Jamaica-born woman brings 'Pleasure Palace' to the island

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Superstars Cher and Christina Aguilera appear in the recently released movie Burlesque, but Jamaica-born Sonyka Francis will be bringing the art form to the Hedonism II stage in a live performance.

Francis, who also refers to herself as 'The Incredible Edible Akynos', said she was always a performer but burlesque is something she started doing by chance. She explained that she had done some live stage acting, appeared as extras in movies, and she did dance as her major in high school.

"I've always been on the stage," she said.

But four years ago, Francis happened to go to a burlesque show, which sparked her interest in the area.

"I went to see the show and spoke with the producer, and from there I started. It's not something that is terribly hard to do in New York. There's no training really. The training is being disciplined enough to practise," Francis told The Sunday Gleaner.

After leaving Jamaica a little before her seventh birthday, she returned last September to enter the Miss International Showgirl competition. It was at this point, Francis realised, that Hedonism II was the perfect place to bring the show, as she was not aware of any show of that nature being held in the island.

"It's my hometown, and I thought it would be great to bring down some of the baddest performers from New York to show what the old form of striptease is all about," she said.

A burlesque show is a comedic theatrical blend of performance art, satire and flashy adult entertainment.

In this burlesque show, which is called Pleasure Palace, Francis will be producer, director, host and performer. She will also have six other people as part of her cast, including Gigi La Femme, Velocity Chyaldd, Deity, Runaround Sue, Peekaboo Pointe and others.

Although burlesque is not common in Jamaica, Francis believes her audience will appreciate it.

"I think everyone can relate to a burlesque 'cause it's a show based on our erotic side. It's very sexy and very sensual in itself, so everyone can relate to that," she said, noting that the main show will take place on December 10.

Over the decades burlesque, which became popular in the 18th century, has evolved. Then, the term referred to musical works in which serious and comic elements were juxtaposed or combined to achieve a grotesque effect. In the early 20th century, however, American burlesque re-emerged as a populist blend of satire, performance art, and adult entertainment featuring striptease and broad comedy acts.

But Francis said the performances on Pleasure Palace will be different.

"All they were doing back then was showing their ankles. Far more than ankles are gonna be shown," she said, laughing.

Perfect timing

Meanwhile, she said the movie Burlesque could not have been released at a better time.

"The timing is perfect. I knew about the movie, but I wasn't thinking about it when I was doing Pleasure Palace. I am interested to go see the movie. I hope it (Pleasure Palace) gets a lot of love because of that," Francis told The Sunday Gleaner.

Although her passion is perfor-ming, she also works in a store and is currently studying anthropology and performance in college.

"It's hard. I am also a student and that takes up a lot of time. But I am not booked for a burlesque show every day," she said, noting that she loves learning.

And while doing burlesque shows are not necessarily financially rewarding, Francis said she loves doing it.

"Overseas and private booking pay more. You don't do it 'cause you wanna get paid, you do it because you love it," Francis stated.