History
Toronto burlesque performers Scorpio Rising and Vena Kava came together in 2012 to create a Burlesque performance showcase not for the average heart. As People of Colour (POC) performers, they had been finding many Toronto Burlesque spaces hard to navigate and uneasy spaces to be in where whiteness, heteronormativity, and cultural appropriation often created similar scripted characters, repeating storylines, racism and other forms of harm.
After having conversations in an arts-based community program about burlesque’s radical and often forgotten history of commenting and poking fun at the "status quo", they decided to see what the possibilities were to create a space for alternate, subversive and radical narratives and representations of Burlesque to be celebrated.
Between 2012-2015, Unapologetic Burlesque has produced six hit performance showcases (The Gladstone Hotel, Tranzac), a stage at World Pride (tkaronto/Toronto, 2014) and multiple skill-share workshops on burlesque, organizing with accessibility, and more. Each aspect of Unapologetic Burlesque came together with an enormous community support as many folks contributed in any way they could: printing, photocopying, volunteering, visioning, financial contributions and by showing up the day of and giving much love and support to all the performers, organizers and volunteers!
Making queer and POC performance spaces accessible and enjoyable to all the communities we care about and who deserve space means we still have a lot of ongoing work to do. During its run, Unapologetic showcases aimed to include: ASL interpretation, active listeners for triggering content, a wheelchair ramp to the stage, childcare, and a number of other accessibility musts. We also learned a lot about balancing the importance of paying performers, crew and organizers in a way that reflects the time, work, and value of the work and art they/we put on stage – especially in a culture that often assumes they/we will do this work for little to no compensation, and where queer and trans folks of colour often bear the brunt of this expectation – with the creativity that is needed to produce shows without consistent funding.
Unapologetic History
Toronto burlesque performers Scorpio Rising and Vena Kava came together in 2012 to create a Burlesque performance showcase not for the average heart. As People of Colour (POC) performers, they had been finding many Toronto Burlesque spaces hard to navigate and uneasy spaces to be in where whiteness, heteronormativity, and cultural appropriation often created similar scripted characters, repeating storylines, racism and other forms of harm.
After having conversations in an arts-based community program about burlesque’s radical and often forgotten history of commenting and poking fun at the "status quo", they decided to see what the possibilities were to create a space for alternate, subversive and radical narratives and representations of Burlesque to be celebrated.
Between 2012-2015, Unapologetic Burlesque has produced six hit performance showcases (The Gladstone Hotel, Tranzac), a stage at World Pride (tkaronto/Toronto, 2014) and multiple skill-share workshops on burlesque, organizing with accessibility, and more. Each aspect of Unapologetic Burlesque came together with an enormous community support as many folks contributed in any way they could: printing, photocopying, volunteering, visioning, financial contributions and by showing up the day of and giving much love and support to all the performers, organizers and volunteers!
Making queer and POC performance spaces accessible and enjoyable to all the communities we care about and who deserve space means we still have a lot of ongoing work to do. During its run, Unapologetic showcases aimed to include: ASL interpretation, active listeners for triggering content, a wheelchair ramp to the stage, childcare, and a number of other accessibility musts. We also learned a lot about balancing the importance of paying performers, crew and organizers in a way that reflects the time, work, and value of the work and art they/we put on stage – especially in a culture that often assumes they/we will do this work for little to no compensation, and where queer and trans folks of colour often bear the brunt of this expectation – with the creativity that is needed to produce shows without consistent funding.
Closure Message from Unapologetic Burlesque's Co-Creators kumari and Shaunga:
Since the summer of 2015, we have not been organizing shows, and instead have been in deep reflection and renewal of ourselves and our energies. In this time we've worked on numerous other projects and continued to dream. We've also experienced major difficult events (in our individual lives as well as with each other) that have compelled us to take pause and re-evaluate our relationship to each other. We've both been impacted by burn-out and the practical, financial, emotional, and interpersonal details that make creative projects possible and sustainable. Reflecting and holding true these realities, we've decided to bring Unapologetic Burlesque to a close.
