On a recent Saturday night inside Carson City’s Max Casino new La Luna Lounge, two fishnet-and-heels clad dancers wandered amongst the crowd, alternating between writhing at the fingertips of audience members who cheered and threw their hands in the air, and stepping atop platforms and moving to the rock music soundtrack playing throughout the intimate venue. All while several more moved in choreographed motion onstage, with lights pulsating along with the music.
Between songs, the group’s emcee entertained and would keep the setting interactive – joking with the crowd members, setting up funny competitions while she offered up free shots to those playing along.
The dancers are members of Rock Hard Burlesque, a group of performers based in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area who have been booked with regular shows at theaters and lounges from the Harrahs and Hard Rock casinos to their current winter show running each Saturday night in Carson City’s Max Casino through the end of February 2024. This production, dubbed Velvet Vixens, sees the girls sticking with a high energy, pulsing rock soundtrack, and using every available inch of space in the La Luna Lounge, from the stage area to platforms set throughout the floor to strutting across the bar top itself. Embracing a racy and flirty vibe, the dancers’ skills and practice is undeniable and engaging.
Leaning heavy into audience participation, the show keeps its pace with the gaps between dances given over to the show’s emcee giving the right mix of vulgar, funny and ring leadersque bad behavior – pulling people from the crowd up and egging them on to tell embarrassing date stories, having people perform dizzy catwalk struts, and doling out shots to the wildest members of the crowd. At one point, a group karaoke had everyone in the room on their feet.
Dance routines vary between group dances with solos and duets mixed in. The sexy and fun atmosphere is amped up by the music choice – which ranges from drrrty standards like Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” to the smokey choregraphed atmospherics of Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet”.
Rock Hard Burlesque’s Velvet Vixens show presents a night of entertainment that revels in the impressive routines of the group’s skilled dancers, mixed with the funny and lighthearted banter of the group’s emcee between acts.
Velvet Vixens appears at Max Casino’s La Luna Lounge each Saturday night at 7pm through February 24th. Tickets and champagne packages are available at Humantix.
Rock Hard Burlesque’s updates can be found on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
