Bedazzling strip tease awaits you.
Cherry Red Cabaret, a brand new burlesque “harem,” will perform Friday in the EMU Ballroom under director madame Katie Martin, a.k.a. Kittie Katrina.
The harem includes Scarlett Storm, Fin DeVil, Meridian, Loki, Amber Romance and host Meghan the Mak.

Many people associate burlesque shows with looking at naked women, maybe in a strip club, but Martin assures that the women of Cherry Red Cabaret will strip no further than pasties and underwear.
“It’s the art of strip tease with a touch of comedy and fun,” Martin said. “We bring a modern edge to it. We just have a good time and do whatever we want. Basically, it’s beautiful women having a great time on stage.”
Performing before a University audience is new to Martin and the cabaret, most of whom formerly did burlesque at John Henry’s. Martin describes it as standing on a tiny stage in a darkened bar, always playing to 21 and older crowds. The cabaret is both nervous and excited to perform before a sober and potentially younger group in a much larger venue.
“The theater stage will be great,” Martin said. “We’ll be able to do so much more in front of people who won’t be drunk and can enjoy this. I hope they give us critiques of what we could do better.”
Tattooed, pierced and generally alternative, the cabaret members draw upon old-school burlesque dating back to the 1930s. After watching a Dante’s Inferno show in Portland, Martin said she and cabaret members decided they had to participate in something similar.
The women wear fishnets, armbands, feathers, jewels and glittery, sparkly accessories when they perform.
“When (burlesque) first started, it was the underground, bad girls thing, equivalent to stripping today,” Martin said. “Now everything’s so dirty but then it wasn’t at all. A lot of girls that don’t want to go that far today have fun with burlesque dance. It makes them feel sexual and sexy – not dirty for some guy or girl.”
Martin’s burlesque Web site describes her as a “rebellious American beauty with a passion for the wild side.” Originally from Atlanta, Ga., Martin moved to the Northwest in 1998. In addition to directing Cherry Red Cabaret, she is an Emerald City Roller Girl. Her favorite burlesque acts include “Billy a Dick,” “You Don’t Own Me” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”
Friday’s event is sponsored by the Cultural Forum. Coordinator and University freshman Dylan Loigman said that while many Cultural Forum programs such as World AIDS Day attempt to raise students’ consciousness about social issues, this is just for fun.
“It’s something culturally different,” Loigman said. “Something students don’t get exposed to really anywhere else unless they’re 21 and at the bars.”
Loigman encouraged students to show up early. The first 200 entrants receive swag bag “party favors.”
“The strip tease, historically, is a satiric, comedic thing,” Loigman said.
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