In making this decision, we are full of gratitude for the journey that Unapologetic has brought us, and for each and every one of you for making Unapologetic Burlesque what it is. The space UB carved out was unique, much needed in this city and still is. In thinking back to the excitement and magical explosion of our first Halloween show, to the vulnerability and passion of Queer from the Heart, the fun and subversion of Lost and Found, the politics and laughs of Superqueero Holiday Potluck, the growth and creative/personal risks of Ground from Which We Grow, the spontaneity and community tenderness of our 1st open mic show, Revealings...and so much more in between and all around...We learned so much from this, all of you, and we are still learning. From the inspiration we felt, mistakes we made, moments we were challenged internally and by others, and by undertaking a commitment to a vision that is queer, consensual, anti-racist, and not your average anything.
We want to name that Unapologetic Burlesque is joining a strong legacy of performance spaces that have carved space for us to be us. Many of these spaces no longer exist due to shifts in personal relationships and burnout. We feel it's important to name this, to recognize the pattern and document our work to disrupt this pattern. In this spirit, we are keeping this website open, as well as publishing some new material as a public archive of the work we've done, as well as ideas and resources that we found useful in organizing these shows. We hope that through these archives UB will continue to live on as the many things it was to everyone who was involved: including (but not limited to) a source of inspiration, piece of history, possibility model, a place where you can find rad, badass QTBIPOC burlesque performers, artists, and community workers of all kinds.
We deeply believe in Unapologetic's vision, the communities that surround the show, and the need for more of us to take up space and dream. We didn't create this alone, there are literally hundreds of people who made UB possible: people who coordinated logistics, worked back stage, performed their stories, developed their artistry and skills, took to the stage for the 1st time, shared their feedback, gave emotional support and enthusiasm, listened deeply, witnessed trauma and healing, challenged us to grow, provided new ideas, reclaimed themselves, interpreted languages, gave financial support, collectively uplifted one another, and more. We are sending all of you our heartfelt gratitude.
We hope that you continue to perform, support, create and bear witness to each other's magic!!
much love,
-kumari and Shaunga
Since the summer of 2015, we have not been organizing shows, and instead have been in deep reflection and renewal of ourselves and our energies. In this time we've worked on numerous other projects and continued to dream. We've also experienced major difficult events (in our individual lives as well as with each other) that have compelled us to take pause and re-evaluate our relationship to each other. We've both been impacted by burn-out and the practical, financial, emotional, and interpersonal details that make creative projects possible and sustainable. Reflecting and holding true these realities, we've decided to bring Unapologetic Burlesque to a close.
In making this decision, we are full of gratitude for the journey that Unapologetic has brought us, and for each and every one of you for making Unapologetic Burlesque what it is. The space UB carved out was unique, much needed in this city and still is. In thinking back to the excitement and magical explosion of our first Halloween show, to the vulnerability and passion of Queer from the Heart, the fun and subversion of Lost and Found, the politics and laughs of Superqueero Holiday Potluck, the growth and creative/personal risks of Ground from Which We Grow, the spontaneity and community tenderness of our 1st open mic show, Revealings...and so much more in between and all around...We learned so much from this, all of you, and we are still learning. From the inspiration we felt, mistakes we made, moments we were challenged internally and by others, and by undertaking a commitment to a vision that is queer, consensual, anti-racist, and not your average anything.
We want to name that Unapologetic Burlesque is joining a strong legacy of performance spaces that have carved space for us to be us. Many of these spaces no longer exist due to shifts in personal relationships and burnout. We feel it's important to name this, to recognize the pattern and document our work to disrupt this pattern. In this spirit, we are keeping this website open, as well as publishing some new material as a public archive of the work we've done, as well as ideas and resources that we found useful in organizing these shows. We hope that through these archives UB will continue to live on as the many things it was to everyone who was involved: including (but not limited to) a source of inspiration, piece of history, possibility model, a place where you can find rad, badass QTBIPOC burlesque performers, artists, and community workers of all kinds.
We deeply believe in Unapologetic's vision, the communities that surround the show, and the need for more of us to take up space and dream. We didn't create this alone, there are literally hundreds of people who made UB possible: people who coordinated logistics, worked back stage, performed their stories, developed their artistry and skills, took to the stage for the 1st time, shared their feedback, gave emotional support and enthusiasm, listened deeply, witnessed trauma and healing, challenged us to grow, provided new ideas, reclaimed themselves, interpreted languages, gave financial support, collectively uplifted one another, and more. We are sending all of you our heartfelt gratitude.
We hope that you continue to perform, support, create and bear witness to each other's magic!!
much love,
-kumari and Shaunga