The Georgia Straight - Burlesque is Back - April 7, 2022

FREE | APRIL 7 – 14 / 2022

Volume 56 | Number 2825

BURLESQUE IS BACK

JOHN CLEESE

Writing turns his crank

IN WONDERLAND Alice surrounded by madness

Sugar L’Estrange is one of dozens of artists who will perform in Vancouver’s first live international burlesque festival since 2019 SAPPHIRE HAZE • HIDDEN BARS • JANE COOP • HERITAGE HOME

DINE is for people who are curious.

Dance in the streets of New Orleans, or take VHOÀHV RQ D PRXQWDLQ WRS LQ %KXWDQ %H WKHUH ™

Hiking The Trans «

Bhutan Trail

UKR AINE and FIRST NATIONS

Interwoven

ROAD TRIP

IN SIX THE CITY C

MY BEEF WITH WAGYU

SPRING 2022

Read | Watch | Listen

Subscribe to our newsletter and quarterly magazine at dinemagazine.ca 2

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APRIL 7 – 14 / 2022

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CONTENTS

April 7-14 / 2022

13

COVER

This year’s Vancouver International Burlesque Festival is more inclusive than ever before, with dozens of performers from a wide variety of backgrounds.

By Charlie Smith Cover photo by Jon-Christian Ashby

7

REAL ESTATE

A B.C. woman, Calla Evans, completed her journey home by buying an 1890s heritage property in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood.

By Carlito Pablo

8

MUSIC

Vancouver concert pianist Jane Coop has enjoyed an illustrious career, but she still doesn’t have a favourite composer.

By Steve Newton

e Online TOP 5

e Start Here

WALKING TOGETHER!

10 14 9 5 6 14 11

ARTS CLASSIFIED ADS COMEDY COMMENTARY FOOD SAVAGE LOVE THEATRE

e Listings

12 ARTS

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY The Jewish Seniors Alliance Friendly Visitor service is seeking volunteers to walk with seniors.

The walking program is a new addition to our services.

Our Friendly Visitor volunteers offer seniors conversation, companionship and social support.

Volunteer training is provided at no cost and you will receive a certificate upon completion.

The dates for the next walking volunteer training are: Tuesday, April 19, 4pm- 7pm Thursday, April 21, 4pm - 7pm & Monday, April 25, 4pm- 7pm

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If you would like to be a walking volunteer, please contact Charles Leibovitch.

charles@jsalliance.org / 778-840-4949

“Seniors Stronger Together”

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EDITOR Charlie Smith GENERAL MANAGER Sandra Oswald SECTION EDITORS Mike Usinger (ESports/Liquor/Music) Steve Newton SENIOR EDITOR Martin Dunphy STAFF WRITERS Carlito Pablo (Real Estate) SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT Jeff Li ART DEPARTMENT MANAGER Janet McDonald

Jewish Seniors Alliance 4

Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 56 | Number 2825

APRIL 7 – 14 / 2022

Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.

1 2 3 4 5

Greater Vancouver home sales cool, dipping nearly 24 percent from record month.

Following loss of Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters need a new drummer.

Why isn’t precautionary principle being deployed against COVID-19?

Fraser Valley detached home price nearly doubles to $1.7 million in two years.

Reel 2 Real festival films tackle LGBT+ isssues with sensitivity and grace. @GeorgiaStraight

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Miguel Hernandez PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Mike Correia ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Glenn Cohen, Luci Richards, Catherine Tickle, Robyn Marsh, David Pearlman (On-Leave) MANAGER, BRANDED CONTENT AND MARKETING LEAD Rachel Moore SALES & MARKETING ASSISTANT/BRANDED CONTENT WRITER Rayssa Cordeiro CREDIT MANAGER Shannon Li ACCOUNTING SUPERVISOR Tamara Robinson

COMMENTARY

Falcon drops the ball with his COVID-19 silence

I

by Charlie Smith

n February, I wrote a column urging new B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon to challenge the NDP government over its handling of the pandemic.

I even suggested that by focusing on airborne COVID-19, Falcon could become B.C.’s next premier.

Nearly two months later, he and the B.C. Liberal caucus have utterly failed to do that. This stands in sharp contrast to B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau, who continues pressing Health Minister Adrian Dix about airborne COVID-19 in the legislature.

Falcon’s crew did not speak up for some of the most vulnerable people in the province—the immunocompromised, those with comorbidities, and seniors—after the B.C. government scrapped a provincewide indoor mask mandate.

Falcon’s B.C. Liberals remained silent even after Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender pointed out that this will leave thousands of British Columbians behind “because of their age, disability, or other protected characteristic under B.C.’s Human Rights Code”.

The end of mask mandates in BC. is particularly dangerous for those who face

B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon has ignored a political opportunity. Photo by John Lehmann.

higher risk of serious COVID—including kids with type 1 diabetes and asthma, as well as those born premature.

Falcon’s MLAs didn’t even mention in the legislature that a massive NIH-funded study showed that mandatory school mask mandates cut the spread of in-school

COVID-19 transmissions by 72 percent over districts that gave students the option of wearing masks.

Falcon appears to believe that he can revive the B.C. economy like it’s 2019.

The B.C. Liberal leader and his caucus are not promoting policies in response to the fundamental reality that most COVID-19 cases are being contracted by the airborne route, which is recognized by the White House and Canadian chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam. Ask yourself this question: does anyone seriously believe that we can have genuine economic revival if people are going to continue to be reinfected with COVID-19? Some have had it three times in six months.

Does Falcon truly want to wish away the existence of long COVID, COVID as a vascular disease, and COVID’s links to brain damage by not talking about these things?

Does Falcon think that this laissez-faire approach to the virus is going to avoid the need for future lockdowns when hospitals become clogged with COVID-19 cases, disability costs rise, and healthcare workers burn out and leave their professions?

In this regard, Falcon actually has a lot in common with Premier John Horgan. They appear to believe that if the government does the same thing all over again—i.e., promote vaccination, drop the indoor mask mandate again, and avoid the issue of telecommuting— airborne COVID-19 will somehow be brought under control. And this magic will be accomplished in the absence of a government directive to take the relatively simple measure of wearing a mask indoors and by refusing to permit HEPA filters and carbon-dioxide monitors in classrooms.

It’s not only nonsensical, it’s deadly and unethical.

Let’s not forget that at the start of this month, more than 40 percent of B.C. kids from 5 to 11 remained unvaccinated. More than 60 percent have not received two doses.

