A multimedia documentary work exploring the legacy of Leon Claxton’s groundbreaking Black and Cuban traveling show that redefined entertainment and broke racial barriers.
From The Atlanta School of Burlesque: We’re pleased to announce the ✧ The Atlanta School of Burlesque: Leslie Cunningham Burlesque Education Scholarship ✧.
We believe that education, especially Black burlesque education, should be accessible to everyone. All donations from the upcoming Brown Skin Showgirls Weekender events will help raise funds for the scholarship, which aims to remove financial barriers and cultivate the artistic talents of promising Black performers in our community.
We believe dance is a powerful language of expression and movement, and everyone deserves the opportunity to shine without limitation.
The Atlanta School of Burlesque: Leslie Cunningham Burlesque Education Scholarship will directly impact the lives of talented Black burlesque dancers by providing them with the tools and resources they need to flourish. We envision a future where burlesque represents a vibrant microcosm of diversity and inclusion, and where artistic opportunities are accessible to all, regardless of their background.
Step Right Up, Folks for the BROWN SKIN SHOWGIRLS WEEKEND!
Get ready to be dazzled and swept off your feet at the Brown Skin Showgirls Weekend in Atlanta – where the spotlight shines on elegance, empowerment, and the mesmerizing world of Black Burlesque!
Join theHarlem in Havana Projectand The Atlanta School of Burlesque for an electrifying weekend filled with glamour, history, and unbridled excitement in honor of Black History Month 2024! Get ready for a tantalizing showcase featuring spectacular shows, riveting films, and an immersive dive into the rich tapestry of Black Burlesque History. This isn’t just an event; it’s a celebration of the art, the passion, and the allure that define Brown Skin Showgirls.
Whether you’re a devoted fan or a curious soul, this weekend is your golden ticket to an unforgettable experience! From jaw-dropping performances to engaging insights, we’re bringing you the very best in burlesque entertainment.
All are welcome 18+ to these free events, so gather your friends and mark your calendars for a weekend like no other. But beware, space is limited at the fabulous Metropolitan Studios, Inc. located at 1259 Metropolitan Avenue Southeast, Atlanta, GA 30316.
Meet & Greet with the Dazzling Leslie Cunningham: Step into the glittering world of The Harlem in Havana Project and mingle with the creator and director! Let’s make memories, snap some selfies, and bask in the brilliance of this artist, author, and filmmaker extraordinaire!
Black Burlesque History Class – My Grandma Was an Exotic Dancer– Unleash the secrets of the past with a class that’s anything but ordinary! Join us for a riveting journey into the history of Black Burlesque. This isn’t your typical history lesson – it’s a chance to uncover the sultry stories and shimmy through the eras. Who knew Grandma had such a fabulous past?
BIPOC Performer Talk Back hosted by the Fabulous Zara Estelle! Get ready to spill the tea, spill the glitter, and spill all the behind-the-scenes magic! Join burlesque sensation Zara Estelle as she leads an unfiltered and unforgettable discussion with our incredible BIPOC performers. It’s a talk back that’s as sassy as it is enlightening – because who said education can’t be fabulous?.
Brown Skin Showgirls UNLEASHED! Brace yourself for an intoxicating display of burlesque brilliance as The CANDYBOX REVUE takes the stage to pay homage to the magic of Harlem in Havana. Our showgirls are ready to captivate, enchant, and leave you breathless with their jaw-dropping performances! A Fundraiser Like No Other! But wait, there’s more! This isn’t just a night of entertainment; it’s a chance to support a fabulous cause. Join us in raising funds for The Atlanta School of Burlesque and be part of an evening that combines philanthropy with flair! The Sweetest Revue in Town! The CANDYBOX REVUE promises an evening of sweetness, spice, and everything nice. It’s not just a show; it’s an experience that will leave you craving for more. Mark your calendars, grab your tickets, and prepare for a night that will be the talk of the town! The Brown Skin Showgirls Opening Ceremony + Burlesque Show is an event you won’t want to miss. Purchase tickets here for this event – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brown-skin-showgirls-burlesque-show-tickets-771188043197
Brown Skin Showgirls Extravaganza: Sizzling Edition! Immerse yourself in an afternoon of allure and artistry with a tantalizing book reading and signing event featuring some of the fabulous Brown Skin Showgirl performers from The Atlanta School of Burlesque!
