Heresy 'N' Heelz Birmingham Alternative & Burlesque Fair, The Rainbow Warehouse

Heresy 'N' Heelz: The Alternative & Burlesque Fair
Saturday, 7^th September 2013

Rainbow Warehouse, Birmingham

Review Near Miss Di Zaster & Photography Dokka Chapman

Heresy & Heelz established the Alternative & Burlesque Fair in September 2011, it combines jaw dropping performances from some fabulous artists with a shopping environment like no other. This event brings together Alt, Fetish, Gothic, Burlesque, Vintage, Neo-Victorian, Steampunk, Rockabilly and Adult Lifestyle. It has quickly grown into one of the most successful markets of its kind in the UK, now covering Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Bristol – with an event in Glasgow in the pipeline for 2014.

Performers for the days event included belly dance from Rockit!, Pole and aerial performances from Dance Vivante, burlesque with Lux Di Lioux and a Vocal performance from Kittie Klaw. Our host for the day was the lovely Kieron 'O' Toole, and on the decks was DJ Paul Domaster. Throughout the day we were treated to the musical stylings of Black Country Steampunk group Birthrite.

Tipton group Birthrite are a strange breed of Steampunk.  Where most acts of the genre seem to play a mix of Goth and synth with an all familiar echo, these guys strip the idea apart and go back to it's roots.  The group were decked out in custom military gear and were more reminiscent of such groups as Killing Joke, with their kit reflecting and completing their look.  Though not their first appearance at Heresy 'N' Heelz,  Birthrite played with the same gusto as if it were, playing new songs from the new EP, Mechanical Spider, as well as the usual set.  With the bands' stage presence, along with a superb set of songs it is clear that the band will become a big name in the next year.

Our compère Kieron, the self-acclaimed love child of Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Austin Powers, made sure audience members were not only well acquainted with the acts on stage but also each other. Encouraging audience members to hug a stranger and with hand warming exercises such as rubbing bottoms, hilarity ensued. A personable gentleman with a wicked sense of humour.

Gemma, Saskia and Deanna of Rockit! Belly Dance opened the day on the main stage, with the début of their new Korn routine. Beautiful women in fierce leopard print costuming, moving in perfect synchronization. A fusion of rock, metal, and traditional belly dance, all with a modern bump and grind twist. They also performed later in the Garden area to Alice in Chains.

Next on the agenda was a pole performance from Laura, Karen, Emma and Yoshi from Danse Vivante, with showgirls Ainsley and Molly framing the stage. The girls were beautifully styled in retro swimwear. I especially loved this performance, it had a fun, bouncy, 50s rockabilly vibe.

In the first section each girl took turns to do a solo piece on the pole, with the remaining girls passing a beach ball in the background. Moves were executed with grace and finesse, and held poses were completely controlled with apparent ease. Talk about a strong core!

We then had the pageant style, roll call finale which gave a lovely finish to the first section, going straight into a slightly faster paced routine to Christina Aguilera's 'Candy Man'. Now I personally find that this song has been very overused for burlesque and dance performances in general but I was pleasantly surprised. The choreography showed off some very skilled duo work, the girls mirroring each others poses as well as using each for support. At this point the showgirls at the side of the stage burst into quite an energetic little routine of their own, which whilst lovely was a little distracting from the main act.

I then found myself awaiting the arrival of Kittie Klaw and Lux Di Lioux for The Ministry Of Burlesque's Movers & Shakers slot. These performances are organised  by The Ministry of Burlesque to showcase new and upcoming talent from the burlesque circuit.

Now usually as founder of the Ministry, Miss Klaw would give us a little bit of background on The Ministry Of Burlesque and the aim of the Movers & Shakers then introduce the upcoming act. Instead we were treated to something a little bit different. Explaining how much she values her new performers getting out there, she had decided to push herself out of her comfort zones and for the first time ever perform a vocal number. She then took it away with 4 Non Blondes' 'Whats going on'. Starting off shakily she soon grew in confidence and really engaged with audience. Its lovely to see such an established performer trying something new.

We then had the gorgeous Lux Di Lioux performing her 'I am a Doktor' routine. I was fortunate enough to be present the very first time she performed this routine in 2011, and seeing it 2 years later you can really see how she has grown as a performer. It was a much more polished, confident act. Lux is, and always has been, a very expressive artist. She teased and titillated the audience in her blood stained, doctor's outfit and then dragged this unsuspecting reviewer into the doctors chair! I was inspected, eventually deemed unnecessary of adjustment and sent back to my place with a cupcake – I shall be coming again!

Later performances including a rendition of 'Eye of the Tiger' from Kittie Klaw, always a good one for audience participation, and a second routine from Lux Di Lioux – this time playing at being a pirate. This swashbuckling beauty sailed onto the stage in her very own private ship, battled the kraken and celebrated with abit of bump and grind and a helluva lot of gold glitter! Which was later spotted on many of the fair goers, it would seem someone left the jar 'o' glitter on the stage.

The finale of the day was the aerial performances from Danse Vivante. The girls crept out of their 'Pandora's Box', we first had our eerie dancing doll which reminded me somewhat of Sally Ann Howes music box scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Our girls then took to the air – first with a beautiful aerial hoop routine, which was very reminiscent of the 20's showgirl, then our dancing doll astounded the audience with a dramatic silks number.

You can view Dokka's excellent photos of the event over on the IVM Gallery on flickr, or scroll along the slideshow below.

www.thealternativeandburlesquefair.com

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