As many of you are, I have been a fan of Suicide Girls for what feels like a decade now. It is a website dedicated to ruining the typical pin up model image by combining women of all shapes and sizes, geek and cult culture, attraction, body modification and art. Where else can you find alternative pin up models with tattoos of 50’s B-Horror films, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or Tom Waits albums? It is an amalgamation of cultures within a single photograph, and each shoot typically has 50 photographs. If anything mixed the rebellion of non conformity of social normalcy with the passions of the phenomenons considered unusual well, it’s Suicide Girls. With such a build up, you can expect a pinch of curiosity rose when Suicide Girls announced its sixth Blackhearts Burlesque tour was making its way to the Opera House. With help by Padina Bondar, a fashion design graduate from Ryerson University (of whom helped piece together this review), it was time to see how the photographs online would transition onto the stage.
The show started with the host jokingly performing a “real” burlesque routine, until five Suicide Girl models made their way to the stage and angrily performed to Björk’s Army of Me. This was when things got interesting. Here’s the edge that was expected. Was it as subtle as burlesque typically is? Not really, but it was the first number to introduce the show, so surely we would see a better blend as the show went on. The host came back out and began to talk to the audience. The show was run and performed by Suicide Girl models, most of whom appeared to be ones still making their way up the ladder (as no big model names like Radeo, Rambo or Gogo were there), and this was a good way at getting exposure. Needless to say, the hosting needed work. It wasn’t as if the host didn’t try despite her best efforts, yet she could have definitely used some guidance. Some attempts at being edgy came off as awkward and not as entertaining as she had hoped. At least she was an active and an alive host, and she did try her utmost best, but telling the audience that you wish to go back stage to masturbate won’t end well. Ever.
The actual performing itself was entertaining for the most part. We had some very creative pieces like one model with two horn-clad models held by chains while M.I.A. played. Most of the numbers were references to large cult based fan bases. We had a model dressed up as Link stripping to a dubstep remix of the Hyrulean theme. We had an astronaut chased by two gorillas to Disclosure. We had Beatrix and Gogo from Kill Bill “fighting” to Nancy Sinatra’s iconic number used in the same film. One of the best performances, though, has to be the insanely clever routine where a model dressed up as Frank from Donnie Darko slowly undressing, curiously, to Gary Jules’s Mad World. It was a clever statement on the iconic Playboy Bunny, and was one of the performances most like actual burlesque while being artsy, chilling, and entertaining all in one.
While these routines were entertaining (there was still a Big Lebowski, 5th Element and even a large Star Wars number at the end, just to list a few more) and the crowd were pulled in by the references and the fandoms that brought everyone together, whether they can be classified as burlesque is a large stretch. There was little teasing (save for the odd number, namely the Donnie Darko and the Planet of the Apes pieces) which is a large portion of what burlesque is. In fact, the first number after the introduction was a Coyote Ugly-like strip tease to Marilyn Manson’s Beautiful People, and everything was revealed within a minute. It was unquestionably raunchy, as well, but that’s to expected from an edgier show like this. Even so, a lot of the show felt more like a fun neo-strip show than a burlesque show, and even in that light, there are a number of alternative burlesque shows that are similar to this. With very intimate audience participation, and I do mean intimate, and a low amount of layers used to actually strip off, you can only feel that more could have been done (not that it wasn’t done well and in an entertaining way, mind you). In a sense, the word “burlesque” seems to have been used simply because the models had their breasts taped and their underwear kept on, but aside from that, it was missing the mystery, the build up, the art and the sleekness of burlesque.
In the end, the Blackhearts Burlesque show was still a lot of fun, and the choreography, although more like dance numbers than ones catered to the art of burlesque, was cleverly done as almost each move would represent the culture they were referencing (even down to The Dude’s infectious tip toe dance). With only the odd number that was serious and artistic, clearly this show was more in jest than serious about actual burlesque. Nonetheless, with the hint at something more grande, there was a sense at something that was missing, and it wasn’t just at the sum of something possibly greater: The chilling art behind Suicide Girls. The actual love for these cultures embodied in a pin up model comfortable with herself. Instead we got an exertion of fun, which was beneficial most of the time, but lacking what makes Suicide Girls such a large success. With a few numbers (the chained demons, Frank, Kill Bill and Planet of the Apes) that did what they were capable of well, we could have had this realization come to fruition. Nonetheless, we still had the Zelda, Star Wars, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fifth Element numbers that were fantastically riveting. A lot of fun was had, but a lot of curiosity of what could have been with, perhaps, more complex costumes, more mystery and more art, will remain. For now, we have the site (with a renewed membership I’m going to complete shortly) and a great photobook (Beauty Redefined) that partners well with all aspects of what makes Suicide Girls so popular and not just the fun.
