The Great Burlesque Exposition

08/09/2024

here. I stopped en route to NYC to see the in (they’re on their way to Manhattan next!). I was struck by the last line “When we harm other beings… we harm ourselves”. And a the majority of the harm that we inflict as humans isn’t physical.

08/03/2024

The Great Burlesque Expo is a non-profit event. That means when we have a good year, we try to return any overage to the community. We do this in a bunch of ways, but one of our favorites is KIVA (the lending site, not the burlesque performer -- although she's great too!).

We recently supported Peppermint Lingerie with a loan... and you can too! https://www.kiva.org/invitedby/mizter4114/for/2804714?utm_source=social_share_link&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=social_share_bp_scle_b&utm_content=mizter4114

Peppermint Lingerie is a handmade lingerie brand specifically crafted with transgender women in mind. The company was founded in 2021 by Leslie, a Latina woman originally from Chile. The brand celebrates the beauty of transgender women through innovative and non-judgmental designs.

Their mission is "to empower transgender women to feel beautiful and find a safe, accepting space in Peppermint Lingerie. We are committed to providing quality service grounded in our values of respect, discretion, and empathy." All Peppermint Lingerie products are ethically handmade.

Kiva is a loan, not a donation. With Kiva you can lend as little as $25 and make a big change in someone's life.

06/01/2024

The Successful Showgirl knows of what they speak.

And, by inference, performers who have time to tear other performers down aren't doing big things...

Stay focused on your goals and stay in your own lane, don’t worry about what others are doing, you just do you and watch the magic happen!

05/16/2024

Hey Everyone... not so funny story. BeauTease Burlesque uses a ticketing service called Humanitix -- which we think is pretty super, for a bunch of reasons, primarily that they're a non-profit and they use the funds they raise to support other non-profits.

Earlier today, we were told that a bunch of content we had posted to Facebook had been removed for violating Facebook's cybersecurity policies. This all turned out to be anything that had to do with "Isle of Tease", our current show. We didn't know what happened. Had we been hacked? Had some rival reported our posts (it's happened before; people are awful)? If you've ever tried to get an answer out of Facebook about anything, you can imagine how well that went. Eventually, just be chance, we went onto our Humanitix page to check ticket sales and discovered that Facebook had screwed up. I guess the idea of a non-proft corporation is so alien to Meta that they assumed some nefarious ulterior motive...

In theory, Facebook is working on putting back everything they've taken down, but in the meantime, you can find the link to tickets at www.BostonBeauTease.com

04/10/2024

Some of you met Rory when he was your tour guide on the historic walking tour. This is his new collection of 4 short stories, set in and around Salem. Enjoy!

Four short stories from here and elsewhere. The Devil's Disciples: The Devil is loose in Arkham Village. The Winding Sheet: A folktale from a forgotten place They Say It Gets Easier Over Time: After the murder is solved, what happens next? Stage Blood: Friday night at the Grand Guignol

03/12/2024

Friends,

Over the past month, the Great Burlesque Exposition, along with its producer and staff, have been the victims of a vicious smear campaign perpetrated by some local producers. They have targeted performers who were cast in this year's event and who are members of traditionally under-represented groups. These "poison pen" letters falsely told those performers that they were neither safe nor welcome at The Great Burlesque Exposition. They described a fictitious history of misogyny, body-shaming, homophobia and other vile behaviors which are antithetical to the core philosophies of the Great Burlesque Exposition. Further, they implied that participation in the event would be harmful to the performers' continued standing in the burlesque community.

Sadly, these fear-based attacks worked, and a number of performers withdrew. This snowballed and we have reached the difficult realization that we no longer have enough performers to present the event that we promised our audience or participants. It is with a combination of great sadness and great anger, that we are canceling the Burlesque Expo scheduled for April 2024. All tickets have been refunded.

We do not know what the future holds. We thank you for your support and understanding and we hope to see you next year.

02/20/2024

To the BurlExpo and greater burlesque community:

As you know, someone (we have a pretty good idea who) has been anonymously contacting performers as we post them on social media and ‘warning’ them about the BurlExpo.

The purpose of the Great Burlesque Exposition is to create a supportive and enthusiastic environment in which performers and fans of burlesque can come together to learn, share, and celebrate the art we all love. The Great Burlesque Exposition has always been a work in progress, and we hope it always will be. We grow and change with the needs of our participants, and we try to learn from our mistakes. We have made mistakes in the past, and we try to correct them. Last year, an issue arose because a competitor did not know who the judges were ahead of time. This year we have made all competitors aware of who the judges are and asked all the judges to disclose any prior relationships with any of the competitors. It’s a small change that we hope will avoid issues in the future.

