Welcome to the 2nd Annual ABSFest!
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ABSfest
is committed to the mission of spreading the gospel of Vaudeville.
The worldwide Vaudeville revival is a delicious opportunity to revisit
history and make it relevant anew in uncertain times. |
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Burlesque
& Sideshow represent living folkarts, the vibrant underdog of
Americana. We believe that the public and the artists both benefit
from quality performance opportunities, insightful
instruction, and the chance to network.
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 Photo by: Mike Lee |
That
is what ABSfest is all about; enjoy an incredible three-day extravaganza
of information, empowerment and entertainment,
& BAM! Everybody wins! |
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Festival Schedule
Friday, June 27 Featuring
Bootstraps Burlesque, Pink Lotus Tribe, White Lightning Burlesque,
Tango-Tease and more live performances!'Underbelly', which documents
a year in the life of provacateuse, Princess Farhana of Hollywood.
Footage includes interviews and performance from ABSfest 2007. The
ABSfest Gala show, bringing together burlesque & sideshow
artists from around the country. Starring Best Burlesque Duo 'Trixie
Little & the Evil Hate Monkey', Mab Just Mab - DC's Own Sideshow
Girl, Panty Raid! of Nashville, and more. ABSfest
After-party Stay
after the Spectacular to dance, visit the vendors, meet the artists,
and enjoy the Vaudveilliean mayhem of
Everybody's doing it - you can do. |
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About Burlesque, Sideshow & Vaudeville
The satirical performance arts brought comedic entertainment and empowerment to the lower classes of American society throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. A mockery of the higher and more socially conservative classes, the vitality of Vaudeville and Burlesque were slowly eclipsed by mid-century morality laws and the advent of modern media. Sideshow harkens back to less commercial carnival days, glorifying human oddity and strange feats of willpower.
The Vaudeville Revival is a huge international movement with festivals around the world, exploring women's empowerment, questioning mainstream paradigms of 'normal', and offering unforgettable, good old fashioned American entertainment to those bold enough to pass thru those striped curtains to the midway beyond...
ABSfest is a Future of Tradition Production. FoT has been a force in shaping and sustaining the arts in Western North Carolina since 1999. Founded as a Center for Folkarts, FoT for many years housed traditional and evolving visual, movement & music artists under one roof. Many long-standing groups in Asheville's nationally known artscene had roots there, particularly in the fire and circus arts, bellydance, African and Latin dance communities.
In 2006, FoT shifted primary focus to event production. The most comprehensive programs are Triboriginal: Tribal Dance, Music & Culture Camp and the Americana Burlesque & Sideshow Festival, with new projects in the works.
www.sideshowburlesque.org or call 828 232 2980 for information
see
also www.myspace.com/aabsfest
