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Burlesque performers don’t let theatre fire stop their show

Cheesecake Burlesque Revue raising money for PEERS with Saturday night performance of Hot Pink
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The Cheesecake Burlesque group performs at the Belfry Theatre on May 26 in support of PEERS. (File contributed)

Get ready for sparkles, feather boas and a whole lot of laughs; the Cheesecake Burlesque Revue is performing this weekend.

The troupe has performed across the world and is heading to the Belfry Theatre tomorrow night (May 26) to put on its Hot Pink show in support of the PEERS Victoria Resources Society, a sex-worker advocacy group.

“This is the eighth time we’ve done a show for them, we feel like they do really great work for the community,” said Cheesecake performer, Champagne Sparkles. “It’s super fun, and we’ve done a lot of work to put together a very entertaining performance.”

The vaudeville show will entail singing, comedy and a little bit of striptease, though Sparkles said people under 19 are welcome to come if they’re accompanied by an adult.

“We have people bringing in older teens, and a ton of moms bringing in their daughters because we’re a very body-positive show,” Sparkles said. “It can be very empowering because we don’t conform to the mainstream ideas of beauty.”

Cheesecake Burlesque began throwing performances for PEERS because the organization let the troupe use one of their boardrooms as a rehearsal space. Additionally, one of the performers started volunteering at PEERS, and ended up getting a job with them. Sparkles teased that as a part of this weekend’s performance, troupe member Ginger Kittens will have a special performance specifically catered to supporting PEERS, though she didn’t provide other details.

The Hot Pink show will also give viewers a sneak peek at the performance Cheesecake Burlesque will be putting on at the 2018 Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender in Las Vegas.

“It’s like the Olympics of burlesque,” Sparkles said with a laugh.

Cheesecake Burlesque had a scare related to their upcoming performance when the Belfry Theatre experienced a small fire in their dimmer room, but Sparkles heard Wednesday morning that the show is still on.

ALSO READ: Fire at Belfry Theatre closes curtain on recent show

“Belfry will not have 100 per cent of their lighting fixed, but plenty to proceed with creating a gorgeous show!” she said. “We’re so happy and excited!”

A silent auction and photo booth will also be happening at the performance.

The show gets underway at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door, by phone 250-385-6815 or online at tickets.belfry.bc.ca/.

nicole.crescenzi@vicnews.com