Images courtesy of  Olena Sullivan | Photolena this year’s official photographer of the TBF. www.photolena.ca

Maybe it’s because we’re in the honeymoon stages of building a new show. Maybe it’s because we’re looking at our 2012 season with anticipation and excitement. Whatever it is, I’m feeling ultra-inspired these days.

Inspiration was given a big fat injection in July. My schedule was miraculously free enough to catch the gala evening of the Toronto Burlesque Festival, which also happened to fall on my birthday.

Charlotte Webber and Dew Lily were debuting a new hoop duet and Billie Black was showing off a brand new silks routine, so I went to support my darlings and to check out what was happening in the scene. It’s been a while since I’d seen any burlesque, and I was on the original planning committee the first year the festival began. The time seemed right for me to come and check things out.

I was sufficiently wowed. Programming was compelling. There were a couple of acts that I didn’t think were ready to share the stage yet with the heavy hitters, but the heavy hitters hit it hard this year, and removed any funny after-taste from my mouth.

Standouts included Vancouver’s Melody Mangler who took my breath away with a stunning Bo Peep inspired number. Using the simple convention of an electric fan, her languid, sensual number was a symphony of girlie goodness. Mangler teased us with a piece of chiffon fabric, manipulating it to drape exquisitely across her beautiful body. Costuming was darling and her use of surprise butterflies created a gasp that rippled through the entire audience. The number seemed perfectly executed and she had us all in the palm of her hand.

Montreal-based stunner Scarlett James never fails to disappoint. I could watch her do just about anything. She’s like a Burlesque Barbie doll who looks gorgeous from every angle, moves like a goddess, and totally and completely understands exactly how her svelte frame works best – a gift to any audience. The particulars of her number washed over me in a dream-like wave of wonder. I do remember really wanting to come back as her chaise lounge the second time around.

Miss Exotic World 2011 Indigo Blue is just the kind of kitten I’d like to drink scotch and smoke cigars with. She was utterly charming on stage, and so much fun! Even a minor costume malfunction was expertly sold as she tore off her rhinestones like she had plenty to spare. The combination of white skin and raven hair always gets me, and I was left wanting more, more, more of this delightful cutie.

Mahogany Storm made me scream (for real) when he came out on stage dressed like some futuristic, liquid silver, plastic-haired sex doll. His rock hard body undulated hypnotically and this popular Toronto boyleque performer has moves like nobody I’ve seen. I’m convinced he’s a sex robot.

Japan’s Cherry Typhoon blew my mind with an outrageous, hilarious number that both ridiculed and celebrated Asian stereotypes. I feel like the audience wasn’t quite sure what to make of the tone of her number (should we laugh or be respectful?), but I laughed my ass off at her playful sensuality and her sheer delight at being onstage.

I have a crush on Coco Framboise. She was stunning, as always, and brought out the big guns for the festival by twirling a gigantic tassel. Though the giant props are always fun, I think Coco is the kind of performer who can captivate a huge audience with or without the added fluff. I love her best in an intimate venue when I feel like she’s dancing just for me.

Local hottie Roxi D’Lite made her usual show-stopping appearance with an exotic Tiger Lilly number that was all glam. Her combination of eye-popping burlesque and aerial is all wow, and this gal is a truly multi-talented pro.

Our own troupe members shone the way I expected they would. Dew Lily and Charlotte Webber went really minimal with costuming so that the smokin’ hot sex appeal of their aerial hoop duet would really be the focus of their amazing performance. I held my breath for the duration, only letting it out to scream when Charlotte held Dew by the foot using only her thighs.

Billie Black captured the audience first with her sultry song stylings, and then she stripped out of her darling vintage trench to reveal an elaborate rope bondage harness created by our newest troupe member The Control Enthusiast. Billie’s explosion of curls and the stark blood red ropes appeared to be all the costume she needed as she took to the air via silks to show off some new skills she’s developed. Flirting with passion and danger, the Mod Club was a perfect venue to see Billie take on the dramatic height that such a medium calls for. The audience seemed to agree.

Toronto burlesque queen Tanya Cheex appeared in an adorable ladybug number. Her costume was the piece de resistance here – a Manuge et Tois design, the ladybug bustle came apart in pieces that became fans for Cheex to tease and titillate with. Her Skin Tight Outta Sight Co-Founder Sauci Calla Horra has really stepped it up too. Her dry, smoldering appeal was perfect in an unusual homage to lady parts that was both classy and silly. Stunning costuming there too.

My heart was lost once and for all to three performers at the Burlesque Ball. These performers demonstrated the kind of high level stage presence and craft that transcends the convention of burlesque.

Trixie Little and The Evil Hate Monkey are the funniest thing I have ever seen, and I have seen A LOT of things. I was laughing like a little kid at their duet to Total Eclipse of the Heart, a combination of dance, striptease and astounding acrobatics. The dynamic between the two performers was explored from every possible angle, complete with bad 80’s hair, cheesy lycra costumes, and explosive lighting effects as Bonnie Tyler sang her heart out. My favourite part of their brilliant comic timing was how they surprised us with role reversals – having tiny sexy Trixie dancing the traditionally male role and tossing Monkey around like a sack of bananas. Totally hysterical.

Finally, a nod to Jett Adore. No, a deep, soulful bow to Jett Adore. What a man. One third of Chicago’s Stage Door Johnnies, Jett was born to be on stage. Naked. I’d been hearing so much buzz about him, and after his performance at the festival, I totally get it. His act took me away to early Renaissance Italy, and I felt like an aristocrat watching some sort of elaborate courtly entertainment. He came out on stage in a glorious black and white cape inspired by the feathers of a male peacock and he was topped with a white feather bird mask. As he strutted and preened to the Nessun Dorma I was suddenly in an historical romance novel, and wanted nothing more than to have my bodice ripped open. Playful and delightful use of puppetry made me squeal and clap my hands, and something about the majesty of the number on a big stage, the hilarity in taking on the harlequin male ideal, and the graceful and powerful execution of it all made me weepy. I felt my first rock star crush take hold, and not just because Jett is a sweet-faced, full lipped swarthy fantasy come to life, but because he’s a fucking FANTASTIC performer.

So, kudos to the Toronto Burlesque Festival team for putting on a great show. Next year I’d like to see a bit more weeding out of the weaker acts for the Headliner Showcase. I think we could have done without the epic performance of organizer Mysterion’s eight-year-old nephew (time and a place for cute kids and a burlesque show just isn’t one of those) and I really, really wish that the festival organizers would have peppered their sponsor thanks throughout the show, or midway through in concise video format rather than bring us all out of our post-show high by piling all their thanks on in a long-winded farewell.

Next year, I’d love to host and I’d love to host it solo. I was sad that my schedule didn’t allow for it this year (they were sweet enough to ask), but it was a real treat to enjoy the show as an audience member. The whole evening made me pretty proud to be a Torontonian.