christina koci-hernandez
Burlesque has returned to the San Francisco Bay Area. The revival of this performance art brings back subtlety to seduction in a culture desensitized to sex. In small cafes,bars and art venues, women in the Bay Area are bumping and grinding, combining eroticism, humor and dance.
Burlesque and San Francisco have always been comfortable bed fellows. San Francisco's Barbary Coast was a popular hangout for the rich during the Gold Rush. Known for gambling, prostitution and crime, the area was an obvious choice for vaudeville and burlesque. Modern-day San Francisco is still an obvious choice for self-expression.
The Bay Area is a haven for experimental art and vanguard movements. Upon entering these clubs, with women clad in fishnets and pasties, it is hard to decipher the City's past from the present. The "un-Hollywood" figures of the performers force us to confront the allure of real women and real bodies.
The modern burlesque performer reminds us that subtlety is potent. The emphasis is on the "tease," in "striptease." Unlike popular ideals of sex and beauty, these dancers come from straight and lesbian communities, bodies ranging from slender to large. The burlesque performer decides when and how she might reveal secrets to the audience. She holds the power.
