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Burlesque show offers bare facts

Kispiox Valley set to host an evening of burlesque with a focus on LNG called Boom and Bust: Frack Off!
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Jemma Riot

The liquid natural gas industry will be challenged by none other than scantily-clad women at the Kispiox Valley Hall, but that’s not all that will be challenged.

WildeRiot Entertainment is bringing its awareness-raising burlesque performance in a show titled Boom and Bust: Frack Off!, which aims to raise awareness about LNG, body image and what is socially acceptable.

Boom and Bust will also be a homecoming, as half of the two-woman troupe is River Wilde, who hails from the Kispiox Valley.

Wilde is looking forward to the return and using her various talents to get more than just blood flowing. It’s about the ideas that are woven into the show, she said.

“Anything that we see where somebody says, ‘This is what should be happening,’” Wilde said. “We take those things and say, ‘really?’ We exaggerate them. Everything is over-the-top from the makeup to the delivery of the message.”

The definition of burlesque is very key, she added.

“It was the fart jokes, the crass,” Wilde said. “Burlesque is an adjective, as in to burlesque something. It means turn it on its head.”

The idea being focused on in Boom and Bust is fracking (hydraulic fracturing), which is the use of large amounts of chemicals, sand and water to fracture rock and release the embedded gas.

“We challenge people to think about what’s sexy,” Wilde said. “Right now LNG is the sexiest economic idea being forwarded by our government.

“Body image and beauty are not one-size fits all things, despite what is shown on TV and in movies.”

The movie Burlesque starring Cher and Christina Aguillera is shunned by the real-world burlesque community, Wilde said.

“What they do in that movie is cabaret,” she added. “With burlesque there’s no real separation between the audience and the crowd.”

There will be an Academy of Yum: School of Burlesque 101, ‘Redefining Beauty One Body at a Time,’ class Feb. 13 in Smithers at the Central Park building, where some lucky participants could earn themselves some limelight at the main event, Wilde said.

“We might need some kittens,” Wilde said. “But it’s going to be a great introduction regardless.”

The course costs $35 (early bird before Feb. 6) and $45 afterward. For more information visit WildeRiot’s Boom&Bust Burlesque 101 Facebook page.