As the city’s most twisted burlesque enthusiast, I see a LOT of naked women. So imagine my surprise when I discovered myself actually UPSET that I would be missing a show that promises to feature none of them. I’m talking about Dame Cuchifrita, of Brown Girls Burlesque fame, performing tonight at 8pm at Convent of St. Cecillia, 21 Monitor St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
I first went to Bali in 1996, specifically to see dance, and was spiritually hypnotized by the people, the food, the music—gamelan orchestras that play with a freneticism you simply won’t hear in Java—and yes, the dance. The Legong specifically, which features young women and even very young girls, dressed in such tightly-wrapped sarongs that you wonder how they can even move, yet moving so captivatingly, with such exacting prescribed movements—fingers, eyes—that the spirit of the music and the movement washes over you and turns your soul inside out. Yes, the arak helps, as does the bebek tutu. I’m not going to get all anthropologist here, but anyone interested in theatre or dance should take an interest in the Balinese school, which envelops spirituality and the need to keep the world’s balance in check. If I had an intern I’d have her search Youtube for that old Margaret Mead video of the Barong and Rangda dance—straight-up trippy.
So imagine my surprise—our very own Dame Cuchifrita is a former Legong dancer, and tonight’s show promises to encompass “Balinese Dance that is centuries old, in a convent.” This is a rare opportunity to see a time-tested tradition blended with a much younger, yet also time-tested tradition. Think Ann Corio possessed by Kali and you’re there.
The show is free, and part of AUNTS ROADSHOW, and you’re encouraged to bring an item to donate to the Free Bar, where you can shop and drink for free all night. Bagus!
Get thee to Greenpoint and get some religion. Tell me about it, and get some pictures. And if you see Cuchifrita, ask her, “Apa kabar?” And if she asks you, the answer is “baik.”
Kiss kiss,
JDX
