upcoming events

nyc events list

past events

Ongoing: Russian Banya Parties 12.31.13 - The Bootleggers' Ball 10.26.13 - Masquerade Macabre #5 08.09-11.13 - G&S 10th Anniversary (First-ever NYC Steampunk Weekend) 10.27.12 - Masquerade Macabre #4 12.31.12 - Black & White Masked Ball 08.11.12 - The Lost Circus 04.12.12 - The Drowned Ball 02.11.12 - Meet Me in Paris 12.31.11 - The Glitter Ball 10.31.11 - Speakeasy Dollhouse 10.29.11 - Masquerade Macabre #3 08.21.11 - Black & White & Red All Over Ball (Coilhouse Magazine BDay party) 07.16.11 - The Lost Circus 07.14.11 - Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing 2011 - Swing House 12.31.10 - The Bootleggers' Ball 10.30.10 - Masquerade Macabre #2 07.31.10 - The Lost Circus 04.24.10 - Swing House 2-Year Anniversary 03.07 & 21.10 - JaNk! 02.14.10 - The Vault of Golden Vapors 12.31.09 - The Bootleggers' Ball 10.31.09 - Masquerade Macabre 07.17.09 - Nouvelle Époque Cabaret-Salon 06.27.09 - Hobos & Mermaids on the High Seas 04.03-05.09 - Luminous Flux NYC - video art weekend 03.15.09 - Swing House 1-Year Anniversary 11.01.08 - Halloween Vintage Masquerade Ball 10.31.08 - Voodoo Culture Clash 2008 - Swing House vintage dance monthly 02.14.08 - Get Off...Line VI: Roaring 20th 08.18.07 - Radiate Fire! 10.31.06 - Halloween Parade Afterparty II: Devils n Dolls 10.31.05 - Halloween Parade Afterparty: Mardi Gras 06.21.05 - Exotica: Tiki Lounge Shindig 02.14.05 - Get Off...Line III: Say Cheese (and Chocolate) 02.14.04 - Get Off...Line II: Code Red

11.01.08: Halloween Vintage Masquerade Ball

Gemini & Scorpio and
Michael Arenella &
His Dreamland Orchestra

cordially invite you to the

Halloween Vintage Masquerade Ball

The Music: The Dreamland Septet will cut loose with a special, all Hot-Jazz programme. Freebass, featuring DJ Shakey & Aaroneus, will close the night with a live swing remix dance set.
 
The Mischief: A ghoulish menagerie of haunting proportions, with magic, burlesque banshees, fire dancers and special guests, including: Greek Goddess of burlesque, Pandora; delightful tasseled and fringed vintage tap dancing by The Minsky Sisters; Harlequin ballerina go-go dancing by The Love Show dancers; and sexy fire hooping antics by The Gyronauts. Plus, fantastical face and body painting by All-Seeing Mystik Painteresse Elyzabeth.
 
Costume suggestions: Victorian-1940s evening attire, Venetian carnivale, masked villains. Unmasked guests will be spanked.

Galapagos Art Space
16 Main St, DUMBO, BK

See below for detailed info on all performers.


 

We love this photo by Holly Van Voast...it captured the mood perfectly


 

...and here's what it looked like in motion


 

The Minsky Sisters tap their way into your heart, introduced by Bastard Keith


 

FreeBassBK plays a live swing remix set


 

 

Photos by Gabe Hollombe



 

More on our artists:

1920s hot jazz: Michael Arenella & his Dreamland Septet

A 7-pc ensemble steeped in the hot-dance band tradition of the Roaring Twenties, The Dreamland Septet is authentic. Arenella transcribes by hand their entire repertoire from period recordings. Their delivery, as well as their instruments, attire, and equipment - are faithfully accurate. Arenella's strong yet vulnerable baritone lacks pretense or sarcasm. He treasures each lyric, and has faith in the songs he sings. Even the most optimisic Tin Pan Alley tune has a disarming quality in his hands.

