A dance routine revolving around the immensely popular erotic romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey might not be what you would expect.
Female empowerment is a theme that will be front and centre when Army of Sass presents Fifty Shades of Grey at the Barking Parrot on March 29.
“We really encourage the girls and our motto is be classy, be confident, be yourself,” said Nadine Wilson, the group’s Penticton leader and Sgt. of Sass.
“The Army of Sass came from the nuvo-burlesque style, so it’s a modernized style, more of a jazz-based style of burlesque. We don’t strip or take any clothes off, but we still incorporate the art of tease and empowerment,” Wilson said. “It’s a really beautiful energy in the class.”
Army of Sass is part of a larger organization and was first established in Penticton last September.
Fifty Shades of Grey will be the Army’s second performance in Penticton, and while the novel is known for its saucier components, this rendition will be more focused on the emotional themes.
“We’re creating more of the love story rather than the sex story. We’ve created some dance pieces with a beautiful storyline,” Wilson said.
“We tell the same story as the book. All the ladies are super confident and sexy, but we play with some contemporary numbers, but then we go into some racier numbers.”
The performance will feature 18 dancers in total who have been rehearsing for the last 10 weeks.
The Army is growing and hoping to add another level of dancers to the next session. The group is constructed with ranks with newer dancers starting off as a Private, and as dancers move up to the professional levels they can become a Sergeant or Lieutenant of Sass.
Army of Sass is offering a free class on April 2 at studio two in the Cannery at 7 p.m. for anyone interested in joining.
Tickets for the performance of Fifty Shades of Grey are available at the Barking Parrot and are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. There will be two performances on the same night. The first show begins at 6 p.m. and the second starts at 9 p.m.