Classrooms are incubators for COVID-19. Let’s show some compassion not only to the kids with immunocompromised people in their homes, but also to the teachers who might have diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart conditions, or some other chronic disease that puts them at higher risk. g

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5

FOOD

Stock Room might be Yaletown’s new best secret

B

by Mike Usinger

ecause they remind us of prohibition speakeasies, turn-of-last-century opium dens, and first-season episodes of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, here’s something we love: hidden bars. Hands up if you’ve been lucky enough to find yourself standing around confused at the Candeleria in Paris where, following 10 minutes of confusion, you eventually figured out that the no-frills taco eatery was a front for the A-list bar behind a secret door.

Head to the new Hundy outlet in Yaletown at 1144 Homer, and you’ll find simple, and simply delicious, burgers in options that include bacon-laden, cheeseslathered, and chickenalicious.

Do a bit of exploring after you’ve stuffed yourself with a Hundy-sauced sandwich, poutine, and/or cabbage salad, and you might discover the Stock Room. Look for the unmarked door near the counter, head down a nondescript corridor hallway, and then enter a Caribbean vacation-blue room resplendent with bamboo thatch accents, random mermaids, and ghost-of-Carmen Miranda-approved pineapples.

The cocktail menu—overseen by Vancouver stalwart Trevor Kallies—leans toward punches and fruit-forward offerings,

to water—Stock Room patrons will not only be able to load up on international snacks, but also have the option of ordering from the Hundy menu. Or, you know, just head back up the secret hallway to where the burgers are.

SLICKITY JIM’S CLOSES ITS DOORS

The Stock Room in Yaletown will have a mix of original and classic cocktails to choose from.

including the Count Sheet (dark oak rye, cognac, punt e mes, and Pehchaud’s bitters), Line Item (Absolut vodka, lavender syrup, lemon, hibiscus, mint, kombucha), and Raspberry Crush (Havana Club 7 Year Old, coconut water, falernum, demerara syrup, pineapple, lime, milk, and clarified raspberry). Classics will also be available.

For those who don’t understand how folks can sit around doing nothing but talking while drinking, there’s a pool table in the Stock Room’s semi-private parlour. And to help make sure imbibers don’t have to tap out after three cocktails—or, even worse, switch

After a quarter century as a Vancouver institution, Slickity’s Jim’s has announced that it will be serving its last Voodoo Eggs with grilled cornbread, vegetarian chili, and melted cheddar cheese. As well as house favourites like Huevos Rancheros, Smoked Salmon With Avocado Toast, and Chorizo Benny with pico de gallo.

In a post on its Facebook page, Slickity Jim’s announced that it’s closing for good, with the final service this coming Sunday (April 10). The restaurant, located on Main Street, has long been a favourite of Vancouver’s grassroots musicians and artists, as well as Mount Pleasant families.

“I have some sad news for you all,” the post reads. “It’s been 25 years and Slickity Jim’s is finally packing it in and closing up shop on April 10. A quarter of a century serving Vancouver and it’s time to hang up the eggs for now. It’s been our privilege to serve you all.”

Slickity Jim’s, which first gained traction

on Powell Street, and then later moved to Main Street, cites the cost of trying to run a business in Vancouver as part of the decision to close. But owner and chef Mike Zalman hints that he might be returning to action with a new venture in the near future with “So onto the next project, you just can’t stay a little duck forever.”

POPINO POPS BACK UP ON THE ISLAND

Now that the worst of the winter monsoons is behind us (and with Juneuary a couple of months away) Granville Island’s Popina Canteen has reopened for the spring. And if the promise of favourites like the East Coast Lobster Roll, Crispy B.C. Cod Sandwich, and Grass Fed B.C. Beef Cheeseburger weren’t enough reason to head down to the dockside fast-food eatery, Popina is celebrating its return with a limited-time-only Easter-themed Mini Egg Puffcream.

Start with a specially baked cream puff, and add Birchwood Dairy vanilla soft-serve ice cream that’s dotted with Mini Eggs.

The love-child of Vancouver chefs Angus An, Robert Belcham, Hamid Salimian, and Joël Watanabe, Popina Canteen is located by the ferry dock on the northwest corner of Granville Island’s produce market. g

Check out the Georgia Straight’s upcoming issue on MAY 26, 2022 and discover our readers favourite places to eat, drink and hang out.

Ballot has now closed for the Golden Plates contest

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

APRIL 7 – 14 / 2022

Thank you to all our participating sponsors this year: Terra Breads, Rocky Mountain Flatbread, L a Belle Patate Vancouver, Water St. Cafe, West Coast Poké, España, Pacific Poke, Car tems Donuts, Pallet Coffee Roasters, Marquis Wines, Bella Gelateria, Memphis Blues BBQ House, Bonta Italian Restaurante, Havana, Baan L ao Fine Thai Cuisine.

REAL ESTATE

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Hot-market hunt leads to heritage home

C

by Carlito Pablo

alla Evans is home.

After years of living in Toronto, the North Vancouver–born and Kelowna-raised woman has returned to the West Coast, for good.

“I always thought I’d come back to the mountains and the water and a lifestyle that’s a little bit more connected to nature,” Evans told the Straight in a phone interview.

Evans left for Ontario to study. She eventually started working there and met her future husband, Adrian Ellis.

“We were able to buy our first house in Toronto, which was like a dream, and we just sort of set our roots down there,” she said.

But B.C. always beckoned.

Evans is a researcher at the University of Guelph. She is also in the middle of a PhD program at Ryerson University. She didn’t think it would be possible to move back until she had finished her postgraduate studies.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened and everything went online, opening up the possibility to relocate. As well, Evans’s husband, who is originally from Ontario, got a job in Vancouver, which made everything perfect.

“So, yeah,” Evans said, laughing, “we drove across Canada with a car full of stuff, and now we’re here.”

That was in the fall of 2020, about six months into the pandemic. Before leaving Toronto, the couple sold their house.

“We ended up coming out okay,” Evans said about that real estate transaction, “so that made it possible to purchase something in Vancouver, which is, compared to the Toronto market, even more wild and insane.”

She recalled that their old home in Toronto was built in 1911. It has a yard, and the couple had nice neighbours.

“Older homes are far more common out East,” Evans said, adding that she and her husband love the character, history, and quirks of such properties.

In Vancouver, they were interested in

Calla Evans and Adrian Ellis bought an 1890s heritage home. Photo by Giulia Ciampini.

knowing what it would be like to live in a condo, so they bought one in Chinatown.

“We were excited to give condo living a try and not have a yard, and not to worry about and not have as much maintenance,” she said.

They discovered pretty quickly that they are not condo people, especially now that they have a pet dog.

