Most people are bundling up in their biggest and warmest sweaters this time of year, but others celebrate the holidays by taking their clothes off through the art of burlesque.
There is so much romance involved in Christmas that it's hard to not burlesque for Christmas.Lottie Ellington
For many burlesque performers, the connection between the performing art and the holidays is obvious.
"It's tongue in cheek. It's being cheeky. It's mistletoe. It's cute little costumes," Lottie Ellington explained.
There’s also the fact that both burlesque and Christmas are about people coming together.
"There's those that are in love for Christmas and those that are scorned for Christmas. There is so much romance involved in Christmas that it's hard to not burlesque for Christmas."
In Dimondale, a crowd gathered in mid-December for Tease A Gogo’s annual holiday performance.
The showcase has been running in mid-Michigan for more than a decade.
Shelby Wiborn produces the show and has been involved since the beginning.
"On our rotating cast, we have pretty much every type of burlesque you can imagine," she said.
These days, burlesque is much more than a traditional slow strip tease.
"We have a lot more like neo-burlesque, a lot more floor work, a lot more pole-inspired," Wiborn said. "There's nerdlesque which is usually like pop culture-inspired. We have some draglesque performers; drag artists that also do burlesque.
Lottie Ellington’s performances include some classic elements, but she’s also willing to be a bit comedic. Instead of starting her first number of the night in a gown or a robe, she wore a long, modest skirt and a big Christmas sweater.
"This is the person at your office that when they say 'ugly Christmas sweater,' they're like confused because this is just their normal Christmas sweater. They just love Christmas that much," Ellington said.
As This Christmas by Donny Hathaway plays, Ellington teased the crowd by lifting her skirt to show a bit of her calf. Eventually, she took off the sweater to show garlands of gaudy tinsel covering her chest. And then, she did her big reveal with a large red bow on top of her panties, giving out a few smaller present bows that were stuck on her to some audience members.
"It's meant to be silly," she said. "You're able to get some balance, so you have a kind of upbeat, silly, then a bump and grind to kind of balance it out."
The show has a variety of acts. One performer came out in a full, furry Krampus costume, invoking the mythical Christmas creature as she tossed around baby dolls before doing a strip tease. Others used large feathery fans to draw out every reveal.
In between sets, the cast members got ready in a small green room, rolling up their tights, touching up makeup and putting on new costumes.
Oshun Hathor came down from Bay City for the show. They say it's a privilege to bring their art to new audiences.
"It’s such a specific show for them. It's not like their regular thing that they get to do, so they treat it like a special event, and they're so receptive to it," said Hathor.
As a drag performer that gets booked in a burlesque show, it's really opened doors for me for like body positivity, and like being able to accept my body as a trans woman.Zooey Gaychanel
Much of the cast belongs to the LGBTQ community, like Zooey Gaychanel.
"As a drag performer that gets booked in a burlesque show, it's really opened doors for me for like body positivity, and like being able to accept my body as a trans woman and show it off in a way that I wouldn't otherwise without the help of burlesque," she said.
Gaychanel took a moment to thank the show’s producer Shelby Wiborn for booking her, which almost had Wiborn tearing up.
"The audiences are welcoming and always supportive, even at this venue, any other venue we've been at, like, 'Tease' is like the big leagues for burlesque in Michigan," Gaychanel said.
Before long, it was time for the second act of the show, and of course, there was more glitz and glamor and reveals. And once all the performances were over, there was one final bow from the cast.
While the show is done for the year, it’ll come back just in time for another romantic holiday: Valentine’s Day.
