Christmastime in New York may bring to mind ice skating at Rockefeller Center, the wafting aroma of chestnuts roasting on a street-cart's open fire, Channel 11's Yule Log or Midnight Mass at St. Patrick's. What you might not immediately think of is burlesque, the risque performance art that blends dance, singing, comedy and strip-tease.
But New York City's burgeoning burlesque scene is home to not one, but two Christmas-themed shows this year.
Company XIV's "Nutcracker Rouge" is re-imagining the holiday favorite.
"It is about an awakening for the main character of Clara," said Austin McCormick, who conceived, directed and choreographed the show. "I thought wouldn't it be amazing if the Kingdom of Sweets was sort of this magical world of sensual discovery?"
The Julliard-trained McCormick grew up performing the traditional "Nutcracker" ballet. "For me, incorporating burlesque is really about playing with the classical art form, having a sense of humor, mocking it, seducing," McCormick said. "So, for me 'The Nutcracker' is the perfect piece to do that, because everybody knows it."
Angie Pontani of the Pontani Sisters thinks burlesque and Christmas are the perfect combination.
"Burlesque is all about having fun, having a good time, enjoying yourself with family and friends," she said. "It's got a great dash of humor and satire, so it gets everybody laughing. That's really what the holiday is about."
Pontani's show, "Burlesque-a-Pades: A Christmas Shimmy," is a spin-off of Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol."
"I'm definitely classic in my style," Pontani said. "Meaning, I emulate more of a 1940's, 1950's image of a burlesque dancer. So you might think of somebody like Tempest Storm, who is in a tight-fitting gown, very feminine, lots of bumps and grinds. It's Marilyn Monroe on the street corner. But within that, we try to modernize."
"Christmas Shimmy" is at Le Poisson Rouge December 5th. "Nutcracker Rouge" is running through January 4th at Company XIV's theater-lounge home in the Village.