The couple also wanted to have more space, and they started looking for a new home in the fall of 2021.

They plunged straight into a hot Vancouver real estate market. “My heart goes out to everyone who’s doing the house hunting right now, because we definitely had a lot of heartbreak in multiple-offer situations,” Evans said.

Evans is thankful for their property agent, Lindsie Tomlinson of RE/MAX Select Realty, who guided them through the process.

As an example, she said that they placed an offer (over the asking price) on a Vancouver townhouse at 732 Hawks Avenue in Strathcona. The property received seven other

offers. It sold in February 2022 for $1,307,320, well over its listing price of $999,000.

“It was beautiful, but it wasn’t meant to be,” Evans said about the property. “And I remember our realtor [Tomlinson] saying to us, ‘There will be something better.’

Later in February, a listing came up for one of the oldest heritage homes in Vancouver. It was for 728 Jackson Avenue, a detached home also in Strathcona.

A Vancouver Heritage Foundation website notes that the house was constructed before 1895. The foundation relates that the home’s first occupant was Arthur Hortin, an engineer.

“The house is a fine example of an early ‘Pioneer’ frame house, complete with beveled siding and decorative shingles for the apex of the front gable,” the VHF notes.

The 728 Jackson Avenue property was listed for $1,499,000. Evans and her husband got it for $1,479,000, which is exactly the home’s 2022 assessed value.

They’ve also sold their Chinatown condo and are moving into their new home at the end of May. “We’re so happy to be taking care of a little piece of Vancouver history,” Evans said. g

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7

ARTS

Coop conjures Mozart’s darkness with the VSO

A

by Steve Newton

s a concert pianist, Vancouver’s Jane Coop has performed at some of the most eminent venues in the world. She’s played at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Alice Tully Hall in New York City, the Beijing Concert Hall, and the Salle Gaveau in Paris.

But as Coop explains from her home near Fraser Street and 13th Avenue, the venue that stands out the most in her memory is the Bolshoi Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where she performed a program of works by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Fauré, Ravel, and Chopin in 1987.

“I suppose it’s not a very good thing to talk about today,” Coop says, referring to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, “but...it was at the big main concert hall and it was a solo recital for me, and just everything lined up perfectly for that concert. I was super well-prepared because I was on a tour, and the piano was fantastic, the hall was full, and the audience was so quiet and so appreciative that everything was just kind of perfect. I’ll never forget it.”

Coop’s journey to international piano star started when she was just a kid in Calgary. Her parents were not musicians—her dad messed around on the piano, played a little by ear—but they were music lovers.

Vancouver’s Jane Coop was taught by such stellar pianists as Anton Kuerti and Leon Fleisher before she embarked on a 33-year teaching career of her own at the UBC School of Music.

The family inherited a decent upright piano early on, and she had an older sister who started lessons when she was about six. It wasn’t long before Coop herself was drawn to the keys.

“My parents used to take us to symphony concerts,” she recalls, “and I remem-

EXHIBITION RUNS April 9th – April 29th, 2022

8

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

APRIL 7 – 14 / 2022

ber hearing Van Cliburn when I was very, very young, and meeting him afterwards— my teacher took me backstage. And I liked [Sviatoslav] Richter a lot, and let’s see, who else… ? Well, the usual: [Arthur] Rubinstein, [Vladimir] Horowitz. And I ended up hearing those people live later in Toronto and Washington, D.C., so it was great.”

Coop was fortunate enough to have her musical career guided by some illustrious pianists. When she was 18 and attending the University of Toronto, she studied with Anton Kuerti, then followed that up with more training under Leon Fleisher.

“They had pretty different physical approaches to the piano,” she notes, “technical approaches, but they were definitely compatible about interpretation and just the general understanding of music.”

Teaching is something that is near and dear to Coop’s heart. For more than three decades, she held the title of professor of piano and chamber music at the UBC School of Music.

“It was a fantastic job,” she raves, looking back. “I put my whole self into it for 33 years, and I didn’t regret a single moment.”

“I’m not teaching now, though,” she adds, “because I decided to put my energy into my own playing—not that I wasn’t doing that all the way along. But I just felt I really needed a little bit of time and space, whereas when I was teaching fulltime and performing full-time, I really had no time for anything. So now I’m just practising my own things and occasionally I give a master class or somebody drops by and wants to play something for me.

That’s great too.”

One of the things that keeps the Order of Canada recipient occupied these days is recording albums for her own Skylark Music label. She’s got 17 releases out so far, including two volumes of The Romantic

Piano, collections of famous shorter pieces from the 19th century, which she says have sold very well. Her latest album on Skylark, Three Keyboard Masters, sees her performing works by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Bach, but she laughs when asked if those are her three favourite composers.

“No, no, no. You know, people always ask me, ‘Who is your favourite composer?’ and I have to say I’m happy with whatever I’m playing at the time. I suppose Beethoven and Mozart and Haydn are three of my favourites. Rachmaninoff I love; Rachmaninoff is a pianist’s pianist, and pianist’s composer, especially for the piano—very difficult and challenging but wonderful. And then I love the French repertoire, too. So I just cannot make a decision as to who stands out.”

Speaking of Mozart, he’ll be the composer of note when Coop joins the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for a performance of his Piano Concerto No. 24. (The program will also include Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 and the premiere of a new work from Canadian composer Ian Cusson, commissioned by the VSO, with mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó.)

People always ask me, ‘Who is your favourite composer?’

– Jane Coop

“Mozart only wrote two piano concertos in minor keys,” notes Coop, “and usually minor keys are profoundly different from major; they tend to be more tragic. I mean it is in C minor, which is a dark key. But it’s a wonderful piece. It’s got everything in it.

It’s got excitement, it’s got darkness, it’s got some tragic ideas, and it’s got some lightness in it too.”

Coop has performed with the VSO many times before—she describes it as “a very, very fine orchestra”—but this will be her first collaboration with musical director Otto Tausk at the conductor’s podium.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” she says, “because I’ve been to concerts with the VSO under him and I’ve been really pleased with his conducting. I’m very excited to be working with him.” g Jane Coop performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on April 8 and 9.

ARTS

For comedy icon Cleese, it’s all about the writing

J

by Martin Dunphy

ohn Cleese has a dirty little secret. The comic actor known worldwide for his work in the groundbreaking 1960s British TV comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus has starred in dozens of films and television shows, but he prefers to write them rather than show his famous face.

Python’s hilarious and dark sketches might have earned Cleese and fellow cast members Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam international accolades, but it also limited his writing.

