14 DAY TRIAL // Christina Aguilera’s feature film debut, “Burlesque,” opened in the US over Thanksgiving weekend and, though critics hated it, audiences loved it. Professional burlesque dancers, however, were offended by it: so much so that some of them are even quitting the business.
Among the flaws of the film, critics listed the script, director Steve Antin’s approach and poor editing, which made the entire pic look like an extended music video for Aguilera.
Burlesque dancers also found the portrayal of their art so dumbed-down and commercialized that they’re ashamed at having to be associated with it – so they’re quitting, they say for the New York Post.
Two such professional dancers say for the Post that burlesque is more than what’s depicted in this poorly documented film. It’s a form of art, laden with message and not just dancing in skimpy outfits, they argue.
“What do I do in my show you wouldn’t see in that movie?” a dancer going by the stagename Valentine says. “Burlesque!” In other words, there’s nothing burlesque about “Burlesque.”
“Burlesque is a way to parody things that are going on in our lives. My show is very political in its nature. I also make fun of America’s obsession with celebrity. Even in the film ‘Cabaret,’ they’re making fun of the Nazis,” Valentine says.
“[‘Burlesque’] just misses the mark with that title. They could’ve called it something else. Maybe ‘The Adventures of Cher and Christina’, ” the dancer says.
So, even if she was on an indeterminate contract at the East Village’s Ella lounge, she’s ending her two-year contract because she doesn’t want people to think her burlesque act is anything like what is shown in the film.
DeeDee Luxe, who’s been working as a burlesque dancer for 15 years, agrees: the writers for the film didn’t do their research beforehand, so they presented the public with a distorted image of what burlesque is really like.
“It had nothing to do with burlesque, and that’s a shame because people will see it and say, ‘Oh, that’s burlesque.’ It’s definitely not educating anyone,” DeeDee says.
Jo Weldon, founder of the New York School of Burlesque and a 30-year veteran in the art of burlesque, also says the film is very bad, completely missing the mark on what the act is really about.