The Salt City Burlesque Festival is a celebration of burlesque and vaudeville arts to be held in Syracuse, New York over Memorial Weekend 2023.  

The Salt City Burlesque Festival is a celebration of burlesque and vaudeville arts to be held in Syracuse, New York over Memorial Weekend 2023. 

The two-day event will include a total of 3 showcases, workshops, and a closing party featuring a plethora of local, regional, and national/international performance artists at The Palace Theater and Wunderbar.

The event will be headlined by the current reigning "Miss Exotic World" also known as the Burlesque Hall of Fame "Queen of Burlesque" Lou Lou la Duchesse de Riere. An afro-indigenous artist hailing from Kahnawake, Quebec, and recently voted the second most influential burlesque figure in the world, Lou Lou will be returning to Syracuse for the second time this May. She will perform her award-winning act on The Palace stage in our first official large comeback since we last hosted the previous Miss Exotic World in February of 2020, just 2 weeks shy of total shut down across the globe. The troupe is extremely proud to come full circle and hopes to make the festival an annual event.

Feature performers include Kitty Kin Evil (Ottawa, ON) and Maestro Maestra (Syracuse, NY).

SATURDAY- May 27, 2023

THE PALACE THEATRE

2384 James St., Syracuse, NY 13206

18+ w/ID    $40+   Tickets available through Eventbrite or $50 at the door

Doors open at 2:00pm

3:00-5:00pm Matinee Show- Dahlia Strack, Nastya Nice, Chrissy Bunz, Stella Blue, Dandy Red & Sizzlin’ Liz, Tallulah Sweets, Teasy Roosevelt, Femme De Violette, Tessa TrueHeart, Sparkle Royale, Eerie Rottica, Lux & Nox, Divine Darlings, Lorem Velour, Noelle Reign, and Kitty Kin Evil.

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5:00-6:30pm Vending and Virtual Cabaret/Intermission entertainment on the big screen

6:30-9:00pm Cuse City Dancers, Whiskey Tango Sideshow, Lulu La Femme, Gina the Machina, Stormy Devine, Harley Foxx, Little Mx. Bunny, CeCe Bombay, Ruby Mirage, Kopy Cat, Viktor Devonne, Mustang Mayhem, Ruby Sparkles, Lady Fingers, Nina Bel Vande, Dickie Smalls, Maestro Maestra, and Lou Lou la Duchesse de Riere.

9:30-10:30pm Musical Entertainment- Starting Off Red

-Theatre will close to public at 11:00pm

SUNDAY-May 28, 2023

WUNDERBAR

201 S. West St., Syracuse, NY 13202

21+ w/ID        $30+   Tickets available through Eventbrite

Doors open at 1:00pm

1:30-4:00pm Matinee Show- Erin the Axe, Harlow Holiday, Lulu La Femme, Gina the Machina, Sadie Soiree, Ryder Knightly, Doll E. Deville, Chrissy Bunz & Ghula Mortisse, Raven Nightingale, Kitty Kin Evil, and Lou Lou la Duchesse de Riere.

4:00-6:00pm Closing Party featuring DJ Shaykey

-Wunderbar will close to the public at 6:00pm

WORKSHOPS- 

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TAMING THE BOA- With Kitty Kin Evil

Saturday, May 27

9:30-11:00am 

The Palace Theatre

$35 Open to anyone over 18

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Whip, caress and seduce the audience with this slinky sultry prop. Dance to tame a boa and make it look effortless. Added bonus of tips and tricks on boa purchasing, maintenance, and feather quality type.

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Boas provided, but if you have a preferred boa to use please bring it.

Limited to: 20 participants

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This workshop is movement based and will take place on the stage of The Palace Theatre in Syracuse, as a special ticketed portion of the inaugural Salt City Burlesque Festival. It is open to anyone over the age of 18 with an interest in burlesque.

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Your Instructor:

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Kitty Kin-Evil is the headmistress of Ottawa Burlesque Academy and has been performing burlesque for over a decade. She is the talent president & director of the Ottawa International Burlesque Festival. Known as “The Superior Posterior” she specializes in classic, comedic burlesque, aerial hoop artistry, and showgirl fans.

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GIVING 'EM THE BUSINESS- With Lou Lou La Duchesse

Sunday, May 28

9:30-11:00am

Wunderbar

$35 Open to anyone over 18

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This theory workshop takes you from the trials of breaking onto the scene to navigating the landscape of touring, headlining, and producing!

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The workshop is lecture style and will take place in the black box theatre of Wunderbar in downtown Syracuse, as a special ticketed portion of the inaugural Salt City Burlesque Festival. It is open to anyone over the age of 18 with an interest in burlesque.

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Your Instructor:

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Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière, is an internationally renowned neo-burlesque dancer, and teacher hailing from Kahnawake Quebec.

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She began her burlesque career in 2005 in Montreal with troupe Blue Light Burlesque. She had since headlined shows across North America and has performed in New Orleans, Las Vegas, New York, Texas, Detroit, and Chicago.

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She has been voted into the Burlesque Top 50 by 21st Century Burlesque since 2018 and is currently ranked as the number one most influential burlesque figure in Canada.

In September 2018 she made history by becoming the first Indigenous woman to be crowned New Orleans Queen of Burlesque. She holds titles from the 2019 Burlesque Hall of Fame, including Most Innovative and is the current Reigning Miss Exotic World 2022.

Event details will be updated regularly including photos and bios of each performer on our socials. Please check back for more information. Questions? Email us at saltcityburlesque@gmail.com

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This project is made possible with funds from the City of Syracuse Arts & Culture Recovery Fund Program, a regrant program of the City of Syracuse and administered by CNY Arts.