HEY YOU! Shhh, sneak over here and take a peek at something naughty. Don’t be shy, because these girlies certainly aren’t. What? You’ve never been to a burlesque show? Well, I’ll be sure to warn the lovely ladies that this is your first time! And even if you’re a veteran in this seductive sub-culture, the Carousel Cabaret is a creative force you have to see to believe. The Carousel Cabaret combines dance, live music, acrobatics, vaudeville comedy and traditional burlesque strip tease with astonishing ease, starring an outspoken announcer and four of the most dynamically beautiful vixens Texas has to offer.
Based in Austin, the Carousel Cabaret is not your everyday show. In recent years, burlesque performance has made a rapid comeback, most often performed by would-be pin-up starlets who invariably strip-tease. Of course you’ll see skin at a Carousel Cabaret show, but these young beauties have a knack of making you wait for it, cramming their show full of bawdy choreography, live music by the girls, even their trademark interactive game show What’s Up My Skirt! Never redundant, always inspired, the cast has made it their duty to make all costumes and sets, which surround their sparkling centerpiece, a 100% portable 8’ dancing pole.
The women of the Carousel Cabaret are known as the Sillie Fillies, keeping with the circus theme of their mesmerizing atmosphere. The Sillie Fillies are Alley Ooops (aka Ooops the Clown), Lady Bangs, Abbey Rose, and Cherry Pop, and each has character for miles. For instance, Abbey Rose (made famous for her B-side) is an "innocent" country girl, while Cherry Pop—well, need I say more? Alley Ooops is the resident acrobat, doing dozens of tricks (and the tricks ain’t complaining). The legendary Lady Bangs (boy don’t she) has an unheard of elegance, with more than a decade of dance and choreography training backing up her hypnotic, sometimes outrageous sketches and solos. All the ladies perform solos, duets, trios, and as a full group in the Sillie Fillie Kick Line, like prize winning thoroughbreds in vintage lingerie.
I’ve seen many “burlesque” shows, and this one has something different about it. That must be why the 1st annual Texas Burlesque Festival heralded the Carousel Cabaret as honorary Best in Show in the Fall of 2007. Don’t miss this sometimes uproarious, always sexy blast from the past. It’s well worth staying up past your bedtime, and may lend a few ideas on how to improve it!
Check out our photo gallery for Carousel Cabaret photography. High-resolution versions for print are available for most images; contact for details.
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