Alberta's burlesque community celebrates AGLC rule changes

Alberta's burlesque community is celebrating after the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commissionchanged its definition of nude entertainment on Monday, ending an almost six-year battle with the provincial regulator.

Arielle Rombough, who performs under the nameRaven Virginia, runs Garter Girls burlesque andsays she received a call informing her of the changes on Monday morning, which means performers are now allowed to expose their breasts in licensed venues withoutfear of repercussions.

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Previously, restrictive regulations meant a performer who showed so much as the side of their breast was considered nude entertainment and was barred from activities including interactions with patrons andstaff,using props in a sexual manner even jokingly or coming within a metre of another performer during a routine.

"Most of the time we chose not to perform as nude entertainers, so we covered up our bodies so that we could perform the acts with the intent and the integrity that we initially would have desired in creating them," saidRombough.

Gender bias argued

In addition to the tight regulations, performers were upset with the gender bias in the rules.

"It was very specific that it was female and not male [breasts]," said Rombough.

The rules now define nudity as the exposure of genitals male or female even if the performer is partially clothed. Staff, excluding performers,are still prevented from exposing their breasts.

"It has been brought to AGLC's attention by members of the burlesque community that the nude entertainment policy, as it stood before, may not be aligned with the Canadian Human Rights Act," said spokespersonTatjana Laskovic."The AGLC has looked into this, and the result is the policy that applies equally to males and females."

'Aggression on both sides'

Rombough saidthedrawn-out fight, which started with a performance at Lolita's Lounge in Inglewood, was contentious.

"It sparked some media attention, which subsequently led to some aggression on both sidesus fighting the definition and the AGLC responding by visiting venues, by making themselves known, by telling us they did not want to change the policy, that the policy was essentially iron-cladwhich frightened us a little bit," she said.

"There were visits that involved police officers and AGLC representatives and fire marshals, and that got us all a little edgy."

The rules were hard to interpret, she said, and there was a lack of dialogue.

"The AGLC didn't understand what we were doing and we didn't understand the policy," she said, adding it was difficult for performers to evendiscuss the issue with the provincial regulator.

Romboughsaid she's "deeply grateful" for the changes and is celebrating the new freedom afforded to burlesque dancers and other performers.

Now she can do her act as she sees fit and even use props "to make fun of sex, which is kind of our job."