By Russ Tarby
Contributing Writer
The two co-founders of Salt City Burlesque appear as different as night and day, sunshine and shadow.
Harlow Holiday is of Mohawk descent with a background in theater and Tribal Fusion Belly Dance. A big-boned brunette with eyes as dark as night, Harlow is a self-proclaimed “sparkle enthusiast” who enjoys floral costume designs.
Co-founder Mary Effen Sunshine is a biker babe, heavy metal fan and all-round rebel. A curvaceous, henna-haired honey with striking blue eyes, Mary has a fondness for dominatrix garb, preferably coal black or fiery red.
Holiday and Sunshine will lead their Salt City Burlesque troupe onstage to celebrate “Spring Fever” at CNY Jazz Central, 441 E. Washington St., in downtown Syracuse, at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 16. Saturday’s show will feature Ruby Sparkles, Raven Allure and headliner Danielle St. Velvet.
Tickets cost $20 in advance, $25 at the door; 315-479-JAZZ; saltcityburlesque.com.
Based in Ithaca, headliner Danielle St. Velvet performs there regularly with the Whiskey Tango Sideshow and with Calamity Chang’s production of “Spanking the Lower East Side” at Nurse Bettie and Hotel Chantelle’s Friday-night burlesque show in Manhattan.
Featured dancer Ruby Sparkles is a Rochester redhead who serves as headmistress of the Flower City’s Sirens & Stilettos Cabaret. Raven Allure, a dark-haired beauty, also hails from Rochester.
SC Burlesque’s Harlow Holiday recently made her international debut at The Wiggle Room in Montreal performing in a First Nations-based burlesque fundraiser for Standing Rock’s efforts to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline.
And Mary Effen Sunshine anxiously anticipates the debut of her own original neo-burlesque production, “The Effen Sessions,” with an April premiere planned.
Established in 2015, Salt City Burlesque is CNY’s premier burlesque troupe and variety-show production company featuring performance artists from across the Empire State.
