It’s quite easy to catch a burlesque show in Bushwick; last Wednesday, I made it to two. The first was a performance in the back of tiki-themed Dromedary Bar. Later I took a 10-minute Uber ride to Bizarre Bushwick for a packed fetish show set to run until 4 a.m. I probably could have made it to a third, a raw-and-raunchy circus variety show with aerialists and who knows what else at House of Yes, but I didn’t learn about it until the next night. 

Burlesque, a predominately female branch of variety show that features striptease and other acts, has become a nightlife staple in Bushwick. It often includes themes: sex-positive, transgender, people-of-color, plus-sized and political burlesque; and you can usually see something new, beautiful, and radical.

“That’s the one thing I do like about the saturation,” said Darlinda Just Darlinda, who is one of the pioneers of the burlesque boom in Bushwick. “You have all types of shows.”