‘Roll Up! Roll Up! Ladies and Gentlemen’.... Red Bennies, Melbourne’s home of Circus, Vaudeville and Burlesque brings you an evening of vintage vaudevillian entertainment.

‘An Awful Lot of Vaudeville’ brings together an all star cast of Australia’s premier performers and international guests alongside live musical acts! Prepare to be brought to the edge of your seat in astonishment, hilarity and seduction as your taken on a ride back to where it all began with classic illusionists, magicians, mimes, cabaret diva’s, burlesque beauties, high flying circus, funny men, side show freaks and more!

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DANNY GOLDING

Born in Australia and growing up in Broken Hill NSW, Danny embraced dancing as much as he could in a small town before making the decision to move to Sydney at 17 to continue his studies at Newtown High School of Performing Arts. This proved to be the best decision he could have made as following his time in Sydney, he relocated to Adelaide to continue his training at the Adelaide Centre for the Arts (formerly known as AIT) and completed three years full-time.

In 2005 he then commenced work with the Australian Dance Theatre under esteemed choreographer, Garry Stewart. This was a dream come true for Danny, who worked with the company for two years. He performed in Devolution, The Age Of Unbeauty, Held, and Ignition. Danny also had the opportunity to travel with the company to the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, France and Belgium.

In 2007 Danny joined Royal Caribbean Productions and has performed on the Independence, Brilliance. and Oasis of the Seas. He later returned back to Australia to earn a place in Australia's So You Think You Can Dance top 20, in which he successfully competed making top 12. Danny has worked various artists including Sam Sparrow, The Potbelleez, Rikki-Lee Coulter, Darren Hayes, Anthony Callea, Cassie Davis, and Rozalla. He is now completing his Advanced Diploma of Circus Arts at NICA, specializing in Aerials and Chinese Pole.

MIMI LA NOIRE

International Burlesque artiste, true vintage beauty, aerial hoop extraordinaire, Miss Mimi Le Noire is a delicious cocktail of sensual dancer and a glamour diva of 1950’s.

Mimi began her career as an international ballroom dancer and was representing Russia and Italy all around the globe. She was trained by the best dance teachers in the World and created her own, unique style of burlesque which is a combination of flamboyant dance and a seductive tease.

Mimi is a shining burlesque star well-known all the way from Russia to Australia. She draws her inspiration from the great icons of burlesque history such as Betty Page and Billie Madley.

Her ‘Big Spender’ striptease is legendary, her dance routines are original and seductive, and her look is an image of total glamour.

JESSAMAE ST. JAMES

Jessamae St. James (a.k.a Jessie Upton) is a jazz chanteuse, burlesque artist and alternative model from Melbourne, Australia.

She burst onto the Melbourne  scene in early 2010, performing at  The Arts Centre, Melbourne, for JoyFM. She has since appeared in Melbourne, Sydney and London.

A music theatre graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts, Jessamae's varied performances incorporate tunes from the MGM musicals of old, long-lost jazz songs, and original work  reminiscent of a melancholy jazz songstress from another time.

The result is a pinch of vaudeville, a dash of old school class and a shake of something a little bit sinister.

SAM ALDHAM

Sam started his career in circus working at Club Med Resorts as a flying trapeze performer and instructor in 2004. After traveling and performing in resorts through Asia, and a short trip to France, as a flyer and catcher, Sam returned to Melbourne where he joined Flying Trapeze Australia, performing and instructing in festivals such as the Summer Fun Festival in Melbourne, Tasmanian Circus Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Moomba Festival Melbourne and travelling to Abu Dhabi for a month long summer festival. Sam attended National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) from 2009 to 2011 where he trained Cord de lisse (Vertical Rope), Comedy Acrobatics and Hoop Diving. His performance credits include Ariels Dream, Showcase 2009, Cabaret Vertigo, We All Fall Down 2010, Beautifully Imperfect 2011, Laced in Melbourne Fringe Festival, Knock Off in the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Sam is also a singer and guitartist. In 2011 he formed a group with his acrobatic partners Chris Carlos and Taka Seki ‘Three High Acrobatics’ and debuted ‘Knock Off” as their first full length show in the Melbourne Fringe Festival. With over 7 years experience as a circus performer, tutor, and a with a background in theatre, Sam hopes to continue his career working in the circus industry performing, teaching, and creating.

CHRIS CARLOS

 Growing up in an army household, fire performance and circus was far from the norm. In the 9 years Chris Carlos has been fire spinning he has developed a reputation for highly skilled, innovative and individual performances. Using a unique form of spinning, Contact Staff, Chris manipulates fire around his body without using his hands.