Behind the burlesque

I’ve never witnessed a train wreck before but am told that they’re impossible to look away from. A Wink and a Smile is a similar experience. However, it isn’t riveting because of the horror but because of the sheer oddity of it all.

The film is centered around Miss Indigo Blue, who founded the Academy of Burlesque in Seattle. Although there are similar academies in places like New York, Denver and Chicago, Seattle found itself lacking. Since 2003 she has trained hundreds of potential burlesque dancers and later this year will open a workshop specifically for “boy-lesque” performers.

For each class, she accepts 10 new students of all ages, sizes and genders. A Wink and a Smile follows one class from day one through six weeks of instruction in the art of burlesque and on to graduation. When asked if the class had objections to being filmed, director Deirdre Anne Simmons said that she promised the women that it wouldn’t be “a reality TV version of the class. [He] was interested in how the women transformed themselves into burlesque performers rather than sensationalizing their journey.”

Burlesque in the old days was a form of entertainment almost entirely performed by men as a way of mocking and living outside of mainstream theater. In the early 1900s this changed due to a female group of performers from England. Since then, burlesque has become a female dominated art form that is comprised of old fashioned striptease combined with humor, political satire and social commentary.

But striptease in the classic sense is much different than going to a strip club. As Indigo puts it, “Performers start out dressed, then magic happens and they leave the stage less dressed.” But they are never totally nude. So, during the course of the class, each performer must choose an identity and create an act around it that is more about performing than nudity.

But don’t put burlesque entertainers in the same category as strippers, Indigo warns. “It’s a question of economics. As a naked stripper I made a lot more money but there was no humor or political message. I just danced naked. As a Burlesque performer, I can combine sexuality with comedy and social commentary.”

Each of the women are there for different reasons. However, the underlying need is to appreciate and show off their bodies. When asked what the film’s message was, Timmons stated, “It’s about embracing who you are at any given moment and using that in your act. Life is short, chase your dream, whatever that dream is. Lose your fear and go for it.”

The documentary is also interspersed with footage of seasoned burlesque performers doing their entire acts. These acts are not restricted to women as three of the performers are men.

Ultra, whose act is a combination of classic burlesque and lip-syncing, is actually fascinating until you find out that the song he’s lip-syncing to is about the joy of crystal meth. Then it’s just kind of sad. Waxy Moon, on the other hand, can be described only as a man in love with his wedding dress.

The two most interesting features of the film are the music and the technique used for transitioning between weeks of the course. The music is an odd collection of accordion and circus tunes that are absolutely right for the documentary. They seem so perfectly in tune with the subject matter that you don’t even notice it at first. 

Timmons says that it was a combination of her personal tastes and the difficulty in getting licensing that led to the unique combination of sound. Ultimately, she ended up “asking Orchestra l’Pow to create a lot of the music for us.” Added to contributions from Circus Contraption and Pink Martini, it makes for a delightfully amusing soundtrack.

While Timmons’ ultimate goal is to make musical feature films, her current work is in female-oriented documentaries. Her next project is Pretty Funny Women, a documentary on the subject of female stand up comedians, which is currently in production.

Overall the film is worth seeing, but make sure you get your snacks before going in because once it starts, A Wink And A Smile is impossible to look away from.