Photo Credit: Andrew Hinkle
Julian Williams, or “Lavish Jules” as she’s known on stage, remembers her first burlesque performance. It was a Halloween-themed show by local group Brew City Bombshells at Company Brewing about four years ago. Williams did a routine based on the classic horror-comedy Beetlejuice. She worked on the number for a couple months before the show, practicing the dance number in a small studio apartment. At show time she was “nervous and excited,” but she entered into the burlesque world with a memorable act.
“I wanted it to be fun, a little campy, I still wanted it to be sexy... loud, like Beetlejuice is... definitely silly, scary. The way I did that was some fun, sexy, little bit of salsa, did my lip sync, had my fun umbrella which was really campy. I took off these shorts and had a bunch of eyeballs on my butt, it was really fun,” Williams laughs.
Williams would dance around her house, but finding a way of connecting to something that worked for her—burlesque—took time.
“I liked the idea of being in a dance troupe, but there weren’t a lot that were open and available to me. It’s not something my mom could afford when I was a kid and a teenager,” Williams explains. “I had done cheerleading and I had done step, and all the girls were very catty and cliquey, and I was like, ‘I don’t want to be involved in that.’ And the problem was lots of times people wouldn’t listen when I’d put in input. They’d be like ‘yeah, but no,’ and it wouldn’t happen. I was like, ‘oh, boring. Annoying.’”
Williams would find an opportunity where she wouldn’t be ignored and also found a way to channel her creativity into stage movement, dance and lip-syncing to become a burlesque and drag performer. One of her favorite parts is the costuming.
“The first time I saw Moulin Rouge, I was like, ‘I don’t know what that is, but I want to do that,’” Williams says. “Corsetry, garter belts, fancy undies and tights and all that. I was like, ‘that’s what I want, I love that.’ My first two years, my acts were a lot of that and not going down to pasties ’cause I wasn’t comfortable with that. I feel OK about my body now, but I still like that beautiful shell.”
Celebrating Black Love
After her debut, Williams continued to perform with the Brew City Bombshells and other local troupes. She also developed an interest in producing her own shows and is currently working on putting together classes for people interested in trying out burlesque themselves.
For the last three years, Williams, along with co-producers and performers Afrodisiac Slays and Avery Ex-Machina, has put together a showcase to tie into Valentine’s Day called “Dripping in Melanin,” which is “an all-black variety show celebrating black love.” This year, the show is called “Noir Amour.”
“We need to highlight performers of color and black performers specifically, because I feel we do not get enough recognition within our community and within the burlesque community,” Williams says. “It’s crucial to have our own communities come out and support us, because we might not have family come out to our shows and support us.”
As for what you can expect at the show, Williams says, “You’re going to see lots of booty, and not just mine,” adding that in addition to burlesque and drag performance, there will be games, crowd interaction and raffle prizes.
“This show is going to be lots of hearts on our sleeve, ’cause I know whenever I perform that’s what I do. Hopefully, It’s going to be lots of self-love,” Williams says. “I feel black people specifically loving themselves—the way they want to be loved—is a big, radical form of self-care. I’m saying that and I’m trying to walk that walk, but it’s still difficult. Doing burlesque helps bridge that for myself.”
Dripping in Melanin Productions presents Noir Amour at Walker’s Point Music Hall, 538 W. National Ave., on Friday, February 21, at 10 p.m. There is a $5 cover.