“For me, the most exciting thing is to write as well as you can,” Cleese, 82, tells the Straight by phone in advance of a May 17 Vancouver appearance. “I can’t explain it. I know I have a greater sense of accomplishment writing than performing.”

Cleese’s 1970s TV comic tour de force, Fawlty Towers, not only gave him the chance to hone his writing chops, but it also led to probably his greatest professional recognition. However, he still preferred his previous Circus act for one reason.

“Python was much, much easier,” Cleese explained in his unmistakable clipped, middle-class British accent. “There were a lot of scenes I wasn’t in. With Fawlty Towers, I was in almost every scene for 35 minutes.

John Cleese has acted in, written for, or done cameos and voice work for more than 80 films in his 60-year career, but he says his greatest sense of accomplishment comes from his writing.

It was much more demanding.”

But as a writer, he preferred the episodic storyline of Fawlty Towers to the relatively choppy waters of Python’s sketch comedy.

“The main thing about doing a story is that it flows,” he said of the 12 episodes over two seasons (1976 and 1979) that he cowrote with then-wife and series costar Connie Booth.

As fun as it is to watch Cleese act out Basil Fawlty’s manic shenanigans, he credited his and Booth’s writing for the show’s acclaim.

“We spent six weeks writing every epi-

sode,” he revealed. “That was why it was so successful in the end. That was why I made so much time for writing.”

And though he has starred in, done cameos or voice work for, and/or written or cowritten more than 80 films in his almost 60-year career, he can still find something to prefer about TV. “There are advantages and disadvantages to both of them,” Cleese said. “Television is always a bit of a last-minute rush. Films are great fun, but they take your life over.”

Cleese has toured Canada and the U.S. with one-man shows extensively during the past two decades. He shows clips, tells anecdotes, and takes audience questions.

He first came to Vancouver when he toured with Monty Python in the ’70s.

“I adore anything to do with B.C.,” Cleese avowed. “I’d rather perform in B.C. than anywhere in the world. I adore Victoria and Vancouver.

“I can still remember the first time I came to Vancouver, in 1974, I think. We started a tour in Canada. I remember sitting in Vancouver [outdoors] on a beautiful sunny day, and I was eating a Dungeness crab, and I remember thinking, ‘It doesn’t get better than this.’ ” Cleese also recalled our trusting nature.

“It was so dreadfully hot, and I remember I just wanted a cold beer,” he said. “After the show, I was leaving and I opened the door and there was a mob of about 200 people. I said, ‘I’m not John Cleese, I’m his brother Colin. He will be out in a minute.’ And I walked right through the crowd. I couldn’t believe it.” g John Cleese appears at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in An Evening of Exceptional Silliness on May 17.

APR 7-16 2022

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ARTS

Sapphire Haze creates music for all the senses

O

by Steve Newton

n the Music on Main website, there’s a quote from one of the members of local duo Sapphire Haze—it doesn’t specify which—that reads: “We want the audience to engage all of their senses as they listen: touch, taste, smell, vision…”

Now, that might seem like a pretty tall order, but Cindy Kao (violin) and Aysha Dulong (electronics) believe it’s possible for music to be far more than just an aural experience.

“Just think about what the sound is doing to you,” Dulong says, calling with Kao from downtown Vancouver. “And for us, a lot of times a sound relates to a colour, but also sometimes the sound would trigger a body part—I feel like tingling in my left

pinkie or something. So we want the audience to try and imagine what that is doing to their bodies, but also where they physically feel like they’re being taken to.”

“We want people to engage their full body when they’re listening,” Kao adds, “because a lot of the time we just listen and we don’t really focus on, like, ‘What does this really feel like?’ And I think that’s what we really want people to do. We want you to engage all your senses in a way that you never really thought about doing.”

Kao and Dulong first met at Simon Fraser University, in an electroacoustic class, when Dulong needed a violinist for a composition they were working on.

“I knew Cindy was really good at violin,” says Dulong, who uses the pronouns they/

Kristin Chenoweth set to perform at Mount Baker Theatre’s benefit concert

W

(This story is sponsored by Mount Baker Theatre.) hile livestreamed concerts have sufficed for the past two years, we’re incredibly eager to attend a show in person—the energy created by the crowd and performer is incomparable. If you’re looking to satiate your craving for live music, Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington, boasts an impressive event lineup, which includes its 95th birthday celebration.

At 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, Mount Baker Theatre presents Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls.

The memorable benefit concert provides the ideal excuse to get dressed up and dance the evening away with your friends.

The exclusive one-night-only event is titled after Chenoweth’s latest album, which celebrates the iconic female artists who have changed the music industry—think Dolly Parton, Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, and Reba McEntire.

Mount Baker Theatre is a nonprofit that’s dedicated to the performing arts.

When purchasing tickets, folks are given the option to add a tax-deductible birthday gift that will benefit the venue.

“The multitalented Kristin Chenoweth is the perfect choice to help us celebrate our 95th anniversary,” shares Lelani Thomsen, marketing director at Mount Baker Theatre. “She’s a powerhouse Broadway star!

She sings, dances, and is an actress on many popular shows on television. She really represents the versatility of the types of shows we present at our theatre and is truly a class act.”

Chenoweth is a classically trained coloratura soprano, which earned her several feature roles in popular Broadway

10

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

The Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls benefit at Mount Baker Theatre is named after her album.

musicals like Wicked and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Her f lourishing career in music, voiceover, and acting has shaped her into a performer with a captivating stage presence.

For those unable to attend Mount Baker Theatre’s 95th birthday party, there are plenty of other entertaining events worthy of a spot on your calendar.

On April 29, the venue will host the hilarious parody Menopause the Musical, celebrating women and “the change”.

Upcoming musical events include Harmony From Discord, Lookout Sessions: Haley Heynderickx, Chris Botti, the Violent Femmes, and more. g To purchase your tickets to see Kristin Chenoweth live, visit https://www.mountbakertheatre.com/ online/article/kristinchenoweth

APRIL 7 – 14 / 2022

Cindy Kao (left) and Aysha Dulong met while studying at SFU, and their interest in creating music to be felt by all the senses led to the formation of Sapphire Haze. Photo by Jan Gates.

them, “and so we got together that way. But then we noticed that when we were improvising and coming up with little parts for the piece we really liked the same things, and the same sounds. And I think that had a lot to do as well with our synesthesia experiences, because I don’t know very many other people that have that same feeling when they hear sounds.”

(Note: according to webmd.com, “Synesthesia is a fancy name for when you experience one of your senses through another.”)

