Standing in the middle of a closed off street in full wardrobe, masks and makeup, Talia

Shenandoah, and members of the Salt City Burlesque Troupe film as each member takes their

turn performing a solo act, only this time they weren’t dancing for an audience, they were

dancing for a camera.

Adapting to the COVID restrictions and guidelines set in place by the New York state governor,

the troupe has developed a fully virtual experience for their followers. They have increased

their social media presence and following, filmed videos, and worked with producers to create

live virtual shows to be viewed around the world.

Working with Flame Night Fever, a local online drag show that developed from the desire to

perform during the pandemic, the troupe was able to expand into streaming their shows

through Twitch, an online streaming platform.

The troupe was founded in 2015 by Shenandoah and Christian Suchon in Syracuse, New York

using the name “Salt City Burlesque” which is a play on the historical name used for Syracuse.

The goal of the troupe is to make inclusive, vaudeville style entertainment that feature music,

dance, comedy, striptease, and flow arts using fire, hula hoop, and props, while educating the

public on the historical significance of the art form.

Although performing regularly at local venues prior to the pandemic, when the state shutdown

they were forced to stop meeting up and performing in public. Annual events were cancelled

and many members that lived elsewhere were no longer able to travel and perform with the

group.

After months of quarantine and self-isolation, in July the group decided it was time to try and

figure out how to share their love for the art with the community once again.

“I was tired of sitting around and waiting for this pandemic to end,” said Shenandoah. “I got

some equipment together and video editing software and started figuring out how I could best

create art that the community would love.”

Months later and after countless hours of planning, filming and editing, the troupe was ready to

start promoting themselves again. They updated teasers to their Facebook and Instagram

accounts starting with performer highlights that showcases small parts if individual

performance and eventually ended with an invitation to a live Twitch stream and viewing party

at Wunderbar in downtown Syracuse.

“We finally had most of the pieces together, but we still needed someone experienced enough

to run the technical side of the stream,” said Shenandoah as she recalled reaching out to the

producers of Flame Night Fever who had recently figured out how to stream risqué content

without being shut down by terms of service.

Together they hosted a party at Wunderbar where they were able to finally interact with the

audience while drinking and dancing.

“Our goal has always just been to share, share our art, share our experience, share our love of

dance and performing with the community,” said Shenandoah. “We were successful regardless

of all of the restrictions that have come from the pandemic. We are going to continue to adapt

and thrive. We aren’t going anywhere.”