Described as provocative and graceful, powerful, and delicate, Leyla Racyne has been performing burlesque since 2018. She loves to command an audience, bringing a personal element to every act she creates: exploring identity politics and themes of rebellion, resistance, survival, and duality. As a dancer, Leyla has performed throughout Canada, the United States, and Internationally. Based in Cambridge, Ontario on Indigenous Haldimand Tract land, they are the producer of The Offbeat Spice Show, a multidisciplinary burlesque/art show that showcases stories celebrating our common humanity.
I interviewed Leyla about the upcoming inaugural Offbeat Spice Show happening Sunday May 19, 2024 at KW Little Theatre (Doors at 6:30 pm. Show at 7:00 pm).
Leyla Racyne
What drew you to burlesque and how long have you been performing?
I was first introduced to burlesque around 20 years ago, when friends of mine began running amateur shows at the Rum Runner Pub downtown Kitchener (what is now TWH Social) ... but growing up as a dancer, the idea of being a performing showgirl was always something that intrigued me as I saw old film clips from the past.
More recently, I was drawn to burlesque as a way to reconnect with my body. I joined classes at Brass Butterflies in Waterloo with Sassy Ray back in 2018, and with the Femmes Rebelles in Guelph in 2020, and for me, it's been a creative and artistic way to explore a changing relationship with my body around gender, sexuality, and medical trauma.
This past month, I began offering drop-in introductory burlesque movement classes at Whole Health Strength & Fitness in Downtown Cambridge, where we've spent time getting comfortable with the different ways our bodies move, and how to work with our own sense of movement, which has been really rewarding to share with others.
How do you respond to common misconceptions about burlesque?
There are two most common reactions people seem to have about burlesque: either, that they are drawing from the 2010 film "Burlesque" with Cher and Christina Aguilera, or they equate burlesque with strip clubs. Lately that's been shifting a bit as larger-scale travelling burlesque-inspired theatre shows have been booking locally -- like the Empire Strips Back, which everyone was buzzing about recently.
Burlesque absolutely shares history with stripping and other forms of erotic expression and sex work, and it is an artform in its own right. To have a moral judgement that one is superior to another really isn't what we're here for... that's applying layers of shame and judgement that don't have a place for us.
Modern "neo-burlesque" embraces diversity, embraces body and sex positivity, embraces different identities. It's based in storytelling. It can nod to more classical forms of dance, "showgirl", and strip-tease, but also borrows heavily from theatre, parody performance, circus, and improv. There are a few performers in Toronto who study burlesque history and cultural impact at the doctoral level, as well as "Legends" (those who began performing prior to 1975), and I'm really hoping that one day we can get them in to do some speaking engagements and workshops as a part of future shows. There's a lot of really interesting history and cultural impact that burlesque incorporates -- you can find reflections of every major social change movement over the past century.
What prompted you to start this show?
This show began as some backstage conversations with other burlesque performers about some of the types of art we wanted to create but couldn't always find a stage for. Me -- I pass in all the ways -- and being able to bring all of those different facets of my identity to my work hasn't always felt accessible to me.
The early interest from the performance community has been amazing. We are a diverse group with unique intersectional experiences: between us, we're neurodivergent, we're queer, we're racially and ethnically diverse, some of us are disabled. I think there are many parts of those identities that makes it clearer to see how systems don't work for different populations, and understanding that we are stronger together, and able to make change.
Together, we share the desire to celebrate the joy in our existence through art and song and poetry, and the radical acts of loving ourselves and others without shame or judgement.
What makes the Offbeat Spice Show different from other burlesque shows?
For starters, this is a theatre show, which immediately sets a particular type of atmosphere. We have a larger stage, and the ability to add cues around lighting or using larger props that aren't suitable for smaller stages or bar shows. We're also featuring other types of performance art as well -- although, not in a cabaret style. There's a lot of opportunity mixing the literal and metaphorical "layers" of burlesque with other types of art; many burlesque performers do other types of art as well; and there are other types of artists who may find concepts in burlesque attractive to the stories they want to tell.
There is so much hurt and pain and difficulty in the world right now, to be able to hold multiple things true simultaneously -- that there can be bad shit happening, AND we can celebrate our very existence and survival and the common humanity we share between us... is such a beautiful thing. And in the face of systemic oppression that exists in different ways world-wide... it is resistance.
How can artists get involved?
Our submission form is always open! Right now, we have bi-monthly dates booked throughout 2024, and interested artists can find more information at https://msha.ke/theoffbeatspiceshow or by following us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theoffbeatspiceshow/
Can you share the event lineup for the inaugural show?
Event lineup
Emerald Gaze - Emerald Gaze (@_emerald_gaze) • Instagram photos and videos
Gada Jane - Gada Jane | Psychic Intuitive Medium (@gadajaneintuitive) • Instagram photos and videos
Goldie Luxemburg - Goldie Luxemburg (@goldieluxemburg) • Instagram photos and videos
Leyla Racyne - ~* 𝐋𝐞𝐲𝐥𝐚 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐲𝐧𝐞 *~ (@leylaracyne) • Instagram photos and videos
Miss Diamond - Ashley T. / Miss Diamond (@the_bifecta) • Instagram photos and videos
Optimal Tease - Optimal Tease (@optimaltease) • Instagram photos and videos
Tammy THE Brown - Tammy THE Brown (@tammythebrown) • Instagram photos and videos
Elfie Kalfakis - Eleftheria Kalfakis (@elfiekalfakis) • Instagram photos and videos
And media provided by sporas (@sporasscattered) • Instagram photos and videos - a poem that was authored by the martyr Rafeat Alareeri
When do tickets go on sale?
Tickets are on sale now via Eventbrite, $35 or 2 for $60.
Blog readers can get 10% off with the code CULTUREFANCIER
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/860614891307/?discount=CULTUREFANCIER
We also have a round-trip transportation option for folks coming in from Toronto, a dedicated show bus that leaves and returns to Kipling Station.
What do you want audiences to take away from the shows?
Ultimately, the goal is to leave audiences feeling uplifted and inspired. It's possible that some of the art may provoke deeper discussion or introspection -- isn't that what art is meant to do?! And we hope to take some of the weight off of the heaviness, and embrace all of the parts -- much in the same way that modern burlesque exists to embrace one's self in the physical form.
Interview by Glodeane Brown
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