Live swing remix: Freebass

A swingin' collaboration between beat producer and celebrated maven of the underground Miss DJ Shakey and hep cat of the four strings Aaroneous, FreeBass has been making the denizens of the groove from Atlantic City to Reno shake what their mommas gave them with their blend of snazzy beats and vintage basses. Produced on the spot by Shakey on her array of space age effects and electronic doodads with Aaroneous on live upright and acoustic basses from across the known galaxy, a FreeBass performance strides the tightrope-taught line between the future and past, electronic and organic, exotic and familiar. For this event, Freebass will be doing a special all-jazz set, mixing vintage samples with live bass lines.

Beautiful burlesque: Pandora

Pandora is New York's Greek Goddess of Burlesque. Prepare to be scintillated and tittillated from peel to reveal. She is a statuesque being of temptation that combines classic burlesque with a little tongue in cheek wit. She has performed at the New York Burlesque Festival and various venues around NYC. She has also appeared on the pages of the New Yorker with Jeffrey Deitch for the Deitch Art Parade.

Tittilating tap dancing: The Minsky Sisters

Introducing 1920s tap sensation the Minsky Sisters! Taking their lead from Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Anita Berber to the tunes of jazz greats, like Cab Calloway and King Oliver, the Minsky Sisters have been scandalizing the international tap community for two years with their sensational brand of brisk and brilliantly beautiful tap majesty. As resident tappers for NYC club Dances of Vice, the tap mavens continuously bring their excellence to ever greater audiences. Recently, the Minsky Sisters have shared their love of the Charleston and time steps with the red hot jazz stylings of Grandpa Musselman and His Syncopators, working on future projects that you can keep an eye out for in the very near future.

Dazzling dance numbers: Angela Harriell's The Love Show

Angela Harriell's narrative choreography is both autobiographical and universal, witty and sexy. The Love Show dancers all have impressive resumes, performing with such companies as The Rockettes, Ballet X, Randy James Danceworks, Brooklyn Ballet, Jerboa Dance, Buglisi/ForemanDanceCo, Pearl Lang Dance Theater, Lydia Johnson Dance, and the LizGerringDance Company.

"It was The Love Show that really turned on the crowd" - Ortgeist.com
"Harriell's visual witticisms are wonderful" - OffOffOnline.com
"It sure isn't your New York City Ballet Nutcracker, but it's a hell of a lot more fun" - BackStage.com

Feats of fire: The Gyronauts

The Gyronauts are a hoop troupe located in New York City who have performed at parades (NYC Dance Parade, Mermaid Parade, Halloween Parade...), at rock concerts (The Dresden Dolls, The Frontier brothers, Julius C...) at festivals and fundraisers, at birthday parties and of course in and on the streets, parks, rooftops of New York City. This past World Hoop Day, Tash of the Gyronauts was awarded the prestigious title of Miss Hoop NYC 2007. Besides performing, the Gyronauts also teach hooping to people of all skill levels, ages, and body types.

Fantastic face painting: Painteresse Elyzabeth

Painteresse Elyzabeth will be offering her exquisite freehand Face & Body Artistry. From small sexy embellishments to ornate masks, from tribal to victorian, in black and white or vivid color, with glittery tattoos and special long-lasting phosphorescent Glowing makeup. Dare to become Illuminated! (You can reach the fabulous Elyzabeth at Painteresse*at*yahoo.com)

Hosted by burlesque's charming reprobate: Bastard Keith

Bastard Keith is the quadruple threat singer-host-performer-writer who can be seen providing his uniquely volatile charm to burlesque shows, saucy readings and theatrical stages around NYC. Keith started out in the renowned Sweet and Nasty Burlesque, though then he was known only as "Keith." It was in "Blasphemy!", the debut episode of Pinchbottom's Subconscious, that he first performed with the honorific "Bastard." Behaviorally and genetically correct, it stuck like a hot flannel. After perfecting his subtle blend of music, alcohol, extreme dance moves, porn and violence, he formed a double act with the great and absolutely ridiculous Naughtia Nice: the steamy, wicked, classy Revealed Burlesque. Bastard Keith: a polysexual reprobate you can believe in.

website design by insight photo|graphic