Burlesque takes flight at Midnight Sun Fly In
Dancers ready to shake, rattle and strip at weekend festivities
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Friday, July 7, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Grab the sunscreen and glitter: burlesque returns this weekend for an encore performance, this time in the great outdoors.
Stacie Smith, or Dahlia De Vine, front, explained in song why it might not in fact be a man's world after all, while Jill Rivera who goes by the stage name Apocka Lips, backs her up, at the Top Knight in January. Smith will be reprising her act at the Midnight Sun Fly In this weekend. - NNSL file photo |
Ten acts from this year's burlesque show will take the stage as part of the bi-annual Midnight Sun Fly In.
"The Fly In experience is one like no other. How many people can say they went down to pasties on the waterfront, only being lit by the midnight sun?" said production adviser Paige MacIntosh, otherwise known in the burlesque community as Astrid Polaire.
"I think it incorporates the best of Yellowknife's summer season and its Northern attributes while giving you the best Brrrlesque show in town."
The fly in, hosted by the Midnight Sun Fly In Association, has been bringing aviation enthusiasts to the shores of Great Slave Lake since 1936.
This year's events were to kick off yesterday and continue all weekend, with a fish fry and Brrrlesque taking the stage Saturday night and a dockside barbecue dinner on Sunday, as well as city tours, a scavenger hunt and aviation-themed events such as hanger tours and displays.
This year's festivities also coincide with the Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour 2017 airshow on Sunday.
Normally, Brrrlesque performers curtain their glitter, feathers and pasties to the Top Knight, where they performed this year in January, with a smaller version of the show at the Snow Castle in March.
"(It's) like performing on your home field - we know it very well and it suits our needs for the show, not to mention Teri and his staff are amazing to work with," MacIntosh said of performing at the Top Knight.
"The Snow Castle is a whole other world entirely. It, similar to the Fly In show, has a very Northern feel because, well, you're literally performing in the middle of a frozen lake, in a castle made out of snow and ice. What is more Yellowknife than that?"
She expects the show this weekend to be as well-received as the Snow Castle show, minus the ice.
The acts taking the stage lakeside on Saturday range from classic retro tease and singers to an 80s period piece, flamenco-inspired belly dance and everything in between.
"Brrrlesque is an amazing show full of expression and different art forms. Whether through the art of tease, singing, dancing, aerialist, lip syncing, et cetera, it allows you to express your inner confidence and talent without fear of judgment," said MacIntosh.
As for how it fits in with the weekend's aviation theme, MacIntosh said it's always a good time for glitter.
"Burlesque is not just a show, it's an incredible feeling. There's a certain rush of energy that's created when our performers hit the stage. When that music starts, we want you to feel that force of empowerment and have you on the edge of your seats craving the next piece," she said.
"This show really does make you feel like you could fly."
