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The term ‘burlesque’ brings a few images to mind. The American-born French dancer Josephine Baker, or perhaps the 2010 film starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. But here in Rochester, there’s an emerging presence: think bright green corsets, blond hair and the sultry that is Little Mx. Bunny.
LMB is the alter ego of Isa Reese’s (they/she/he). Over the last three years, they have performed on stages all across New York State. When Bunny’s on stage, all eyes are on them. No matter the song or routine, a crowded bar will go quiet once they’re moving.
In May, LMB performed in front of their biggest audience yet: 6,000 people, opening for Chappell Roan at her concert at Buffalo Outer Harbor.
“It did not feel real in any capacity,” Reese said. “To go from having never been to a concert to pulling up behind the tour buses, meeting the crew and Chappell was so mind-boggling.”
Not to mention rising pop star Roan is quickly making a name for herself; in August, the midwest native performed at Lollapalooza to a record-breaking crowd of 80,000 people. Roan highlights local talent at every tour stop by having drag artists open for her concerts. Little Mx. Bunny was one of three performers to grace the stage that night.
“How powerful and truly earth-shaking it feels to have so many people respond to what you're doing on stage,” Reese said. “I get so used to [small venues], but to be on a concert stage and person 5,999 is screaming just as hard as the people right in front of me. It was amazing.”
The Little Mx. Bunny persona was born during the COVID pandemic, but Reese has been performing since they were 11 years old. That’s why it wasn’t a shock to their partner, Kasey Christiansen, when they moved in this direction.
“I was not surprised when they were like, ‘I want to do this,’” Christiansen said. “Not a lot of people will say, ‘I want to do this, and so I'm going to do it.’”
While LMB is beautiful, they do not fit the ‘mold’ of what society deems desirable and sexy. As a plus-sized dancer, they push those boundaries every time they take the stage, enchanting the audience with songs like “Roxanne” and “Holding Out for a Hero.”
“When I'm making my act, I fully acknowledge that I am not what people are expecting when this song comes on,” Reese said. “But I’ve never felt like I couldn’t do it. Burlesque, in its essence, has always been an art form where all bodies are welcome.”
Throughout LMB’s evolution, they have moved away from describing their act as burlesque — they now use the word ‘draglesque.’
Draglesque is still a new term to the performance world; it mixes the sensuality of burlesque with the gender bending of drag. Reese said the two have always overlapped, so once they discovered the term, it felt like a perfect fit.
“Being able to look at it through a drag lens and play with my masculinity or femininity when I want to just make it so much more freeing,” Reese said. “I love burlesque because of what I can do with it, not because I'm a lady taking her clothes off.”
Since they made the move to draglesque, Reese says they have faced pushback from both the drag and burlesque communities, but fellow drag performer Vivian Darling, believes there’s room for all forms of expression. Both LMB and Vivian Darling perform weekly at ROAR Nightclub on Culver Road.
“While drag and burlesque are two different performance styles, one doesn't necessarily mean you can't be the other,” Darling said. “I think something that we, as traditional drag performers, need to realize is that there's no right or wrong way to do drag.”
Reese has come a long way from performing as a hobby in 2020 — now, performing, along with photography, is their full-time career, and they refuse to let the naysayers count them out.
“I love it far too much to let people whose idea of drag and gender ruin what I've made,” said Reese. “Either they can grow with me or stay where they are.”
Brianna Milon is a contributor to CITY.
LMB is the alter ego of Isa Reese’s (they/she/he). Over the last three years, they have performed on stages all across New York State. When Bunny’s on stage, all eyes are on them. No matter the song or routine, a crowded bar will go quiet once they’re moving.
In May, LMB performed in front of their biggest audience yet: 6,000 people, opening for Chappell Roan at her concert at Buffalo Outer Harbor.
“It did not feel real in any capacity,” Reese said. “To go from having never been to a concert to pulling up behind the tour buses, meeting the crew and Chappell was so mind-boggling.”
Not to mention rising pop star Roan is quickly making a name for herself; in August, the midwest native performed at Lollapalooza to a record-breaking crowd of 80,000 people. Roan highlights local talent at every tour stop by having drag artists open for her concerts. Little Mx. Bunny was one of three performers to grace the stage that night.
“How powerful and truly earth-shaking it feels to have so many people respond to what you're doing on stage,” Reese said. “I get so used to [small venues], but to be on a concert stage and person 5,999 is screaming just as hard as the people right in front of me. It was amazing.”
The Little Mx. Bunny persona was born during the COVID pandemic, but Reese has been performing since they were 11 years old. That’s why it wasn’t a shock to their partner, Kasey Christiansen, when they moved in this direction.
“I was not surprised when they were like, ‘I want to do this,’” Christiansen said. “Not a lot of people will say, ‘I want to do this, and so I'm going to do it.’”
While LMB is beautiful, they do not fit the ‘mold’ of what society deems desirable and sexy. As a plus-sized dancer, they push those boundaries every time they take the stage, enchanting the audience with songs like “Roxanne” and “Holding Out for a Hero.”
“When I'm making my act, I fully acknowledge that I am not what people are expecting when this song comes on,” Reese said. “But I’ve never felt like I couldn’t do it. Burlesque, in its essence, has always been an art form where all bodies are welcome.”
Throughout LMB’s evolution, they have moved away from describing their act as burlesque — they now use the word ‘draglesque.’
Draglesque is still a new term to the performance world; it mixes the sensuality of burlesque with the gender bending of drag. Reese said the two have always overlapped, so once they discovered the term, it felt like a perfect fit.
“Being able to look at it through a drag lens and play with my masculinity or femininity when I want to just make it so much more freeing,” Reese said. “I love burlesque because of what I can do with it, not because I'm a lady taking her clothes off.”
Since they made the move to draglesque, Reese says they have faced pushback from both the drag and burlesque communities, but fellow drag performer Vivian Darling, believes there’s room for all forms of expression. Both LMB and Vivian Darling perform weekly at ROAR Nightclub on Culver Road.
“While drag and burlesque are two different performance styles, one doesn't necessarily mean you can't be the other,” Darling said. “I think something that we, as traditional drag performers, need to realize is that there's no right or wrong way to do drag.”
Reese has come a long way from performing as a hobby in 2020 — now, performing, along with photography, is their full-time career, and they refuse to let the naysayers count them out.
“I love it far too much to let people whose idea of drag and gender ruin what I've made,” said Reese. “Either they can grow with me or stay where they are.”
Brianna Milon is a contributor to CITY.
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