One of the most painful accusations is that The Great Burlesque Exposition has a bias against a certain kind of performer (the kind varies, depending on who is spreading the rumor). From the very beginning, The Great Burlesque Exposition has embraced diversity in our line-up and celebrated diversity with our winners. The worst part about these baseless accusations of fatphobia or racism or homophobia, is that they are easily disproven by looking at our past and present line-ups. Worse, this sort of social manipulation seems to hit members of underrepresented groups the hardest and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as they self-select out, rather than taking the time that they have earned in the spotlight.

The authors of this smear campaign claim that the anonymity is necessary because they are afraid of litigation. Anonymity allows them to allege anything they like without the onus of proof, or the need to take responsibility for their words. It creates an atmosphere of fear. We strongly stand against bullying, extortion, and manipulation through threats of exclusion. Those actions are antithetical to everything we hold dear.

We at the BurlExpo have long embraced philosophy of ’talk TO people and not ABOUT them’. Historically, when issues have come up on-line, we have offered to sit down with anyone who wants to talk to us and that offer still is open. We believe that transparent and honest communication can go a long way to solving problems. We have never sued or threatened legal action against anyone, and would always prefer conversation to litigation. We all love the same art.

If you as a participant have any concerns, please feel free to reach out to any member of our staff. We are all here to do our best to create a weekend that is a positive and memorable experience for all participants.

That’s it. That’s all we can say.

02/19/2024

A very happy birthday to the fabulous Mina Murray!

02/17/2024

The Main Event at The Great Burlesque Exposition is a competition between the best of the best. These performers were selected from a pool of over 250 applicants to strut their stuff for acclaim and prizes!

Meet Vena Kahlo, one of the powerful performers that will be competing on Saturday, April 27. Come cheer them on by getting your tickets on sale now at www.Burlesque-Expo.com!

The Bubblegum Priestess of Burlesque. Member of Haus de Corvo, she moves like homemade tequila on fire. Drawn in by her love of costuming and embodied emotional expression, Vena began her burlesque journey when she graduated from Indigo Blue's Academy of Burlesque (2019) and continued on to Burlesque 202 (2020). Now the stage is her canvas and her body the brush. Known for her eclectic taste: Drama, s*x, comedy, she ignites for it all. From tech to tease, she has devoted her t**s to every aspect of naked storytelling. Whether picking up panties or throwing her panties at you, she will entice you with her bubblegum hair, soul sucking stare, and curves that scream "livin' la vida Frida".

02/17/2024

The Main Event at The Great Burlesque Exposition is a competition between the best of the best. These performers were selected from a pool of over 250 applicants to strut their stuff for acclaim and prizes!

Meet Vanity A'Loura, one of the powerful performers that will be competing on Saturday, April 27. Come cheer them on by getting your tickets on sale now at www.Burlesque-Expo.com!

Vanity A’Loura is a California-born gothic burlesque enchantress currently based in the heart of Orlando, Florida. Each of her acts are meticulously curated blending elements of sensuality, storytelling, and often supernatural vocals to create a sparkly spectacle that is wholly unique to her! She performs most regularly with the show she co-produces: Cosmic Chaos Cabaret, alongside Femmes and Follies, the Big Bang Boom Collective, Orlando Burlesque and more. Besides her ethereal voice, Vanity is most known for blending her professional makeup skills into her acts to even further push the boundaries of traditional burlesque, and ignite the flames of creativity in all who watch her!

02/16/2024

The Main Event at The Great Burlesque Exposition is a competition between the best of the best. These performers were selected from a pool of over 250 applicants to strut their stuff for acclaim and prizes!

Meet Temera T***y, one of the powerful performers that will be competing on Saturday, April 27. Come cheer them on by getting your tickets on sale now at www.Burlesque-Expo.com!

Temera T***y is the Rose City's Titillating Tease. Temera found burlesque in 2018 and fell in love t!ts first with the art form. Her style is energetic and joyful! In addition to performing regularly in Portland's prolific burlesque scene, she's performed at PNW Burlesque Fest, What the Funk! Fest, and Metalesque Fest. Her first international performance was in 2023 competing at the Vicenza Burlesque Festival in Italy!

In addition to her solo performances, Temera enjoyes collaborating as one half of the duo Tits'n'Cake, one third of the Dark Fates (Anita Rage & Sara James), and occasionally eith Querencia Dance Company and The Showgirl Temple Teasettes.

2022 Metalesque Fest (participant, solo act, The Gereg)

2022 Oregon Burlesque Fest (participant, solo act, Season of the Witch)

2022 What the Funk! Fest (participant, group act, Querencia Dance Company, Car Wash)

2023 Pacific Northwest Burlesque Fest (participant, solo act, The Gereg; participant, group act, Querencia, Car Wash)

2023 Vicenza Burlesque Festival (participant, solo act, The Wanton Song)

2024 Texas Metalesk Fest (participant, solo act, The Gereg)

2023 Metalesque Fest (participant, group act with the Dark Fates, Fear of the Dark)