All About Mimi

Drag meets ballroom as social media phenomenon Mimi Devine brings four dancers from the Norwegian ballroom scene to the stage. In a performance that explores themes of love, transformation, and vulnerability, they paint a rich picture of queer culture.

Mimi Devine is the alter ego of former Carte Blanche dancer Shlomi Ruimi, who has gained fame as an entertainer and drag queen. After achieving great success on social media, she brings her culture and followers from TikTok and Instagram to the stage.

All about Mimi is a show where Mimi dances, lip-syncs, and enacts her wildest fantasies, while also sharing the challenges of everyday life as a mother.

Taking Drag Art to a New Level

She is accompanied by four dancers from the Norwegian ballroom scene, each of whom seduces both the audience and Mimi in their own way. On stage, they play with our ideas of life's pleasures and challenges, touching on topics like family life, body ideals, sensuality, and social media.

All about Mimi also addresses the necessity of breaking expectations, something many queer individuals have had to do to be true to themselves. With humor and honesty, the performance takes both the audience and drag art to a new and unexpected place, where queer culture emerges in many shades and colors.

Bringing Voguing to New Stages

The four dancers accompanying Mimi on stage present various categories from the ballroom culture, which, according to Blikk, "moves in the borderland between established expressions from fashion world catwalks and a vibrant exploration of specifically queer identity."

The ballroom scene originated in Harlem, New York, in the late 1960s, tracing its roots back to the drag competitions of the 1920s, where African-American and Latin American drag queens and trans women faced discrimination. Thus, they created their own culture: ballroom.

Over the years, ballroom has evolved to encompass a variety of expressions and categories. "Posing" was one of the first, inspired by the fashion magazine Vogue. This category eventually evolved into the performance styles many now associate with ballroom, known as "voguing."

Cast:

Mimi Devine · Shlomi Ruimi · Kiki House of Meraki

Mother Cassandra · Cassandra Moldenhauer · Kiki House of Meraki

Father Diesel · Daniel Elahi · Kiki House of Meraki

Donna · Emma Damskau · Kiki House of Meraki

Teddy · Theodor Mekonnen · Kiki House of Angeles

Choreography: Shlomi Ruimi, Cassandra Moldenhauer, Daniel Elahi, Emma Damskau, Tormod Midtbø, Nicola Gunn

Composer: Jørn Lavold

Dramaturg: Nicola Gunn Lighting and Scenography: Martin Myrvold Technician: Magnus Boyle Costumes: Silje Teland Pedersen, José Cecilio Orozco Martínez Photography: Yaniv Cohen Video: Antero Hein

Supported by the Arts Council Norway, Bergen Municipality, Bergersenstiftelsen, FFUK. Co-production: Dansens Hus Oslo, BIT Teatergarasjen, and Carte Blanche. The performance is part of Dansenett Norge's tour in collaboration with RAS – Regional Arena for Contemporary Dance.

The performance is suitable for young adults and adults.

Duration: Approx. 1 hour

ORGANIZER: Stavanger Concert Hall