Festival Preview: Dublin Burlesque Festival

Wednesday night saw the launch of Ireland’s first burlesque festival get underway in Harry’s on the Green, which had been transformed into a sparkly, decadent speakeasy for the occasion. Bartenders decked out in trilby hats, braces and bow ties were slinging cocktails named after the Dublin burlesque scene’s brightest stars while scarlet corset clad usherettes welcomed guests at the door. On the night, we were treated to a taste of what the upcoming festival has in store, compered by Dominique DiVine and kicked off with a fan dance by the radiant Epiphany deMeanour, wriggling out of her slinky white dress to a gorgeous version of the Mad Men theme tune. The diva stylings of Kristin Kapelli followed, where she belted out When You’re Good To Mama and Big Spender with aplomb, whilst rocking the most formidable pair of false eyelashes I’ve ever seen. Cheesecake cutie Truly DiVine was up next, … There’s more

But is it Art part 2

School of Saatchi BBC 2 mondays at 9pm You may have seen my post last week about this. It’s another ‘apprenticeship as prize’ type show but this one is for artists. Not the ‘able to paint really well’ type artists, it’s the ‘place a stick of celery in a large empty room and call it Art’ type of artist. The prize is a so called ‘Dream Ticket’; a slot in a prestigious exhibition and a three year patronage with your own studio. Do I sound biased already? Yes. Trouble is I actually like contemporary art. You learn two things from this show 1. the process by which the artist comes up with his/her piece. 2. NEVER meet the artist. When you see art you like you bring your own thing to it and why you like it may have nothing to do with the thoughts behind creating it. I really … There’s more