[Music from dance number opening]
DARASIMI BANKOLE: House of Glamour…that was the theme of this year’s B. Burlesque show. The show didn’t just turn heads…it tossed feathers, slipped off gloves, and twirled boas. It was a celebration of body positivity, creative expression, and community. Run by and for Northwestern students, B. Burlesque blends dance and bold self-expression with an unapologetic focus on uplifting Black and queer people of color.
ZOSIA ALARR: It’s definitely a big rush of ecstasy, and honestly like a very vulnerable feeling. It definitely requires me to kind of ground myself and connect with the audience and people in a way that I sometimes am scared to do.
DB: That’s Weinberg senior and show producer Zosia Alarr. She joined B. Burlesque her junior year and has truly found a community within it.
ALARR: I think B. Burlesque is one of the best things I’ve ever done at this school and the most meaningful thing.
DB: The same goes for sophomore and incoming B. Burlesque president Tiffany Jackson.
TIFFANY JACKSON: It’s such an adrenaline rush, there’s so many people who are there who are just so supportive of one another and it’s like a chosen family, it’s so nice to be apart of and it really adds to that like I’m ready to get on stage, I’m ready to do this and everyone’s there for each other and screaming so it’s great.
DB: B. Burlesque isn’t just about being on stage…it’s about finding a space to belong to.
ALARR: I kind of like to describe us as like a mod podge of misfits honestly. I think we’re a group of people who haven’t necessarily found community in other affinity spaces at Northwestern.
[Heels walking on stage and intro to dance number music]
DB: Audience member Brooks Lansana was particularly impressed with what may be attributed to the comfortable community the group has created.
BROOKS LANSANA: I kind of sat and I thought about things for a bit of like wow it takes a lot of vulnerability to be able to do that type of stuff and like that type of performance.
DB: That kind of impact isn’t accidental…it’s part of the point.
JACKSON: One thing I would hope the audience gains out of our shows is just being yourself and loving to be yourself and just having that freedom to express who you are and your identity whatever aspects those are is just a really big part of being in B. Burlesque and just adding to community with just being yourself is the best way to describe it.
ALARR: I hope they come away with a feeling of empowerment and thinking ‘well maybe I could do something like that or maybe I’m not going to do burlesque exactly, but maybe there are other things that I could use a little bit of their bravery to replicate.’
DB: In the House of Glamour, confidence isn’t just part of the costume, it’s something you take home with you. At its core, B. Burlesque is about more than movement. It’s a space for celebration…of identity, of confidence, and of finding a place to call home.
[Applause and cheering from the ending of the show]
DB: For WNUR News, I’m Darasimi Bankole.
