Interview: Jon Manning on the Burlesque Documentary “The Glitter Tribe”

Posted on February 28, 2017 at 7:50 am

Jon Manning is the director of Burlesque: Heart of the Glitter Tribe, an engaging and enlightening new film about modern-day burlesque performers who, as one of them says, combine “dancing, sexy, pretty, funny” in their performances. They have great passion for their work, their audience, and their fellow performers and they love what they do. Another one says in the film that when people tell her she will end up a spinster because of her burlesque lifestyle, she says, “I’m going to be a spinster that was a showgirl so I’m okay with it.” The film is in limited release March 3, 2017 and on VOD/Itunes March 7, 2017.

In an interview, Manning talked about what he saw and what he learned.

What makes someone a great burlesque performer?

You might want to ask a performer that question but here goes – a great burlesque performer is one that takes seriously their artform, their performance, their costume, their music, their family of performers, their audience – in the playful presentation of a sexy, sometimes funny 5 minutes of performance art. For, generally, almost no money.

These are the 98% of burlesque performers around the country that are bank tellers, graphic artists and chefs during the day.

This is not relative to (and this film is not about) the small handful of international performers such as Dita Von Tease that create big extravagant Las Vegas style shows, and have major international sponsors.

What goes into the song selection? What makes a song right for burlesque?

I have found that usually bsq performers select a piece of music that is very specific to the routine they are doing – either bc of it’s irony, specific singer or that they are exploring in their performance.

Our film explores “neo-burlesque” which is generally different than “classic” often in the types and styles of music the performers choose.

How does a burlesque performer develop her or his on-stage persona?

It’s usually an outgrowth from an aspect of their own personality. They then begin to see what works on-stage with the audience and slowly they begin to create their own persona that is unique and different than other performers.

Are burlesque performers competitive with each other? Do they enjoy watching each other perform?

I can’t speak to whether or not they are competitive with each other. As dancers and performers I image that they are. We looked very closely at one troupe that works intimately with each other in their chosen burlesque family.

My experience is that they love to watch other dancers/performers – especially if those other performers are at the top of their game!

Some of the performers in the film have always been outgoing and enjoyed being on stage. Others were originally shy and found the freedom to perform very liberating. How does that affect their acts and their relationship to the audience?

No doubt that their fears or assets are front and center in their comfort on-stage. Remember that these dancers are also actors for those few minutes on stage – with narrative and persona being adapted to their routine. So there may be a lot to overcome in who they actually are to what they want to be on-stage.

This is why most bsq performers find it empowering to be on-stage and getting immediate feedback from their audiences.

Who is the audience for burlesque? Is it different from the audience for strip shows?

Everyone can enjoy a burlesque show! A strip club usually has a completely different vibe and intention of from the audience. My experience of a strip club is that it is also very carnal and mostly attended by men. Bsq is kind of the opposite. The sexual aspect is usually done with a lot of fun and tease and usually only at the very end of the performance and my shows I have ever attended are at least 50% women in the audience.

In an era where everything is available online, what is it that brings the audience to a burlesque show?

People are realizing that life is bigger than their phones. There is a whole vibe and excitement at a bsq show. You have to be in the audience to feel it. You can also usually talk with the performers afterward a show.

So many of the performers have day jobs and other commitments. Why is burlesque so important to them?

Love of performance, empowerment, chosen family. Did I mention that is was a bawdy and raucus good time?!

Burlesque

Posted on March 1, 2011 at 8:01 am

Somewhere on the continuum that connects “Showgirls,” “Glitter,” and drag shows is a place for “Burlesque,” a vanity project from producer Christina Aguilera for pop star and would-be actress Christina Aguilera. That doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining. It just means it is not a good movie. It’s more hallucination than story, but hey, If you think of it as a slightly deranged long music video divathon it can be a lot of fun.

Aguilera plays Ally, a spunky small-town girl who buys a one-way ticket to Los Angeles and find a home at one of those only-in-movies places that is about to go broke but is always packed to capacity because it puts on big-budget musical numbers with expensive (if tiny) costumes and choreography. Oh, and at least one regular customer is a zillionaire (Eric Dane of “Grey’s Anatomy”).

She starts as a waitress under the direction of a friendly bartender (Cam Gigandet of the “Twilight” series, “Easy A”) and talks her way into getting hired as a dancer. The club is owned by Tess (Cher looking so diva-esque she might as well be a drag queen playing Cher) and her ex-husband Vince (Peter Gallagher, looking seedy). Vince wants Tess to take the generous offer from the zillionaire. Even though she really does not have another option (she doesn’t even try to find one), she just keeps on going, attaching bugle beads with a glue gun, counseling a girl with an unexpected pregnancy, and, of course not just creating all the musical numbers but belting out the only songs in the show that are not lip-synched.

And then it turns out that little ex-waitress has what another character refers to as “mutant lungs.” It also turns out that not being good at blending in may be a problem in the chorus, but it’s part of what makes a star.

The story is dumb. The dialogue is intended to be sassy; it’s also dumb. Aguilera cannot act and Cher, who used to be able to (she was hilarious in her most recent film, “Stuck on You” in 2003), has two insurmountable obstacles: her face doesn’t move and her character is supposed to be both imperious and tenderhearted, savvy but clueless. However, Aguilera is indeed a star and the musical numbers are entertaining. They may be sadly chopped up by people who spend a lot of time choreographing dances and then think the audience can’t pay attention to more than one step at a time. But I appreciated the shout-outs to greats like Marilyn Monroe, Billie Holliday, Bob Fosse, and Madonna, and respect Aguilera’s respect for their traditions and for burlesque as well. It is still a lot of fun to see those bugle beads bounce.

