Metro Weekly

Editor’s Pick: Bambi and Molasses at Dance Place

'An Intimate Night with Bambi and Molasses' is "a dizzying kaleidoscope of gender, trust, sex, and support."

Dance Place: An Intimate Night with Bambi and Molasses
Dance Place: An Intimate Night with Bambi and Molasses

“More than a two-them show,” An Intimate Night with Bambi and Molasses “is a dizzying kaleidoscope of gender, trust, sex, and support,” to quote the official description of the latest “cabaret extravaganza” from Robert “Bambi” Woofter and haus of bambi.

As the story goes, Woofter, who teaches dance at American University and George Washington University as well as at Dance Place, was inspired to launch his queer D.C.-based dance and production company during a visit to the seminal queer capital of the world.

Specifically, the spark was lit as a result of the sense of community and togetherness engendered in Berlin’s famed hedonistic, anything-goes contemporary club scene.

“Born on the dance floor of Berlin’s Berghain,” as the official description puts it, haus of bambi is “dedicated to the promotion of queer joy through art and participation.” The outfit is “committed to working with queer, trans, non-binary, and femme and butch performers across the spectrum, and to creating spaces for the complexity of queer identities.”

As a 2022-2024 Artist in Residence at Dance Place, Bambi is ready to debut the company’s newest cabaret, a duo performance with a fellow D.C. artist, the nonbinary drag king known as Molasses.

The show is promoted as one “exploring queer intimacy and the stories that shape us. Through narrative and song, Bambi and Molasses deconstruct and assert their personas in a fraught attempt to get closer to one another and to their audience.” It also comes with a “Content Warning: Adult Themes, Nudity, Haze/Fog, & Strobe” on Dance Place’s website.

Sporting a signature beard, smooth moves, and “a fusion of masculine expression, feminine swag, and that special sauce that rockstars are made of,” Molasses has become a regular performer at the 9:30 Club’s BENT, among other venues, and also serves as co-producer of As You Are Bar’s monthly drag show Half & Half. Molasses won haus of bambi’s 2022 HAUS AWARD, a $1,000 cash prize honoring their “demonstrated visionary perspective.”

Friday, Jan. 27, and Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. Dance Place is at 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $25. Visit www.danceplace.org or call 202-269-1600.

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