This is not a typical burlesque show,” says Jenna Noah, aka Madame Merci, co-founder of Conscious Burlesque and creator of Pussy Grabs Back. “This is a reclamation of the true essence of burlesque.”
Historically, burlesque was a form of political activism, says Noah, who also works as a psychotherapist in Boulder. “We’re using our bodies and our words and our stories and our poetry as a form of activism to take back what was taken from us,” she says.
Pussy Grabs Back — a satirical reference to President Trump’s infamous comment — will be performed on August 17, 19, 24, 25 and 26 at the Wesley Foundation Chapel at CU, as a part of the Boulder Fringe Festival.
Playing on the themes of sexuality and politics, pantsuit-clad Noah stars as Madame President. Sitting within the “Clitoral Office,” she’s supported by her Cabinet of dancers, each of whom has created a piece “based on the world that they would like to see.”
Dances touch on topics ranging from war, to the arts and education, to reproductive freedom, to the environment. One of the more “intense” pieces — performed by a woman with a biracial son —confronts police brutality by using a projector to show the faces of mothers whose sons have died at the hands of law enforcement.
While the majority of the performers are female and Noah considers herself a feminist, she wants to make it clear that Pussy Grabs Back is “not about men versus women.” Instead, the dances are about “the reclamation of sexuality as a free expression for all.”
Noah says that attendees can expect to “potentially be challenged … be turned on, potentially to be turned off.”
While acknowledging the pieces may not align with everyone’s beliefs, she maintains she doesn’t want to “create a further divide politically.” Instead, the purpose of the show is to foster “more dialogue and understanding about difference.”
Once Boulder Fringe Festival is over, Pussy Grabs Back plans to take the show on the road to several cities across the U.S., and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund it.
On the Bill: Pussy Grabs Back — Boulder Fringe Festival. Wesley Foundation/Chapel at CU Boulder, 1290 Folsom St., Boulder.
6:30 p.m. Aug. 17; 5 p.m. Aug. 19; 5 p.m. Aug. 24; 6:30 p.m. Aug. 25; 8 p.m. Aug. 26. Tickets are $13-15. Audience members under 17 require accompaniment by a parent or adult guardian for nudity, adult language and sexual situations. BoulderBurlesque.com
