On March 21, more than a hundred attendees from all around Montreal gathered at the Cabaret Lion d’Or for Queer McGill’s first-ever burlesque event. Planned in collaboration with local queer organisations, Sweet Like Honey MTL and CommeUnity, the event boasted an entirely QTBIPOC lineup of performers, aiming to celebrate the s wyadA Jo A Night] event last year was a huge success, but there were very few performers of colour,” said Anushka Manoj, one of the Events Coordinators for Queer McGill. “So when we were planning this event, we knew we wanted to try our best to highlight as many BIPOC artists as possible.”
The event was hosted by Marlyne, who is also the founder of Sweet Like Honey—an organisation specifically created for QTBIPOC in Montreal who relate to the lesbian or sapphic experience. As a performer herself, Marlyne wanted to create a safe space for other sapphic performers to dance freely. Through Sweet Like Honey, she hosts various lesbian and sapphic strip club nights for these dancers. Marlyne helped to recruit many of the performers for this Burlesque Night, relying on her network of dancers (whom she affectionately refers to as her “Honeybees”).
Each and every one of the performers put on a show to remember. Salty Margarita, the founder of Latino Burlesque, kicked things off with a fabulously flamboyant dance to upbeat Latin music. Drag king Alastair S!N kept energy high throughout his performance, dancing to powerful beats and engaging the audience effortlessly. He was followed by Queen Macondo, who put on one of the campiest and most entertaining shows of the night involving an elaborate tea-pouring ritual.
There wasn’t a single moment throughout the night when the audience wasn’t cheering on the dancers. A short break followed the first round of performances, during which I was able to ask the event organisers to speak about the importance of planning events like these.
“Working at QM, we’re able to provide a platform for queer people, especially for those within the community who are often excluded or attacked in other spaces,” said Valeria Munoz, who also serves as Events Coordinator for Queer McGill. “We’re always trying to reaffirm our commitment to creating safe spaces for all the intersections that exist within queer identities […] especially trying to create and preserve queer joy whenever we can.”
The emphasis on queer joy was deeply felt in every part of the event. As the performances continued, “galactic goddess” Cosmic Creme took to the stage in a white wedding dress complete with a bouquet of flowers which were tossed into the crowd. Queef Latina went next, taking things up a notch with another campy show to get the audience excited. Award-winning drag queen Genesis Loren did some more crowdwork, walking through the rows of audience members, finishing off with a classy dance number onstage.
For the final surprise, Marlyne herself took to the stage under her persona Carmen Mayhem — truly ending things off with a bang!
The night was filled with applause, laughter, raucous cheering, and unabashed queer joy. It was more than just another burlesque show; it was a celebration of queer artistry and performance, dedicated to highlighting the voices that are often sidelined.
“Sex workers and burlesque artists have always been at the frontlines of LGBTQ+ activism,” said Marlyne, during her final speech of the night. “Too many times they get pushed to the perimeters […] but for us they’re at the forefront.”