Dulong uses her laptop along with software like Ableton Live and Logic Pro to create Sapphire Haze’s sonic soundscapes. They developed their interest in electronic music quite late in life; it wasn’t like they grew up on a steady diet of Kraftwerk and Brian Eno. “I didn’t really start electronic music till I got into university,” they explain.

“Before that I played solo piano and flute in wind ensembles, and once I graduated high school I felt like I was hitting a wall with music—I needed something new. So I thought, ‘Why not try out composition?’

And when I enrolled at SFU, I discovered my love for electronic music—there was so much of that there—and sound designing as well comes with that.

As far as Kao’s connection to her instrument goes, she started playing violin at a young age, but not of her own volition.

“I wasn’t actually interested in it,” she says, “but I was pretty decent at it, so I got pushed. Then I got stressed about it, so I just stopped playing for a while until I went into theatre school to study acting. A few people found out that I have a background in music, so I got to do some sound designs while I acted, and it kinda brought my music-loving self back.”

Dulong earned a bachelor of fine arts in music composition from SFU last year,

while Kao got herself a BFA in theatre performance.

“It just made me more open to being spontaneous when creating art,” Kao says of the education. “There’s no one way of doing that, and a lot of times I play music now and I’m finding that I compose and devise my actor body a lot and visualize things a lot more than just sound. And utilizing synesthesia that both Aysha and I have.”

The local buzz on Sapphire Haze got a boost last November when the duo performed their composition “Asphyxiation” at the Roundhouse during Music on Main’s 10th Modulus Festival.

“That piece is mainly about the environment and our relationship to technology,” Kao says, “so we’re kind of juxtaposing my acoustic sounds with Aysha’s more metallic sounds, and how it blends, and if we can find a balance or not/” Interested Vancouverites will get their own chance to hear—not to mention touch, taste, smell, and see—Sapphire Haze when it plays the Fox Cabaret this Tuesday (April 12). The program includes one composition by Kao, one by Dulong, and three cocreations.

“All the pieces kind of string together in a straight line,” Kao says, “and it’s all based on, like, a dream sequence.”

“I think the idea of dreams fits with us really well,” Dulong adds, “because a lot of the time when you’re dreaming, you can’t really control what happens next, you kind of let yourself go with it, and we want the audience to feel that way when they’re listening. Just let it happen and think into it, whether it feels good or feels bad or feels whatever way it feels. It’s happening.” g Music on Main presents Sapphire Haze at the Fox Cabaret on April 12.

ARTS

In Wonderland director sees pandemic parallels in play

Jane Coop Plays Mozart

APR

8/9

Fri & Sat, 8pm | Orpheum

THIS WEEKEND!

by Charlie Smith

Jane Coop plays Mozart’s earth-shattering C minor Concerto, alongside Schumann and a new work from Métis composer Ian Cusson with mezzo Krisztina Szabó.

Jane Coop

Hear it. Feel it.

Graham Percy (left) and Natascha Girgis costar in playwright Anna Cummer’s retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Photo by Ben Laird.

D

irector Haysam Kadri likes to go big with his theatre productions. As the artistic producer of a Shakespeare company in Alberta, Kadri has been irresistibly attracted to shows about extraordinary characters in extraordinary circumstances.

“I love plays that ask the audience to go on a journey, plays that require extreme imagination and buy-in,” Kadri tells the Straight by phone from Calgary. “I love those kinds of stories.”

So it was only natural for him to want to direct In Wonderland, a retelling of two of Lewis Carroll’s novels: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the LookingGlass. Playwright Anna Cummer’s script features an array of characters, played by actors Natascha Girgis and Graham Percy, who revolve around Sarah Roa’s Alice.

Kadri reveals that all the “familiar suspects”—including the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, Caterpillar, Queen of Hearts, and the Dormouse—appear in the play, which will be presented this month at Richmond’s Gateway Theatre.

“We’ve got an amazing cast of three actors, with Alice as the fulcrum and the two other actors playing all the madness and chaos around her,” Kadri says. “So it’s really an interesting and different way of representing this type of story.”

The director acknowledges that with a three-person cast, it required a great deal of innovation and imagination to make all of this work. He describes the set design as “a wonderful balance of high-fi and low-fi”, which includes beautiful, magical projections on-screen and simple, straightforward stagecraft.

“Ultimately, at the end of the day, curiosity is the engine which drives this play,”

he says. “As Alice jumps down the hole, she enters a truly bizarre, mad world, which challenges and frustrates her idea of what society should be.”

The lead character is constantly trying to work through her problems and finding the strength to overcome them. In fact, Kadri says that In Wonderland is really about personal growth.

“Anna [the playwright] really dived into the source material, but she has a lot of her touch in it, which is really exciting,” Kadri says. “She’s done a beautiful job of distilling those novels into an hour and 45 minutes.”

Alberta Theatre Projects created its version of In Wonderland as a touring show.

Roa is based in Vancouver, and the two other actors are from Alberta.

Kadri sees parallels between the modern-day pandemic and what Alice is coping with. As an example, he mentions how people nowadays sometimes experience weird dreams and confusion about what time or day it is. He also says that Alice’s underlying anxiety and desire for an escape has permeated the psyche of people who worry about COVID-19.

Gateway Theatre is reducing the audience capacity in recognition of people’s concerns about the virus. This will accommodate physically distanced seating.

Cummer’s play is presented along the lines of a variety show, which will include musical numbers, poetry, and slapstick.

“The fun part is seeing these actors transform in a moment—in a blink—into these new characters with new costumes, new affectations, new voices, and new physicality,” Kadri says. g

The Path Forward

Dennis Thomas-Whonoak, VSO Indigenous Council Chair

Sun, 4pm | Orpheum

APR

10 An artistic collaboration between the VSO and the VSO’s Indigenous Council.

A celebration of Indigenous stories, music, art, and fashion for all to enjoy.

Ode to Joy: Beethoven’s 9

APR/MAY

29-1

Fri, Sat, 8pm | Orpheum Sun, 2pm | Orpheum

Beethoven’s magnum opus meets a gorgeous new vision from Canadian composer Samy Moussa.

Teiya Kasahara

MAY

6/7

Bernstein, Shostakovich, Price & Adams Fri & Sat, 8pm | Orpheum

Politics, satire, and a constant rhythmic drive are the connecting threads through this program featuring four important 21st century composers.

Timothy Steeves

Concert programs are subject to change at any time.

VancouverSymphony.ca APR 8, 9, MAY 6, 7 MASTERWORKS GOLD SERIES SPONSOR

FEB 25, 26 MASTERWORKS DIAMOND SERIES SPONSOR

604.876.3434 BROADCAST MEDIA PARTNERS

MEDIA SPONSOR

Gateway Theatre will present Alberta Theatre Projects’ In Wonderland from April 7 to 16.

