Revival of the lost art of burlesque proves to be a crowd-pleaser

The women of Cherry Blossom Cabaret do not do striptease. They are, however, very much into the art of the tease.

Founded a year ago, the Honolulu troupe has been nurturing its own local revival of burlesque — that vaudeville-inspired variety-show blend of bawdy satirical comedy, music and tasteful tease. Born in the late 19th century and all but dead by the middle of the 20th, burlesque has enjoyed a post-millennial mini-resurgence, thanks to a handful of enterprising left- and right-coast lounges (Los Angeles' Forty Deuce, Manhattan's The Slipper Room) looking to lure fickle club kids with a contemporary spin on a playfully sexy old-school art form.

After a year spent honing its craft — mostly as guest performers at turntablist parties, local rock shows and indie film fests — Cherry Blossom Cabaret follows suit on its own terms. Conceptualized from top to bottom by Cherry Blossom, Saturday's "Speakeasy" at Mercury Bar marks the troupe's first monthly showcase solely dedicated to its cheeky charms.

But back to that discussion of the art of the tease.

"We always wear underwear. Always!" said Lola Love (stage names only, please), about Cherry Blossom's onstage terms for tease. "You won't catch most of us in less than a bra and underwear. Sometimes you might get pasties. But that's rare. ... We're very modest."

Fashionably modest, maybe. But not creatively modest. Cherry Blossom Cabaret, you see, most enjoys messing with burlesque traditions and audience expectations.

The traditional burlesque balloon dance featuring a comely dancer slowly popping her costume of body-covering balloons with a pin until only a few strategically placed ones are left? The girl is still comely. But Cherry Blossom does its popping with lit cigarettes. Sally Rand's famous fan-dance illusion of bare skin peek-a-booed between oversized hand-held feathered fans? Cherry Blossom uses hubcaps in ways Cadillac never envisioned.

"There aren't many rules in our troupe," said Lola. "You are allowed to do whatever you are comfortable (with) artistically."

Dancers design their own choreography and costumes, choose props and select the soundtrack. Music choices at a Cherry Blossom show are more likely to span a range of genres — including samba, hip-hop, rockabilly, surf rock, blues, metal and goth — than hew strictly to burlesque's traditional jazz and big-band-based soundtrack.

A few of Cherry Blossom's women opt to get more risque than others. But even at its most stripped down, the troupe's burlesque is more likely to proffer the illusion of seeing more than meets the eye.

"We try to keep it somewhat classy," said Lola. "We want to be able to perform anywhere. We don't want stripping."

Cherry Blossom has grown from the two dancers (Lola and founder Meghan Mayhem) at its July 2006 debut at an Ong King Art Center party to its current nine. Its members also claim a melting-pot array of ethnicities and full-time day jobs. Cherry Blossom's 20- and 30-something-aged ladies include a special-education instructor, photographer, journalist, non-profit staffer, mortgage-industry worker and graphic designer, among others. Three are moms.

"Being a part of Cherry Blossom allows me to challenge myself," said Catwings, a writer and KTUH DJ offstage, who joined last October. "It's my new creative outlet. I've always wanted to get into singing and dancing more. This allows me to push those boundaries."

Much of Cherry Blossom's growing popularity so far has come from word of mouth passed by a loyal, similarly aged fan base — split evenly between men and women — who frequented the underground arts scene events that offered the troupe its first gigs and invited it back. Speakeasy was born out of fan requests for a regular event that was all Cherry Blossom.

Speakeasy will feature Cherry Blossom's dance and comedic skits along with a trio of entertainers vying for a performance spot at a future cabaret event. Auditions are open to anyone doing just about anything "as long as what they do has an element of tease," said Catwings.

A turntablist and live band will do for Speakeasy what Cherry Blossom once did at other events — accent it. A new all-male Cherry Blossom-guided "boy-lesque" troupe named the Cherry Bomb Boys may be ready to perform by Saturday's first Speakeasy.

Now a solid business entity booked through October for private events and one-off shows of its own design, Cherry Blossom is moving on to its next goal: even more elaborate productions for venues such as the Hawai'i Theatre and/or a regular dinner or cocktail show. Cherry Blossom feels more than ready for its mainstream close-up.

And if you think the cabaret is an exercise in objectifying women, think again.

"It's empowering to have the choice to do this," said Lola. "It's not demeaning. There isn't a man telling me what to do. It's me using my power.

"We want it to be fun. But at the same time, we want to express that we're women, we're strong, we're independent and we're going to do this because we choose to."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.