JIG SHOW: Unveiling the Legacy of Harlem in Havana: Join us for an eye-opening screening of the documentary film “JIG SHOW,” a mesmerizing journey into the legacy of Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana. The lights dim at 3:00 pm, setting the stage for an immersive cinematic experience that’s as enlightening as it is entertaining.
Meet the Mastermind: Post-Screening Q&A with the Filmmaker: Stick around after the film for an exclusive Q&A session with the brilliant mind behind the documentary. Get ready to delve into the behind-the-scenes magic, stories untold, and the intricate details that bring this captivating history to life. It’s not just a conversation; it’s an opportunity to connect with the filmmaker on a whole new level!
5:00 pm-8:00 pm
The Grand Finale: After Party Extravaganza! Don’t let the night end just yet – join us for the ultimate celebration at the After Party hosted by The Atlanta School of Burlesque! The party doesn’t start until you walk in! Get ready to dance, mingle and let loose in an atmosphere that radiates energy and excitement. It’s not just an ending but a continuation of the unforgettable Brown Skin Showgirls saga.
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About The Harlem in Havana Project: Embark on a riveting journey through time with The Harlem in Havana Project, a compelling multimedia documentary work by artist and filmmaker Leslie Cunningham that pays homage to one of America’s most triumphant traveling girl shows. Delve into the untold story of Leon Claxton, a courageous African American showman who, against the backdrop of the oppressive Jim Crow era, pioneered a spectacular fusion of Black and Cuban entertainment. Read more at harleminhavana.com.
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About Leslie Cunningham: Meet Leslie Cunningham, a Durham-based storyteller extraordinaire. As the creative force behind TRIBES Entertainment, Leslie wears multiple hats—artist, writer, filmmaker, and owner of this boutique digital media haven that crafts narratives from the frontline of urban music, arts, and culture. Read more. Learn more at lesliecunninghamfilms.com.
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About The Atlanta School of Burlesque – We are an arts and movement community open to creators who seek a place to make, congregate, collaborate, and entertain. We offer classes, workshops, and intimate events. We are a dance studio, burlesque school, burlesque show venue, art space, event venue, creative space, film/photo production space, and more. Dubbed “Atlanta’s Burlesque & Cabaret House”, we are home to the Atlanta School of Burlesque and the award-winning burlesque troupe, The Candybox Revue. Learn more at https://www.metrostudioseav.com/atlburlesqueschool.
NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH! I am excited to present the reimagined HARLEM IN HAVANA PROJECT which stands poised to propel my family’s entertainment legacy forward! The reimagined website home is filled with BREATHTAKING, NEVER-BEFORE SEEN show photos, video interviews, burlesque education, project news, and so much more! Check out the new doc film page (still jigshow.com) and stay tuned for details about upcoming screenings of the FINAL CUT ready for its world premiere! Thank you so much for your continued support of my documentary project and in the spirit of my grandfather Leon Claxton, STEP RIGHT UP, FOLKS, IT’S HARLEM IN HAVANA TIME! – Leslie
Join us Saturday, May 20@3pm (CDT). The Rose Academy of Burlesque is very excited to announce an upcoming virtual workshop titled “My Grandma was an Exotic Dancer?!” Presented by Leslie Cunningham for the Harlem in Havana Project Burlesque Education Series! You won’t want to miss out on getting an inside look into the ways that three sisters changed the game for exotic dancing, as we knew it, in the American carnival system during early black burlesque history!