APRIL 7 – 14 / 2022

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

11

ARTS LISTINGS

ONGOING

VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL BURLESQUE FESTIVAL Showcase of local and national burlesque talent features two evenings of performance at the Vancouver Playhouse, plus workshops and lectures.

To Apr 9, Vancouver Playhouse.

MADE IN ITALY The Arts Club Theatre Company presents a play about a second-generation Italian teen struggling to find his place in Jasper, Alberta. To Apr 17, Granville Island Stage. Tix from $35.

CLEAN/ESPEJOS A hotel floor-manager reeling from a family loss has a chance encounter with a Canadian wedding guest at a Mexican resort. Apr 5-10, 7:30-9:30 pm, The Cultch. $15.

COLLECTED STORIES, A PLAY BY DONALD MARGULIES Pulitzer Prize-winner Donald Margulies’ searching look at the lives of a pair of writers, focusing on their friendship and ambition. Apr 6-22, The Red Gate Revue Stage. $30.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS The story of a nine-year-old who comes out as a boy to his family and how they learn to accept his gender identity. To Apr 23, Waterfront Theatre. $24.

INTERMEDIATE STATES Part of Capture Photography Festival’s selected exhibitions, featuring work by emerging artists Sophia Boutsakis, Jeff Henschel, Teigan Kelly, and Natalie Robinson. To Apr 30, East end of Granville Island.

FAMILY ALBUM Exhibiting artists use the camera as a mechanism by which to better understand their own personal histories and familial relationships. To Apr 15, 9 am–6 pm, Pendulum Gallery. Free.

CLOUD ALBUM Exhibition features more than 250 historically and culturally significant works drawn from the collection of the London-based Archive of Modern Conflict. To May 1, Polygon Gallery.

SHO ESQUIRO: DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY Solo exhibition by designer, artist, and activist showcases meticulously crafted couture gowns, textiles, paint-

ings, and photographs. To Jun 5, Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. HERE Exhibition of photography by Vincent Chan and paintings by Danvic Briones and Tim Bennison. To Apr 10, Kay Meek Arts Centre. Free.

SPRING 2022: COLLECTED WORKS Group exhibition on the potency of photography featuring the work of Larry Clark, Katy Grannan, and Andres Serrano. To May 28, Rennie Museum. Free.

THURSDAY, APRIL 7 IN WONDERLAND A contemporary retelling of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Apr 7-16, Gateway Theatre. From $29.

HOMEGROWN Adam Jacobson hosts standup comedy by Sahib Singh, Rana, Jordan Wilson, UK Shah, Hector Rivas, Brenda, Washbern, Gavin Banning, Arash Narchi, Dusty Searcy, Ola Dada, and Andrea Jin. Apr 7-8, 7-9:30 pm, Parts Unknown. $10.

FRIDAY, APRIL 8 BEETHOVEN & LISZT: A MUSICAL AFFINITY Fortepiano virtuoso Olga Pashchenko explores the kinship between the music of Franz Liszt and Ludwig van Beethoven. Apr 8, Christ Church Cathedral. $28-$64.50.

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE STUDIO SHOWING: FAKEKNOT The Dance Centre presents a performance of Piña, an interdisciplinary dance work which addresses artistic director Ralph Escamillan’s background as a first-generation Canadian-born Filipinx.

Apr 8, 6 pm, Scotiabank Dance Centre. Free.

DEVIL'S VIOLIN The Vancouver Chamber Music Society presents violinist JinJoo Cho performing with pianist Hyun Soo Kim. Apr 8, 7:30 pm, South Delta Baptist Church. $20-$40.

BEETHOVEN & LISZT: A MUSICAL AFFINITY Russian historical keyboardist Olga Pashchenko explores the connection between Liszt and Beethoven.

LA DÉTRESSE ET L’ENCHANTEMENT April 21 - 23, 2022 York Theatre – 8pm

Apr 8, 7:30 pm, Christ Church Cathedral. From $32.25.

JANE COOP PLAYS MOZART Canadian concert pianist Jane Coop performs Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 with the Vancouver Symphony. Apr 8-9, 8 pm, Orpheum Theatre.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22

SATURDAY, APRIL 9

SATURDAY, APRIL 23

HOW TO DYE WITH FUNGI AND LICHENS Handson workshop led by a traditional Musqueam Coast Salish artist covers the many facets of our natural world through fibre. Apr 9, 10 am–2:30 pm, Museum of Vancouver. $155 general admission.

THE UNBOUND POETRY FESTIVAL Full-day festival celebrating all things poetry, with film screenings, Haiku contest, and evening SLAM competition. Apr 9, 10:30 am–9 pm, North Delta Centre for the Arts. Free.

1 NIGHT STAND Fundraiser for Ukraine relief features standup comedy by Charlie Demers, Jane Stanton, Yumi Nagashima, Peter Kelamis, Kevin Banner, and Sam Tonning. Apr 9, 6 pm, York Theatre. $25-$100.

CONNECTION PLEASE! WITH LIZZIE ALLAN Lizzie Allan performs a standup comedy show that aims to raise awareness about the reality of recovery from addiction. Apr 9, 7 pm, Anvil Centre. $30.

TOWARDS THE LIGHT Musica intima shares the stage with the Vancouver Youth Choir for the world premiere of a new piece by Emily Millard. Apr 9, 7:30 pm, Christ Church Cathedral. $40|$35|$10.

ETERNAL EMBERS: SONGS OF FIRE AND LOVE The Vancouver Cantata Singers are joined by the Bergmann Piano Duo. Apr 23, 7:30 pm, Blusson Spinal Cord Centre. $10-$35.

SUNDAY, APRIL 10 DEVIL'S VIOLIN The Vancouver Chamber Music Society presents violinist JinJoo Cho performing with pianist Hyun Soo Kim. Apr 10, 3 pm, Anvil Centre. $20-$38.

COMEDY TING Randy Jernidier hosts standup comedy by Akeem Hoyte-Charles, Sahib Singh Rana, Justin Nichol, Randee Neumeyer, Charles Daghlian, Ola Dada, Gavin Banning, and Sam Tonning. Apr 10, 7-9:30 pm, Calabash Bistro. $15.

MONDAY, APRIL 11 DONNELL RAWLINGS Comedy Here Often presents a standup-comedy show by American comic, actor, and radio host. Apr 11, 8 pm, Hollywood Theatre. $45.

