Burlesque performers can’t dance around liquor commission’s nudity rule | Calgary Herald

Burlesque performers can’t dance around liquor commission’s nudity rule | Calgary Herald



Burlesque performers can’t dance around liquor commission’s nudity rule | Calgary Herald http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/burlesque-performers-cant-dance-around-liquor-commissions-nudity-rule



"So, if booze is served in the venue, female burlesque performers are required to wear, at a minimum, bras. Nipple covers won’t suffice.



“We’re talking about centimetres of fabric that is the difference between nude and not nude to (the AGLC),” said Virginia, adding the policy is antiquated and discriminatory.



For example, next month the Garter Girls are scheduled to perform a Valentine’s Day show at the Engineered Air Theatre alongside two male burlesque dancers from Chicago. While the men can bare their chests, the women would be required to cover up.



“We’re not advocating for total nudity … we want to wear pasties,” she said. “(But) how is it that when you’re witnessing a man doing a striptease, in a burlesque context, is his bare chest less offensive than mine with pasties. It’s still sexuality being expressed, it’s still striptease, it’s still art.”"