Things I shouldn't tell you: Crystal Precious bares It all for PuSh Festival's closing show

Take hip-hop, rap, striptease and satire, and place it on a vaporwave-inspired stage. Mix in one loud costume, then sprinkle the mix with over the top sexiness and va-va-voom. Add Miami Vice lights in baby pink and blue, and a pinch of genre-defying artistic collaboration to sweeten the flavour. Stir in ferocity, introspection, a few expletives and a lot of laughter. Top with the star of the show, Crystal Precious, and you have the ingredients for the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival’s closing show Things I Shouldn’t Tell You/ Portrait of My DNA, premiering February 8.  

If the show title alone doesn’t give you enough reason to attend, come witness Precious break Vegas rules to share untold stories of her on-stage and off-stage antics with the critically-acclaimed troupe Sweet Soul Burlesque. 

Precious says this eye-candy carnival of a show is going to take its Vancouver audience from day to night and back again, like a fantastical retro rollercoaster through her performing life. What differentiates her upcoming solo show from some of her previous work, however, is its introspection and reflectiveness. Over the past five years of focused emotional and spiritual growth, Precious has been working out her “why.”

“I was definitely addicted to being validated for a long time, and shame prevented me from taking a good look at myself,” she says. “Shame is such an enemy of personal growth because it hurts so much to realize how badly you fucked up, it’s easy to keep yourself in a bubble.”

While Precious feels grateful to be outside of that bubble now, she says some stories from her time on the burlesque circuit are too hilarious not to share. Precious uses satire in her commentary show to convey the message that it’s okay to have a laugh at yourself and where you’ve been. Chuckling about some of her old lyrics and wild nights on tour, she tells me she’s beginning a new chapter now. 

“Before, I was misplacing my expression and verbal energy through over-sharing and gossip. I didn’t know where to pour that energy and I didn’t give myself enough space to work with it. I was hustling so hard I didn’t give myself enough space to be an artist. I’m ready now. I have shit to say”. 

Wolfgang Photography

As part of her creative message, Precious hopes to destigmatize burlesque and sex work by normalizing nudity and sexual expression on stage. She’s irritated by the ways in which society is moving backward, sharing the example of Instagram censoring nudity in advertisements for her last show, The History of Burlesque. Recognizing that stigma is responsible for much of the violence and harassment faced by sex workers— as well as women and non-binary performers and bodies on the dance floor—her work challenges patriarchal societal dynamics in hopes of instigating intersectional dialogue. 

“I have so many friends who are sex workers and are afraid to talk about it. A lot of women I have performed with have been sexually assaulted at music venues,” says Precious. “That’s why I won’t drop the idea of striptease—people need to get comfortable with my body being naked. When I take the stage, I am saying that burlesque dancers are overtly sexual and we demand respect.”

Storytelling is the connective tissue that weaves together Precious’ multidisciplinary collaboration with other local artists in Things I Shouldn’t Tell You. New songs feature “bass and dope beat production” courtesy of Darren Woodhead and Self-Evident, who also produced the tracks for Precious’ 2015 album The Striphop EP. 

Subscura, a collective of female acrobats and contemporary dancers, will share the stage and set the vibe with their subtle but awe-inducing movement. You may have caught them at the Bass Coast Music Festival last year, where Precious was performing as MC. 

Precious is also looking forward to putting into play the “amazing shrinking costume” designed of up-cycled material by The Cooney Sisters, as well as an opening performance by Vancouver voguing originals, House of La Douche. 

Tickets for Things I Shouldn’t Tell You are available for $25 and include free admission to the PuSh Festival’s closing night party at Central Studios.