Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is a picture both alluring and tragic. Her beauty lures you in, but can be deadly. The VORTEX presents her acolytes in artistic burlesque, movement set to Homeric and Orphic hymns praising Aphrodite and her son Eros. Blaise Ricin, resident artist and artistic director for occult burlesque Malum Malus, creates a lush world of dangerous romance. He’s taking cues from the gilded, murky dreamscape of 1971 arthouse film Pink Narcissus, a queer landmark marrying the pure and the profane. Here, Ricin has created a rich fantasy world with an edge. – Cat McCarrey
July 11-14