A packed house at the Point After lounge was treated to some grade 'A' merchandise last Friday and Saturday nights. They could look, but they couldn't touch.

A witty slapstick act mixed with plenty of pink lingerie was all it took to keep the audience thinking dirty thoughts - just not too dirty. Under searing red lights and tunes that were groovy one minute and corny the next, the ladies and the band of Fleur Du Mal gave an unforgettable show. Men played by women, femme fatales armed with squirt guns, and an entire skit dedicated to the female breast; they were all in the mix for a winning burlesque show.

"We were able to be independent and I liked that we did the classic elements of burlesque: humor and theatre," said Sarah Mitchell, who signed on to the performance because it was a cool project to do with friends, almost all of whom were UAF students. "It's not only about being dirty and having naked women bounce around."

Burlesque means many different things, and for those with a healthy and historical sense for vocabulary, the word conjures up images of women doing a silly striptease. But classic burlesque is more about comedy than stripping, as those who attended the Fleur Du Mal shows at the Point After this past weekend surely found out.

Fleur Du Mal was the brainchild of UAF theatre student Carey Seward who directed, produced and acted in the show. Seward researched burlesque through books, movies and TV documentaries.

"When I was learning about these shows, I thought it was so funny," Seward said. "There's sort of a resurgence all over the country of burlesque shows."

"(Burlesque is) mostly a parody of everyday life, specifically sexual interactions," she said. "Lots of emphasis on the underdog winning, the idea that it's for everyone, the common man, his being triumphant against hopeless odds. It's about tease, not dirty. Only naughty, naughty is entertaining."

Burlesque has been around since the turn of the 19th century, Seward said.

"It was brought over from Britain, called 'The Poor Man's Follies' it was considered quite scandalous at the time," Seward said. "A contributing factor to this was probably the fact that many of the main actresses were also producers, meaning it was mostly female run. Traditionally it was male comics, and female singers and dancers."

Most of the women performing in Fleur Du Mal had also participated in another burlesque show earlier this year at the Marlin called Bella Noche. Seward brought the idea to them, wrote the script and asked Craig Brookes to be the show's music director.

"Just the word 'burlesque,' I wouldn't have been able to tell you what it meant before doing this show," said Brookes, who is also the music director for KSUA and plays in the UAF Jazz Band. After Seward brought the idea to him, Brookes went looking for old jazz standards, the kind he refers to as "original stripping music."

"We tried to stay true to the sounds," Brookes said. "A lot of the girls chose their own numbers. What really began as curiosity turned into research for a show."

Brookes said both shows sold out, and though he enjoyed himself, he's glad to be done.

"We'd never really had an opportunity to do something like that," Brookes said. "It was a lot of fun. And usually you don't get paid."

Ladies of Fleur Du Mal:

The Band:

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