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Holiday Movie Highlights 2010

Posted on November 13, 2010 at 8:05 am

The holiday movie season kicks off this week with one of the biggest movies of the year, the second-to-last in the Harry Potter series. Here are some of the movies I am most looking forward to for the rest of this year:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (November 19) He who most not be named has hidden pieces of his soul in seven different places that must be found so he can be vanquished for good. Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave their beloved Hogwarts for a treacherous and terrifying journey as the final battle looms.

Burlesque (November 24) Cher is the old-timer who coaches would-be performer Christina Aguilera in this big-talent, skimpy-costumes diva-thon, also starring Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci, and Alan Cumming.

Love and Other Drugs (November 24) Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal reunite (they were an unhappy couple in “Brokeback Mountain”) in this very sexy love story set in the midst of the boom in pharmaceutical marketing during the early years of anxiety and ED medication. Director Edward Zwick (“thirtysomething,” “Legends of the Fall,” “Blood Diamond”) expertly blends comedy, romance, sex, and healthcare into one of the most moving films of the year.

Tangled Just one last fairy tale princess had not yet had the full-on Disney treatment, so now Rapunzel gets her turn. Mandy Moore provides the voice of the princess in the tower who believes that the evil witch who kidnapped her is her mother and “Chuck’s” Zachary Levi is the swashbuckling thief who discovers her when he is trying to find a place to hide. With Pixar’s John Lasseter in charge and a tuneful score from Alan Menken (“The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast”) this will be a treat for the whole family.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (December 10) The third in the C.S. Lewis series finds Lucy and Edmund Pevensie returning to Narnia through an enchanted painting. Prince Caspian, now king, takes them on a boat called the Dawn Trader to find the seven lords his evil uncle banished from Narnia years before.

The King’s Speech (December 10, limited release) Colin Firth is a lock for a second Best Actor nomination in a row in this true story of King George VI (father of the current Queen Elizabeth) who needed help with his speech impediment when his brother resigned and he unexpectedly became the country’s leader just as WWII was beginning. Geoffrey Rush plays the highly unorthodox speech therapist and Helena Bonham Carter is utterly charming as the Queen.

How Do You Know (December 17) James L. Brooks, the man behind “Terms of Endearment,” “Broadcast News,” and “As Good as it Gets” knows how to make us care about characters with big flaws who struggle to find love. Reese Witherspoon plays a former athlete torn between a baseball player (Owen Wilson) and a disgraced executive (Paul Rudd), co-starring Brooks’ lucky charm, Jack Nicholson.

Tron: Legacy (December 17) This fanboy favorite is the sequel to the 1982 cult classic starring Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner as men who became characters in a racing computer game. The original was ahead of its time but the sequel (in 3D, of course) looks as though that time is finally here, with eye candy galore as the son of Bridges’ character (Garrett Hedlund) enters the game through an old arcade machine and finds his father. Bridges and Boxleitner return and are joined by Olivia Wilde and Michael Sheen and a lot of special effects that really look very special.

Gulliver’s Travels (December 22) Jack Black plays Gulliver, whose journey takes him to a land where the people are all about six inches tall in this film based on the Jonathan Swift classic novel. The cast includes Emily Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada”) as the princess and Jason Segal.

True Grit (December 22) The Coen brothers are behind this remake of the film that brought John Wayne an Oscar, a western about a little girl who hires a gunman to find the man who killed her father. Matt Damon and “No Country for Old Men” star Josh Brolin join promising newcomer Hallee Steinfeld in what is sure to be a post-post-modern take on the Old West.

Country Strong (in limited release December 22) Gwyneth Paltrow learned to play guitar for this story of a country singer trying for a comeback. Real-life country star (and fine actor) Tim McGraw plays her husband and Leighton Meester plays a beauty-queen and upcoming singer.

Casino Jack (in limited release December 29) Kevin Spacey plays lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was one of the most powerful and connected men in Washington until it turned out he was a crook.

Also coming up and worth noting: Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in “The Tourist,” a thriller about a traveler who becomes caught up in intrigue and adventure when he meets a beautiful woman; “Tiny Furniture,” the acclaimed debut from 24-year-old writer/director/star Lena Dunham based on her own experience of trying to find her way after graduation — and co-starring her own mother and best friend and filmed in her parents’ apartment; “Made in Dagenham,” the true story of the fight for equal pay for women in 1968 England, starring Sally Hawkins and Miranda Richardson; “Nutcracker in 3D,” the classic ballet filmed in immersive splendor; “Black Swan,” a twisted story about ambition and power set in a ballet company, starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis; “Night Catches Us,” about a former Black Panther returning home in 1976 for his father’s funeral and confronting painful memories, with Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington; “The Company Men,” with Ben Affleck as a downsized executive trying to find a way to move forward, “The Illusionist” is the latest animated film from the people who made the fabulous “Triplets of Belleville;” and “Saturday Night,” a documentary about what goes on behind the scenes at “Saturday Night Live,” directed by “127 Hours” and “Howl” star and all-around polymath James Franco.

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