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| Aubs and chry watch the Temple Burn |
Why do we burn? Idle Rogue is currently best known for A Certain Dance Entertainment show. Guerilla Burlesque, with it's stable of dancing divas, might seem a long way removed from a week-long, dust-ridden desert gathering with a philosophical base of neo-hippy principles including working for free and tolerating all manner of bullshit. Not exactly glitter and stillettoes, after all, so why do they love it so?
Maybe it's because Burn2 is one event you can rely upon to be genuinely community-minded. It's not sponsored by Linden Lab, and the Lab, in fact, has no visible presence there at all. It's not run by The Usual Suspects, and even though there is an established team, they are vigilant about openly welcoming and accepting all comers.
Burn2 open-heartedly receives everyone, from the old-school permanoob whose virtual world experience peaked in 2007, or the actual noob who still has the fang marks in his neck. Dicks - both literal and metaphorical - abound. Every kind of weirdo is welcome here, even the closeted weirdo you don't recognise from the outside. We're all a little crazy here.
It's jaw-droppingly creative. Everywhere you look is fully-rezzed proof of limitless, joyous creativity. Some of it is so ugly it makes your eyes hurt. But of course some of it is wrenchingly gorgeous. And every single prim of it has equal space to every other prim. You will never feel squeezed out by Second Life's elite artists at Burn2. If you've a mind to pitch it, someone will stand and look at it.
And it's immersive. There is so much to see and do, and there are so many delightful people seeing and doing it. You don't have to go home, and you shouldn't. You should wander around the sims, sampling humanity and art until it's time to log off, and then you should log back on right where you were and resume your odyssey. There's just one week of this, and you will never catch every nuance ... but you should try.
At Idle Rogue we consider the Burn2 event as something of a creative wellspring. We create for it, and we come away from it ready to create for other things. It is our artistic holiday - the usual rules do not apply, and all artistic endeavours are encouraged. There's time to get to know our fans better, and to meet new friends. There are shared experiences that have that "what happens at Burn" vibe. Those rogues who enjoy it best are the ones who slip into it and live in it for the week. They emerge not just inspired, but bonded and energised.
There are people to thank. From the outset, Blaze de Vivre's enthusiasm has propelled the rest of us, and her love for Burn2 ensured that the baseline funding was met. Our thanks to Lindy Hopper, Deb Heron and Jess Cauld for large donations which secured our parcel. Gloriana Maertens, as she always does, listened to me ramble about my vision and made it come to life. Her beautiful, iconic tent and surrounds provided us with a home that was both glamourous and functional. Arrehn Oberlander listened carefully to our scripting needs and subtly made them happen. Thanks also to Martin Yeats and Shadow Tarber, for assistance large and small that made differences no-one saw but everyone felt.
Babypea von Phoenix entered the planning discussions with an armload of ideas, and didn't baulk at
making them live. She is a force de majeurre, who co-ordinated and produced 10 "mini-show"
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| BabyPea von Phoenix dances |
Deb Heron and Chewie Quixote sweep up behind me as I go, and it's a good thing, because I make a mess. Aubreya Joszpe brings light and sunshine wherever she travels and there are many days when that is the only thing that keeps us on task.
A very special thank you is owed to those whose contributions to the Roguery Camp occur at cost to their own venues. Thea Dee, Meegan Danitz and Lindy Hopper provided entertainment from their own resources, not just co-ordinating events and performers, but sacrificing the donations they ordinarily collect from their own events. Everything you and your staff brought to Burn2 added to the experience for all of us, and we are very grateful for your beneficence.
The Roguery Camp brings many forms of live entertainment to the playa. Our thanks are also due to RedHawk Coba, Nance Brody, Voodoo Shilton, Maeve Branner, Greg Colburn, James Olmos, Mulder Watts, Loreen Legion, Joel Eilde and Red Heaven, Liz Aday, DeepSky Timeless, Aubry Fisher, Ren and Quai, Grif Bamaisin, Tukso Okey and Tao Cyberstar. Thanks also to their handlers and their fans for making their events such fun.
We'd like to thank those who run Burn2 every year, and those we dealt with on a daily basis: Huntress, Xiija, Neeks, Mia, Healer, Dan and especially Butter, you guys gave us so much support and enthusiasm and we love you ♥
Lastly, to those who came with us to Burn2, and those we met there anew. Thank you. Your friendliness, your cheers, your quips and quirks all make what we do more fun. We cannot do it without you. Burn on x
Photos from Roguery Camp are here
Videos from our Burn2 mini-shows are here (thanks to Charlie Navarathna for daily filming)
