Winnipeg burlesque festival provides sense of safety for U.S. drag artists
Posted May 29, 2025 5:11 pm.
Last Updated May 29, 2025 7:07 pm.
The Winnipeg International Burlesque Festival hits the stage at Prairie Theatre Exchange Friday and Saturday, and for many folks it’s a chance to show off the risqué art form.
But for performers coming in from south of the border, especially on the verge of Pride month, it’s also an opportunity to feel a sense of safety.
“To be a Queer person and doing all this really fun, really amazing stuff and like being so visible, it’s both really scary and really fulfilling,” said burlesque and drag artist Qween Quan, who travelled to Winnipeg from their hometown of New Orleans.
“A thing that the people here in Winnipeg and like people I’ve met along my journey were really big about was reinforcing they felt seen by me and they felt aligned with me. They’re like, ‘when I see you on stage, I see myself on stage.’”
Quan says while there’s pride in the New Orleans Queer community, there’s always an underlying readiness to be prepared for challenges.
“It’s something that I really love but it’s just so like, scary to always feel like you have a target on your back,” they said. “Whenever I’ve come to Canada it’s never been about that. It’s been so diverse here. Versus in New Orleans it’s like this melting pot but you know, it’s a local batch of ingredients.
“I hope that people back home kind of take the time to really like, settle into themselves a little bit more and really understand culture and history and really understand the longevity of living in the South especially. And that’s something I’ve noticed in Canada, they’re like really big about ‘hey, let’s never repeat any of these things.’”
Qween Quan’s rise in burlesque circles is nothing short of meteoric. They burst onto the scene and were a headliner at the WIBF last year – as voted by other burlesque performers and producers.
“Qween was never on the list before of top 50, and then 2024 came out and Qween was number one,” said festival producer, director and co-host DD Brassiere.
“What they put out there in the world is really beautiful and it’s made a huge change. They haven’t been involved in burlesque as some of the other performers but they’ve made such a huge impact because they really made that their life.”
Added Quan: “Winnipeg treated me very well. And DD, and the festival and Winnipeg treated me very well last year so it was really good to have the opportunity to come back and do it again.”
Qween Quan says burlesque found them while on their drag journey.
“It’s not an art form where somebody says, ‘you’re doing this.’ They choose it themselves. Which is really beautiful and also just wild. Sometimes when you see what people do.”
They say it’s about expressing themselves in any facet of their life.
“It’s healed so many things that I didn’t expect,” said Quan, who is also preparing to compete in next week’s Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. “Like I’m closer to my family because of it, which is usually the opposite of what happens.”
DD Brassiere says the entire point is to celebrate – not just different bodies, but different identities.
“It was really transformative for me. It helped me so much just make my own decisions and just be proud of myself and be able to be a 46-year-old man that walks around in a glittery bra.”
The Winnipeg International Burlesque Festival ends Saturday.
