V2T2 Cabaret breaking performance boundaries

By Jake Saunder

New Year’s Eve at Hangar 9 will feature a performance slightly on the risqué side.

The performance art group, known collectively as the Vaudeville Vagabond Twilight Twitterpaiters and the Southern Illinois Flying Balls Society, or V2T2 Cabaret, has existed for the past six years and will take the stage during Dec. 31 celebrations at Hangar.

Their shows began with intervals of 30-minute presentations and steadily grew. Performances include many interpretations of old vaudevillian style routines as well as incorporated modern themes. Maggi Soluna, one of the founding members of the group, said she had been looking to do a different sort of performance art.

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“I was actually a part of another cabaret in the area, and myself and some of the other dancers wanted to veer off and do something a little different — a little more slapstick, humor, wit, vaudeville style,” she said. “So we started our own group with three dancers and two jugglers.”

Soluna, a dance instructor and assistant director at the Willow Street Studios, uses the moniker Alli Katt while on stage. She is the group’s dance leader, and though many dancers surface with ideas for the routine, she remains the sole choreographer. Soluna has 20 years of training in dance ranging from ballet to modern and jazz.

“We all had a love of performance, performance art and breaking boundaries,” Soluna said.

Another dancer in the group, Nina Hurmis, stage named Anita Jonson, handles many aspects of the backstage production of the show. Hurmis handles much of the paperwork and public relations as well as the organization of presentations, while remaining a component in the roles of the skits performed.

“What a rush, it is so much fun, especially since it is a sultry, sexy performance,” Hurmis said, “It’s an avenue to get sexiness out on stage, and I think it is fun too, to break that barrier, because a lot of people are nervous about sexuality.”

Aside from the humor and sexual innuendo, another aspect of the V2T2 Cabaret is the act of juggling. One such performance artist is Joe Fishburn, also known as Wayne Kirr, who joined the group three years ago. Aside from juggling, he also takes care of prop construction of large or small dimension.

“I’ve been juggling since I was about six years old, but had never done any performance until I joined the Cabaret,” Fishburn said. “It’s been a life-altering experience really. I’ve learned probably about 90 percent of what I know now in the past three years.”

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The V2T2 Cabaret revels in the production of newfangled nuance and extravagant venture in their performance pieces.

“I was attracted to the group because it is more of a classic style of performance, the vaudeville style transports people into the past,” Fishburn said. “We’ve just tried to keep that spirit alive, that time-warp kind of thing.”

Their next show will include choreographed cabaret dancing, based around old and modern style dances, juggling pieces, mimes, mock commercials, skits, sing-a-longs and a flash mob.

“We like to make people laugh while also making them slightly uncomfortable at the same time, push them out of their box a little bit,” Soluna said.

This New Year’s Eve, V2T2 Cabaret will be the only performance running the course of the evening at Hangar 9 for $5 at the door, and will be presenting a special ball drop for the countdown. For more information on upcoming dates, visit their Facebook at V2T2 Cabaret.

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