This weekend, the sensual stylings of Miss Cabaretta will descend upon Taiwan in a cloud of crystals and tulle. One of the few burlesque performers in Japan, Miss Cabaretta — real name Deka Tamagi — will perform tonight in Taichung and tomorrow in Taipei as part of Rock N’ Roll Circus.
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The voluptuous beauty’s act takes cues from burlesque performers of the 1950s and 1960s. Swaying and swirling gracefully across the stage, she caresses herself and her wavy black hair before slowly taking off pieces of her tasseled and bejeweled costumes.
Miss Cabaretta’s stage image is modeled in part after American pinup legends Bettie Page and Blaze Starr, but says she also draws on an eclectic bouquet of inspirations, including Italian actresses Monica Bellucci and Sophia Loren and the classic films of Japanese director Hideo Gosha. She has collaborated with avant-garde filmmaker and poet Sono Shion, and appeared in music videos for ground-breaking Japanese musicians D’erlanger, Micro and Rock ‘A’ Trench.
The performer’s musical tastes are diverse — she cites 1960s Cuban jazz and music from the West African nation of Guinea as influences. “I love drums and strong rhythms. Blues, jazz, rock, funk, classic, I listen to any sort of music. Any kind of music can be my energy!” wrote Miss Cabaretta in an e-mail. Japanese mod rock band Minnesota Voodoo Men will accompany Miss Cabaretta’s shows.
She first discovered burlesque while working as a backup dancer in 2001. Captivated by the sex appeal of pole dancers, Miss Cabaretta asked Erotica Bamboo, another Japanese burlesque performer, if there was anything “more gorgeous” than pole dancing. Erotica Bamboo responded, “definitely burlesque!” Miss Cabaretta’s own stage name was created as something she felt was suitable for “a princess dancing in a cabaret.”
According to Miss Cabaretta, what distinguishes burlesque from stripping is the former’s focus on strategically concealing the naked body and preserving its “mystery and allurement.”
“Burlesque is not stripping but teasing,” she says. Any criticism of it as merely prurient is due to negative attitudes about the human body, she adds. But Miss Cabaretta also downplays the idea that burlesque is a serious art form: “Burlesque is not an art but entertainment, isn’t it? Don’t think. Enjoy it like a cocktail.”
On the Net: pksp.jp/cabaretta; www.myspace.com/miss_cabaretta
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