Self Expression, Self Love and The Love of The Peel

I got the opportunity to meet Aria Arcana, a performer and the head producer for her burlesque group, The Heartless Hellions, and attend my first ever burlesque show. When I walked into the underground brewery where they were performing, Aria greeted me with a welcoming smile in her dazzling dark blue dress. 

One performer was dressed in a monkey onesie while another was covered head to toe in leather. All I knew going into this performance was burlesque is a form of self expression through dancing. 

I had no idea I was going to see the performers peel their clothes off in front of me. 

“You’re in control of your body and what it does,” Arcana said. “You don’t have to be ashamed of your body because it’s something that’s beautiful. [Burlesque] is all inclusive, and that’s something you don’t see very much in most visual arts.”

Arcana has been in the spotlight since she was two-years-old and always found love in dancing. After taking a break when she went to college, she decided she wanted to go back into performing in 2018. 

She wanted to go into musical theater. Her husband had a different idea.

“My husband brought up to me burlesque classes in Minneapolis and said ‘I think you’d really enjoy this. Go try it out,’” Arcana said.

Arcana attended her first class and has spent the past six years doing burlesque. Her craft has taken her to South Dakota, Iowa, Chicago, and as far as Rome, Italy. 

Two years after her start, Arcana started The Heartless Hellions. She reached out to local companies to get funding and invested her own money to produce her first live performance. The performers were people Arcana knew well from the burlesque community. 

Since their first show, the group has flourished. Arcana has brought local and out of town performers to create a group she can always rely on when they have performances.

When it comes to the performances, Arcana always starts with the song. To her, it’s about understanding the background of the song so she can figure out what choreography should accompany her performance. Depending on the venue, there are always going to be accommodations being made so the performances can feel the same.

“The choreography does change per the venue,” Arcana said. “Some choreography isn’t going to work in a certain space.”

Performances are also about where she decides to make her peels, which is when the performers start to take off their clothes. 

“When you’re on stage and you do that first peel, the audience is ready for it,” Arcana said. “It sets up the mood for the rest of the number.”

Part of being a producer means Arcana helps teach the new people she brings onto her crew. She said she is always happy to guide new people through the process and give them advice on how to have the best performances they can have.

“I let them know the perfection is in the imperfections,” Arcana said. “We’re right there with our audience and it’s never going to be perfect, but that’s what makes it so unique.”

While Arcana does everything she can to make sure her productions go smoothly, challenges are always something that come up in the burlesque world. According to Arcana, rejection is a huge part of the art, and the selection process can be the hardest part. 

Another challenge Arcana and her group face is the busyness and exhaustion from working around the clock. According to Arcana, most, if not all of her group has a daytime job along with doing burlesque. 

“I have to compartmentalize a bit because when I’m at work, I’m at work and have to focus on my deadlines at work,” Arcana said. “It’s definitely difficult to manage that because I’m working all the time.”

Despite these challenges, Arcana has dreams of owning her own cabaret bar where people can come and watch burlesque performances. Her main goal is to have a place where burlesque performers from the LGBTQ+ community can feel supported.

“Be on stage, be visible, be who you are,” Arcana said. “We want to be able to be all inclusive and prioritize marginalized communities. Burlesque is an art for everyone.”

After attending The Heartless Hellions show, I took some time to reflect. I was in awe of what I had just witnessed as I sat back and watched people stand on stage and embrace the art they have fallen so deeply in love with. When I asked Arcana what it meant to be on the performers side, she told me how empowering performing truly is. 

“Having the experience of an audience applauding you for that, enjoy it and want to see you do that, it’s such an interesting experience that changes your mindset,” Arcana said. “It gives you such a different viewpoint on self image and self respect. You own yourself.” 

To check out Arcana’s shows and be entranced by the performers, head over to Gambit Brewing Co. every other Friday and Sunday along with White Bear Meadery.

Arcana has found herself through the art of dancing and being able to express her passion with the people around her. The sky’s the limit with her, and Arcana has a bright future of reaching for the stars. 

“You can’t keep me off stage even if you tried,” Arcana said. “I’m going to be on stage regardless of what kind of art it is.”