Press
Breasts of Both Worlds (Weekly Alibi)
April 26, 2012
Duke City and Big Apple tag-team for scintillating show
“The Jacqueline Kennedy act has gotten me some interesting attention in the burlesque scene,” says Rebelle, who recently took home the trophy for Best Soloist at the Austin competition for her new balloon dance, “Rain Cloud,” set to music from the Disney cartoon film Bambi.
But it’s the grieving first widow act, in which Rebelle starts out in a pink suit covered in blood, that she says has become her signature number. “It’s Jacqueline Kennedy after JFK was shot,” she explains. “But it’s tasteful.”
The eight-minute routine capitalizes on the classic burlesque convention of storytelling through movement, costuming and music while reaching for the neo-burlesque heights of profound thought and emotional impact. It’s the performance-art nature of the piece that has made it so popular, says Rebelle, who admits she might be retiring it soon in order to avoid becoming a one-trick pony. But Albuquerque audiences have at least one last chance to catch that risqué display Thursday at Aux Dog Theatre.
Graduate Becomes First New Mexican to win Burlesque Award (CNM Chronicle)
April 24, 2012
Graduate becomes first New Mexican to win burlesque award
By: Stefany Olivas, Staff Reporter
Photo By: Wildun Photography
Burlesque Noir troupe founder and Veterinary Technician graduate “Holly Rebelle” was the first Burlesque performer from New Mexico to win the solo competition at the recent Texas Burlesque Festival.
She presented a classical balloon dance act, which made her top pick, she said.
“They are looking for people to be true to the classic art form of Burlesque. Having a great stage presence, using a classic song and having a well thought out costume were all in my favor,” said Rebelle.
To be recognized by her peers and idols out of about two dozen competitors was a great feeling especially because it is something she enjoys, said Rebelle.
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Pasties, Panties and Tassels, Oh My! (CNM Chronicle)
Pasties, panties, and tassels OH MY!
Published March 27, 2012
By: Stefany Olivas, Staff Reporter
Burlesque Noir hosts funderaiser to compete in national event
L ocal neo-burlesque performance troupe, Burlesque Noir, is co-hosting a fundraiser and raffle to raise money in order to attend a competition in Texas next month, said veterinary technician graduate and troupe founder “Holly Rebelle.” The group hopes the Bikini Bash Bonanza fundraiser will help with travel costs to attend the Texas Burlesque Festival on April 12 – 14 in Austin, said Rebelle.
Rebelle said that the troupe is honored to have another opportunity to represent Albuquerque in a competition. The group won the award for best troupe at the “Great Boston Burlesque Exposition” in 2009, said Rebelle.
While all the girls are passionate and talented, any form of dance as a hobby is very expensive — especially when group travel is involved, said Rebelle.
Art of Exhibitionism (Albuquerque Journal)
Art of Exhibitionism
Published November 28, 2010
By Amanda Schoenberg
Journal Staff Writer
It is 11 o’clock on a Friday night in Albuquerque when burlesque performer Kitty Irreverent starts working the crowd.
Dressed in very little — apart from five purple balloons — Kitty makes her way around Low Spirits, a Second Street bar, offering patrons a chance to prick her balloons with a safety pin.
Back at the front of the room, now balloon-less and stripped to her undergarments, she offers the crowd a quick twirl of her tassels and struts off.
Welcome to the world of burlesque in Albuquerque, which has gained popularity in recent years among audiences and performers inspired by its vintage appeal and sassy exhibitionism.
It is a world far from the Hollywood version of “Burlesque,” the PG-13 movie starring singers Cher and Christina Aguilera, which opened Wednesday. In the movie, Aguilera plays a small-town girl who stumbles into a burlesque club and works her way from waitress to singer and star performer. If the trailer is any indication, the movie version of burlesque is glitzy, glamorous and leads to a lucrative career on stage.
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Burlesque Troupe Revamps Art Form (Daily Lobo)
Burlesque Troupe Revamps Art Form
Published July 23, 2007
by Samantha Scott
There’s more to burlesque than what meets – or doesn’t meet – the eye.
The members of Burlesque Noir, a self-described neo-burlesque troupe, practice for about six hours each week, said Holly Rebelle, the troupe’s founder. And the rehearsal has clearly had an effect on Burlesque Noir’s artistic evolution.
Since Burlesque Noir began in January 2005, the troupe has made dramatic creative and conceptual advances. Rebelle started the troupe as a side project to former Albuquerque fetish performance group Crushed Velvet Rope.
Rebelle said Burlesque Noir began by performing alongside Crushed Velvet Rope, performing five or six pieces per show. Now, it performs 14 to 20 burlesque pieces per show, as well as hosting two to four guest performers.
“We have grown to produce, direct and perform full-length shows,” Rebelle said.
Striptease on the Strip (Weekly Alibi)
Striptease on the Strip
Published June 28, 2007
by Devin O’Leary
It started, auspiciously enough, with pink feathers floating down Fremont Street. The Exotic World Weekend in Las Vegas kicked off (literally) with over 200 exotic dancers performing the world’s biggest bump and grind while wearing the world’s longest feather boa, a mile-long, shocking pink monstrosity constructed by Ostriches On Line. While the speakers over Fremont blared a selection of classic boom-tsiss-boom-tsiss music, the gals (and a couple of guys) gave convention attendees and curious onlookers a taste of what was to come—three days worth of classic, retro-style Burlesque action.
Neo-Sexy (Weekly Alibi)
Neo-Sexy
Published April 12, 2007
By Marisa Demarco
JJ Pearls has it down to a formula. For every minute of stage time she sees, $10 leaps from her pocket. “You do a five-minute piece, that’s a $50 costume most of the time,” she says.
This is true even though JJ performs with Burlesque Noir, Albuquerque’s primary neo-burlesque company, which isn’t known for its elaborate costuming. In Noir, 14 women work together to conceptualize, choreograph and dance. Though the group doesn’t don the traditionally ornate garb of its revivalist counterparts, even simple garments come with a price.
(This issue of the Weekly Alibi profiled the entire burlesque community in Albuquerque as of early 2007 Click Here for a listing of all the other articles.)
Burlesque Noir to Scare Up Chills, Thrills (Albuquerque Journal)
Burlesque Noir to Scare Up Chills, Thrills
Published October 20, 2006
By Dan Mayfield
Journal Staff Writer
You can do a lot in Albuquerque if you just ask for volunteers.
Just ask Holly Rebelle— sure, that’s her stage name, but when you’re a burlesque star, you can get away with a lot.
Rebelle was part of the old Lonely Hearts Burlesque troupe in Albuquerque a while back. When that troupe went the way of the Studebaker, she decided to start her own troupe.
“I had done a burlesque performance in 2004 as a single act and it went over well,” Rebelle said. “But my vision was bigger than myself.”
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