A’dora Derriere is a special woman.
She is the original Co-Founder and former Director of Perth International Burlesque Festival (2012 – 2016), the owner of Sugar Blue Burlesque (Perth), Co-producer of the Burlesque Cruise, and Producer of Miss Burlesque & Boylesque Australia & UK.
After a two year hiatus and a changing of the showgirl guard, PIBF launches our sixth Festival in less than four days.
Less. than. FOUR. DAYS!
We asked A’dora about the history and community behind our Festival, and the bright future of PIBF and Burlesque…
1. For those newer to Burlesque here in Perth, when did PIBF start-up and why was it important to you to create an event like this event for Perth?
The Perth International Burlesque Festival began in 2012 with myself and Coco Poppin at the helm. I had been doing a lot travelling in the previous years leading up to the creation of PIBF, performing at various festivals around the world and knew that our amazing city needed a Burlesque Festival to bring not only interstate, but also international artists to our shores to facilitate networking for our local performers and to show the world how hospitable and talented our scene was.
2. If you can pick them, tell us 3 of your top highlights from your time as Director of PIBF?
2. If you can pick them, tell us 3 of your top highlights from your time as Director of PIBF?The first one is being able to meet, tour and bring to Perth some of the world’s most inspirational performers. In the 5 years that Coco Poppin and I produced PIBF, we had headliners such as Perle Noire, Vicky Butterfly, Indigo Blue, Imogen Kelly, Medianoche, Coco Lectric and Lada Redstar.
The second comes from 2013, Coco Poppin and I created a 16 Showgirl chorus line act with local performers just to perform at PIBF.It was hours of choreography, rehearsal and costume creation. When we got to see this incredible act perform, it was one of the most magical moments of my life. It was something we had always dreamed about and was bought to life on the PIBF stage.
Number three would be the first year that we ran PIBF, I created my (bondage) black swan act especially for the festival, as the black swan is unique to Perth. Performing this act at the first year of festival that I co-created was definitely a highlight and a very happy memory.
3. If you read some of the other Performer Spotlights, PIBF holds a special place in the hearts of many local performers and volunteers, and draws the eye of many outside Perth – what makes our event so special?
Even though PIBF is an International event, Coco Poppin and I put a huge emphasis on community involvement and growth by way of the festival. We wanted everyone to feel they could be involved in some way.
4. This year is the first-ever experience of PIBF for quite a few members of our community and the feeling of this being a really special thing is strong. Do you have any advice for any first time performers or volunteers?
Talk to as many other performers as you can! If you are local, make any visiting artist feel welcome and offer them any help or to show them around. Get to know your fellow local performers, this is the perfect opportunity for networking, don’t be shy, introduce yourself
5. Finally, we’re relaunching in less than 2 weeks(!) What do you think of our gorgeous lineup of shows and workshops this year?
Spectacular! The workshops are NOT to be missed with the headliners!! I can not emphasise this enough! There will not be many future opportunities to learn from such unique artists as these. The shows themselves will be dynamic and I’ve been lucky enough to hear from The Sugar Duchess herself, the extra touches that she has added to the shows, which will make them so exciting to watch!
6. The most important question – where do you think the future of Burlesque is heading?
Performers feeling more freedom to create acts and develop their stage characters which are not constrained by gender expectations. This is marvellous to watch!