TUESDAY, APRIL 12 SAPPHIRE HAZE Music on Main presents duo composed of Cindy Kao (violin) and Aysha Dulong (electronics). Apr 12, 7:30 pm, Fox Cabaret. $15-32.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14 ’DA KINK IN MY HAIR A musical celebration of women of colour. Apr 14–May 15, Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. From $35.

FRIDAY, APRIL 15

ENGLISH

S U RTITL ES

WAITING FOR GARBO Curious Creations Collective presents a new musical with a social conscience about plastic in the oceans and consumerism. Apr 15-29, Presentation House Theatre. $22/18/15.

SATURDAY, APRIL 16 WHITE NOISE A comedy about internalized racism in which two families have dinner together for the first time during Truth and Reconciliation week. Apr 16–May 1, Firehall Arts Centre. From $15.

TUESDAY, APRIL 19 SAME DIFFERENCE An immersive audio-visual experience informed by 12 interviews conducted with immigrants and refugees. Apr 19-23, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. $30=$35.

THURSDAY, APRIL 21

seizieme.ca

12

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

APRIL 7 – 14 / 2022

LA DÉTRESSE ET L'ENCHANTEMENT Writerdirector Olivier Kemeid's theatrical montage of the memoirs of Franco-Canadian author Gabrielle Roy. Apr 21-23, York Theatre. $26-30.

BAD PARENT Parents of a toddler try to figure out who they are in relation to their son, to each other, and to the audience. Apr 21–May 1, Historic Theatre.

From $26.

DAVE CHAPPELLE AND FRIENDS Controversial comedy superstar performs two standup shows. Apr 22-23, Rogers Arena. Tix at Ticketmaster.

MONDAY, APRIL 25 BACH'S BRANDENBERG CONCERTOS The VSO School of Music’s Sinfonietta joins forces with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for performances of all six Brandenburg Concertos. Apr 25, 7:30 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $10/$19.

FRIDAY, APRIL 29 THE INVISIBLE In 1940s France.seven female SOEs (The Invisible) risk everything to fight a dangerous war of sabotage, propaganda, and espionage. Apr 29–May 7, 7:30-9:30 pm, York Theatre. From $26.

SATURDAY, APRIL 30 HMS PINAFORE Vancouver Opera presents Gilbert and Sullivan’s comedic tale of forbidden love across class divides. Apr 30, 7:30 pm; May 5, 7:30 pm; May 7, 7:30 pm; May 8, 2 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

From $48.

SUNDAY, MAY 1 GARY HOFFMAN & DAVID SELIG The Vancouver Chamber Music Society presents a journey through the musical career of Beethoven. May 1, 7:30 pm, Anvil Centre. $35-52.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4 BIG TRICK ENERGY Comedy show featuring Chris Ramsay, Eric Leclerc, Alex Boyer and Wes Barker.

May 4, 7 pm, Harbour Event Centre. $30-$60.

THURSDAY, MAY 5 SHIRLEY VALENTINE A Liverpudlian housewife takes a trip to Greece and starts to see the world and herself very differently. May 5-21, Deep Cove Shaw Theatre. $29 general/$26 seniors and students.

LAMPEDUSA Pi Theatre presents playwright Anders Lustgarten's play about two strangers finding hope and connection where they least expect it. May 5-21, Vancity Culture Lab. From $25.

ART VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR Art fair features an art runway show, artist talks, a live painting competition, and speaker panels. May 5-8, 1-10 pm, Vancouver Convention Centre West.

SATURDAY, MAY 14 COMES THE TIME WE HAVE TO SAY SO LONG The Marcus Mosely Chorale performs its final concert, with guest Dee Daniels. May 14, 7:30-10 pm, St. Andrew's Wesley United. $42.

THURSDAY, MAY 19 HENRY ROLLINS American singer-activist performs on his Good to See You 2022 spoken-word tour. May 19, Rio Theatre.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 JUST FOR LAUGHS VANCOUVER Comedy festival features performances by Nicole Byer, Andrew Santino, Marc Maron, Maria Bamford, Bob the Drag Queen, Andrew Schulz, Natasha Leggero, Moshe Kasher, Jimmy O. Yang, and Chris Redd. May 25-29, various Vancouver venues.

ARTS LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge, based on available space and editorial discretion. Submit events online using the eventsubmission form at straight.com/AddEvent.

Events that don't make it into the paper due to space constraints will appear on the website.

ARTS

Vancouver burlesque festival aims for inclusion

by Charlie Smith

Vancouver International Burlesque Festival performers Foxy Lexxi Brown (left) and Androsia Wilde (photo by Chelsea Stuyt) will demonstrate how their art form can express Black identity.

V

ancouver burlesque performer Sugar L’Estrange chose her performing name for several reasons.

“I’m pretty sweet and friendly and bubbly, but at the same time quirky,” she tells the Straight by phone in advance of this year’s Vancouver International Burlesque Festival. “I like darker things and kind of have a goth vibe sometimes.”

She admits to also being cheesy and weird. And the name L’Estrange came to her not only because it’s a play on the Bellatrix Lestrange character from the Harry Potter stories but also because it has a French twist.

“It’s an homage to my New Brunswick heritage, for sure,” L’Estrange adds.

There’s also a story behind the image of her in macaroni and cheese on the cover of this week’s Georgia Straight print edition.

She follows an artist named Tyler Varsell on Instagram and spotted a collage of some old pin-up photos of a woman sprawled out in what appeared to be nachos. L’Estrange decided to ask a local photographer of burlesque performers, Jon-Christian Ashby, if he could replicate something like this.

“He cooked some mac and cheese— Kraft Dinner,” L’Estrange recalls. “I brought my great-grandmother’s casserole dish that had been handed down to me.

We put it in and we shot the casserole dish.

Then he shot me in some poses against a backdrop and then he put them together.

It was really fun.”

Voilà! A star was born.

L’Estrange is one of dozens of burlesque performers who are participating in this year’s Vancouver International Burlesque Festival, which will return to live performances for the first time since 2019. The VIBF begins on Wednesday (April 6) with an industry-appreciation night, including an awards show at the Rio Theatre, where L’Estrange will perform. The following

This is a song that is inherent to a Black diasporic experience.

– Androsia Wilde

night at the Havana Theatre, it’s TIT Talks, with TIT standing for “teach, inspire, and transcend”. Among the presenters will be festival headliners Judith Stein, Lola Frost, and Foxy Lexxi Brown. On Friday (April 8) at the Vancouver Playhouse, the Glamorama Gala will take place, once again featuring Frost and Brown as well as many other performers.

The fun continues on Saturday (April 9) at the Vancouver Playhouse with the Showpony Soiree. In addition, there is a workshop series taking place the same day at Showpony Studios.

