Harlem in Havana Project
A multi-media documentary work that honors one of America's most successful traveling girl shows, and the brave showman who pioneered Black entertainment during the era of Jim Crow.
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Friday, November 18, 2022
The Harlem in Havana Project: Burlesque Education Series presents at BurlyCon 2022 (Seattle, WA)
The Harlem in Havana Project: Burlesque Education Series was featured at BurlyCon 2022 in Seattle, WA. Presented by Leslie Cunningham, the Burlesque Education Series features classes covering American burlesque history from the traveling carnival stage. These fun, passionate and energetic classes are filled with new and existing burlesque material, personal experiences, book reviews, film clips and much more.
BurlyCon is offering the virtual class "My Grandma Was an Exotic Dancer?!" until December 2022. The class looks at early Black Burlesque through a glimpse into the lives of the Bates Sisters, three brown-skin showgirls who helped innovate exotic dance from the American carnival stage. Visit Virtual BurlyCon 2022.
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Saturday, October 8, 2022
The Harlem in Havana Burlesque Education Series
- Class Title: My Grandma was an Exotic Dancer?! Presented by Leslie Cunningham
- Class Description: An hour-long look at early Black Burlesque through a glimpse into the lives of the Bates Sisters, three brown-skin showgirls who helped innovate exotic dance from the American carnival stage.
- The Harlem in Havana Burlesque Education Series: The Harlem in Havana Project: Burlesque Education Series features three hour-long classes covering American burlesque history from the traveling carnival stage. Presented by Leslie Cunningham, a documentary filmmaker and creator of the Harlem in Havana Project, these fun, passionate and energetic classes are filled with new and existing burlesque material, personal experiences, book reviews, film clips and much more. Learn more.
Sunday, August 7, 2022
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Film clip: My Family's Entertainment Legacy
Friday, July 15, 2022
Brown Skin Showgirls Book
BROWN SKIN SHOWGIRLS is a black and white photographic collection of the Black and Cuban women who performed burlesque, shake, exotic, rhumba, salsa, calypso, striptease and female impersonation on Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana Revue during its run on Royal American Shows from 1936 to 1967. This book is guaranteed to expand your knowledge of Black and Cuban performers that shaped American popular culture. Order your print copy today.