Something brazen is happening at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center on New Years Eve.
Adèle Wolf and her merry clan of striptease artists bring Adèle Wolfs Burlesque & Variety Shows New Years Eve Bash to the gallerys theater space. About 200 lucky guests will spend the last two hours of 2015 watching classically yet-immodestly clad women perform provocative sets along with belly dancers and circus acts.
Featured artists include regional and national stars Cherry Brown and Ooops the Clown from New Orleans; Layna DLuna from Austin, Texas; and Wolf, who spends much of her time touring in Europe.
Burlesque is Wolfs career and passion. She discovered the art form on YouTube when she was 16 years old.
I already liked 1950s and 60s pinup culture and the hair and makeup styles, and then I saw burlesque, she said.
Her voice becomes notably more animated when she speaks about her favorite subject.
Her first burlesque performance was years ago at Kamps 1310 Lounge in Oklahoma City.
It was not an ideal venue, she said. A friend had an event there and knew about my love of burlesque and asked if I wanted to perform.
She said yes, and the rest is history, and although she has mastered the art of immodesty at this point in her career, back then, it was nerve-wracking.
My previous experience onstage was acting, performing as a character. That isnt as vulnerable you have the costume, and your character is another layer between you and the audience, she said. Burlesque is a persona, but its a heightened version of yourself. And youve made your costume, and youve choreographed your show and youre nearly naked. I love that and the creative license, but that is incredibly vulnerable.
A couple of generations ago, burlesque was something women did simply to earn a paycheck, and it paid incredibly well. But Wolf said it also was considered shameful. Today, its the opposite.
Burlesque is a feminist art form, Wolf said. Its very body-positive.Wolfs preferred performance style is classic. Her twist, however, is that she doesnt always use classic burlesque-style music. She might perform to David Bowie or even Danzig, with a big band tune thrown in for good measure.
There are as many styles of burlesque as there are people, she said. Ive seen really, really raunchy burlesque, but Ive also seen it be political or funny. Ive even seen outer-space-themed burlesque.
Wolf performs as often as she can. When shes not onstage, shes teaching others the craft. She founded Oklahoma School of Burlesque, and between teaching, performing and producing shows, she turned her passion into her career.
The New Years Eve show at Oklahoma Contemporary has something for everybody, Wolf said, including plenty of risqué fun, aerial performers and a champagne toast at midnight.
Tickets are $25-$45, and guests must be age 18 or older to attend.
Print Headline; Risqué business, Adèle Wolf rings in 2016 with burlesque performers, belly dancers and circus acts.