In April 2023, the Harlem in Havana Project presented the Brown Skin Showgirls Book at theThe International Booklover’s Burlesque Festival in Portland Oregon. Produced by Lacy Productions, the festival is a celebration of the literary and the performing arts, highlighting burlesque, boylesque, and draglesque artists from around the world. Project director Leslie Cunningham was selected as a guest of honor for the event and read from the Brown Skin Showgirls book followed by a performance from D.C. showgirl Aquarius Moon. Learn more at www.bookloversburlesque.com/festival.
The Harlem in Havana Project: Burlesque Education Serieswas featured at BurlyCon 2022 in Seattle, WA. Presented by Leslie Cunningham, the Burlesque Education Series features classes covering American burlesque history from the traveling carnival stage. These fun, passionate and energetic classes are filled with new and existing burlesque material, personal experiences, book reviews, film clips and much more.
BurlyCon is offering the virtual class “My Grandma Was an Exotic Dancer?!” The class looks at early Black Burlesque through a glimpse into the lives of the Bates Sisters, three brown-skin showgirls who helped innovate exotic dance from the American carnival stage. Visit Virtual BurlyCon 2022.
Thomas F. DeFrantz, Dance Professor at Duke University
Leslie Cunningham’s project sheds light on an under-explored aspect of black popular culture in the United States, the traveling “jig show” or performing variety show/ human circus of the twentieth century. These traveling shows brought forward crucial possibilities of social engagement in their presentation of specialized music, dance, and burlesque-style performance. Bridging the shift from live performance and vaudeville to the ubiquity of television in the first half of the 1900s, these midway shows stand as demonstration of American popular culture shaped by a pressing need to share music and dance from other geographic locations, standards of musicality prevalent in other places, and, of course, definitions of femininity and female beauty demonstrated by the showgirls always featured in the revue.
Indeed, Leon Claxton’s successful show built upon a well-established arrangement of specialized dance, including tap dance and Latin dance; specialized music, including big band Latin sounds; and burlesque performance, including “showgirls” and strip-tease artists. Cunningham narrates an expansive social impact of these formations of a popular black and Latino cultures in the context of the segregated United States. Indeed, Cunningham’s project holds enormous potential to ignite discourse surrounding instances of Black American and Cuban collaboration, a woefully under-resourced area of inquiry.
Leon Claxton’s show confirmed a willingness of Cuban and Black American alignment, a formation easily denied or forgotten as many twenty-first century Cubans claim proximity to ‘whiteness’ rather than ‘blackness.’ Popular cultures always reveal fault lines and tensions of race, gender, sexuality, class, and their circulations among people; this film Jig Show will bring these tensions into sharp relief while providing an invaluable document of myriad routes of circulation for black music and dance.
From Thomas F. DeFrantz, Chair, Duke University African & African American Studies
Professor, Duke Dance|Theater Studies, Director, SLIPPAGE: Performance, Culture, Technology, President, Society of Dance History Scholars
Sunday, August 29 at 3pm the SLIPPAGE @ Duke University 2021 Fall Series presents a final “work in progress” of Durham-based creator, Leslie Cunningham’s new documentary film series (part 1 and 2) “JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana”. This is a special screening for students. Slippage@Duke is directed by Thomas F. DeFrantz at the Rubenstein Arts Center. All events will be in the SLIPPAGE lab, Room 202, Rubenstein Arts Center. All events are free and open to the public. There will be capacity limits and masking protocols. For more information email:t.defrantz@duke.edu or visit https://slippage.duke.edu.
Created by Leslie Cunningham, The Harlem in Havana Project is an educational multimedia work that honors one of America’s most successful traveling shows and producer, Leon Claxton, the brave African American showman who pioneered Black entertainment during the era of Jim Crow. The work is a celebration of our multi-faceted past that aims to revive Harlem in Havana’s rich entertainment history. The documentary project work includes:
HARLEM IN HAVANA 