L’Estrange has been dancing since the age of 2, but after moving to Vancouver several years ago, she drifted away from dance. In 2018, she saw a Harry Potter– oriented burlesque show by Geekenders and she was hooked.

“I said, ‘I need to get into this.’ I was obsessed,” she recalls with a laugh.

She saw an ad for burlesque lessons and, she says, the rest was history.

“I like that it’s an avenue for people of all ages and all creeds and all body sizes to dance or perform in any way because you don’t have to have a dance background to perform,” L’Estrange says. “You can have a theatre-arts background—or no background in anything—and just get up on-stage and just bring your own twist to it.”

She points out that as dancers age, they might gain a few pounds, but that’s still accepted, encouraged, and celebrated in burlesque.

“I love to see the inclusion there,” she declares, “and that I could see other people that look like me on-stage. We still have a way to go as far as full diversity and inclusion in the Vancouver burlesque scene, but I know that we’re working hard to get there. And there’s a lot of really cool BIPOC-inclusive collectives coming out. So it’s really cool to go to those shows and see their twist on burlesque.”

One of those collectives is Diasporic Dynasty, which was cofounded by Androsia Wilde. An immigrant from the Bahamas and a former Emily Carr University of Art + Design student, Wilde discovered her passion for burlesque in 2014. Again, it was through Geekenders, of which she’s now co-artistic director with the founder, Fairlith Harvey.

“She asked me if I was interested in being in one of their Star Wars shows and I said yes,” Wilde tells the Straight by phone.

“And so my first show with them was the Empire Strips Back. It was our Empire Strikes Back burlesque parody and I was their Lando Calrissian.”

Wilde has since gone on to demonstrate how burlesque can be an art form for expressing one’s Black identity. One of her most treasured characters is Storm from the X-Men. Wilde describes Storm as “an iconic Black superhero who doesn’t want to be revered as a goddess and is able to control the weather and be utterly badass”.

She paired that character with an Angélique Kidjo song, “Shango”, which is about Yoruban orisas, which are personifications of deities or spirits in West Africa.

“I’m a giant nerd about this,” Wilde quips.”This is a song that is inherent to a

Black diasporic experience.”

At the 2019 VIBF, Wilde debuted a number called “Tribute to Obeah Man”, which was inspired by legendary Bahamian guitarist Tony McKay, who referred to himself as Exuma the Obeah Man. “It combines that unique Bahamian perspective with the different intersections of my personality and my life,” she says.

Even though the video exists of her performance, she says she can’t remember being on-stage because she was so immersed in the performance. She finds burlesque appealing because she can prioritize stories about Black characters from pop culture. It also offers a response to her everyday experiences in Vancouver of being reduced to one aspect of her identity.

“I am more than my Blackness,” Wilde emphasizes. “I get to use burlesque to remind people of my Blackness, but this time on my own terms.” g The Vancouver International Burlesque Festival begins with an awards show on Wednesday (April 6) at the Rio Theatre and continues with performances at different locations from Thursday (April 7) to Saturday (April 9). For more information, visit VIBF.com.

APRIL 7 – 14 / 2022

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

13

s by by l l

7

to to -ar ar t

n n. .

Mystery pain during sex can have several causes

by Dan Savage

b I AM A 29-year-old woman and I have a problem when I have sex or masturbate. I always feel an annoying pain, a stinging sensation in my vulva, at the entrance of the vagina, that does not allow me to enjoy it, as the pain is too overwhelming. Unfortunately, this situation has led me to avoid having sex or masturbating in order not to feel that pain.

I have consulted several gynaecologists, but no anomaly or infection of any kind has been found. With the last doctor we also talked about a possible psychological component but, apparently, even on this level everything seems normal. Do you or an expert have advice for someone with a problem like mine?

- Lost And Baffled Inside America

Bodywork “Vulvodynia, or pain in the vulva, is unBodywork fortunately very common, and it sucks,” said Rachel Gelman, a clinician, pelvicf loor specialist, and author based in San Francisco. “But there are a variety of treatment options and providers that could help LABIA out.”

Gelman says it’s good that you’ve already had infection ruled out as a possible cause.

But there are lots of other things that could be going on—nerve irritation, inflammation, hormonal imbalance, something genetic—and she urges you not to give up until you find an answer. And while Gelman is too polite to say it, I’m an asshole, so I’m just gonna blurt it out: it’s shocking that not one of the gynaecologists you consulted referred you to a pelvic-floor specialist.

“The muscles inside the pelvis, a.k.a. the ‘pelvic floor’, and the surrounding musculature can contribute to or cause the pain LABIA is describing,” said Gelman. “Just like tight muscles in the neck can cause pain in the shoulder, arm, or jaw, a tight muscle inside the pelvic floor can cause pain at the opening of the vagina. A pelvic-floor physical therapist, like myself, would be able to assess and treat this kind of muscle dysfunction, which would decrease LABIA’s symptoms and get her back to enjoying sex again.”

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be causing this pain.”

And even if you don’t have an underlying mental health or psychological condition, LABIA, the pain you’ve suffered—along with the resulting sexual deprivation—sounds like a lot, and talking about it with someone could help you reconnect more quickly with your ability to take pleasure in this part of your body again.

Companion Companion “The brain is powerful and having vulvar pain or any kind of sexual dysfunction can be mentally draining, which can further exacerbate pain,” said Gelman. “So a good sex therapist may also be a helpful ally here.

Bottom line, vulvar pain is common and typically requires a team of providers—but help is out there.”

Find Gelman online at www.pelvicwellpt. com and on Instagram @PelvicHealthSF. g Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage. Email questions to questions@savagelove.net. Listen to Dan on the Savage Lovecast. Columns, podcasts, books, merch, and more at www.savage.love.

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a pelvic-floor specialist. “Due to the fact that so many systems live inside the pelvis which impact the vulva, several specialists may be needed to investigate and treat the potential causes of LABIA’s pain,” said Gelman. So, in addition to seeing a pelvic-floor specialist, Gelman recommends you consult with a vulvar specialist. (You can find a list of vulvar specialists at the website of the National Vulvodynia Association: go to www.nva.org, and click on the link to their “health care provider list”.)

“A vulvar specialist would be able to perform appropriate tests to tease out what is going on beyond what a general gynaecologist may look at,” said Gelman.

“And it’s important to note that the tissue around the vaginal opening is highly dependent on hormones to stay happy and healthy. Certain medications or medical conditions can impact hormone levels, which can, in turn, impact vulvar tissues and lead to pain. There are also underlying inf lammatory conditions that could also

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