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Sheila Wolf

Sheila Wolf

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Sheila Wolf – Berlin's Vaudeville Icon Between Drag, Burlesque, and Modern Cabaret Culture

The artistic figure that catapults the Berlin variety tradition into the present – with glamour, wit, and radical stage presence

Sheila Wolf embodies like few others the renaissance of New Burlesque in Germany. Behind this artistic persona is Wolf Teichert, a drag and cabaret artist born in Berlin in 1969. As a drag queen, compère, producer, and host, Wolf has conquered the main stages of the capital in recent years and shaped festivals that celebrate the diversity of queer performance culture. Her broader music career – as a host, arranger of variety programs, and curator of international line-ups – showcases how artistic development, production, and stage work come together to form a distinctive profile.

Operating between classics of Berlin's entertainment culture and postmodern camp aesthetics, Sheila Wolf navigates the intersection of drag, burlesque, vaudeville, and pop. With precise storytelling, opulent costumes, and pointed moderation, she constructs evenings that intertwine variety craftsmanship, choreography, and queer empowerment narratives. As the founder of the Vaudeville Variety Revue and initiator of the Boylesque Drag Festival Berlin, she has created two of the most important platforms in the scene – turning the capital back into a hotspot for high-profile burlesque productions.

Background, Persona, and Artistic Development

Berlin is the origin of Sheila Wolf's stage narrative – both biographically and aesthetically. Growing up in a city that has radiated a mythical cabaret aura since the Golden Twenties, Wolf developed an artistic identity that consciously plays with gender representations and transposes the tradition of variety into a present rich in pop culture, fashion, and queer realities. The persona "Sheila Wolf" emerged from a passion for rock’n’roll and pin-up iconography, which she merged with the tease art of the 21st century. This results in a stage presence that oscillates between glamour and irony: a "post-gender" appearance that not only represents transformation but embodies it.

This artistic development is reflected in Wolf's working methods: she combines evening composition, a curatorial signature in the arrangement of acts, and production itself – from costumes to dramaturgy. This creates a common thread that visually, musically, and narratively connects the shows. Her trademark lies in her expertise in weaving stylistic quotes from variety history with contemporary pop motifs.

Breakthrough on Berlin Stages: Wintergarten Varieté and the Role of Compère

As a host and moderator at Wintergarten Varieté, Sheila Wolf established herself as the voice of a new, self-assured Berlin burlesque scene. Her performances thrive on timing, elegance, and a fearless directness that simultaneously embraces and challenges the audience. The musical selection of her evenings, the arrangements of the ensembles, and the dramaturgy of the tension arcs blend harmoniously: numbers revue turns into a narrative evening, tease becomes theatrical gesture, and interaction transforms into shared experience. Thus, she fosters community – anchoring cabaret as a living art form.

Her profile as a compère is showcased in her ability to weave international burlesque stars and local talents into a curated dramaturgy. These moderations are not only bridges between acts but are part of the composition: Wolf utilizes language, humor, and historical knowledge to frame the musical and choreographic diversity.

Producer & Curator: Vaudeville Variety Revue

With the Vaudeville Variety Revue, Wolf developed one of the most distinctive stage brands in the country. The revue regularly gathers headliners of the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender alongside European icons from the scene. Thematically, the show follows a clear aesthetic concept: Berlin’s cabaret culture of the 1920s is reinterpreted for today – loud, seductive, at times grotesque, but always with craftsmanship precision. The revue connects music, dance, acrobatics, live singing, and drag into a modern variety score, with arrangements focusing on dynamism, contrast, and surprise.

The artistic authority is derived from Wolf's robust international networks, a clear quality curve of the line-ups, and a production that translates the intricacy of classic variety into contemporary context. The series is regarded as a fixed point in the Berlin cultural calendar, with sold-out performances and a growing fanbase that understands burlesque as an art form beyond pure nostalgia.

Festival Architecture: Boylesque Drag Festival Berlin

As the founder and producer of the Boylesque Drag Festival Berlin, Wolf elevates the queer diversity of tease and drag arts to a festival level. Featuring international artists, thematic program focuses, and a clear inclusive approach, the festival makes a statement: Boylesque, drag kings, queens, and non-binary stars share the stage, dismantle clichés, and demonstrate the vast range of performative expressions.

Curatorial diversity is essential for Wolf's programming in both genre and style: from comical striptease and neo-classical burlesque choreography to experimental drag that merges performance art and club aesthetics. This curated heterogeneity opens access and creates genuine pop culture moments in the best sense: glamorous, accessible, and surprising.

Media Presence: From Music Videos to Streaming – “The Diva in Me” and More

Even beyond the stage, Sheila Wolf remains present. In the music video “I’m The One” by A-ha frontman Morten Harket, she appears as a travesty key figure, connecting queer cabaret with international pop production. In the TV and streaming reality, she garnered attention as a styling and performance expert in the makeover series “The Diva in Me” on RTL+/TVNOW. This visibility positions drag and burlesque as an empowerment narrative that extends far beyond subcultural boundaries – an important building block for the cultural acceptance of the scene.

The response in the press and cultural media describes Wolf as one of the most prominent travesty artist personalities in Germany. Interviews and portraits highlight her dual role as a family person and stage icon – a break from common stereotypes, enhancing her credibility and opening access to new audiences.

Style & Aesthetics: From Pin-up to Post-Gender – An Analysis

Sheila Wolf's style combines retro-futuristic silhouettes with showgirl glamour, pasties-embellished mesh dresses with couture sensibilities, and an aesthetics that consciously exaggerates classical femininity. However, more critical than the visual appearance is the musical and dramaturgical composition: the evenings follow the principle of clever arrangement – energy build-up, contrast dramaturgy, and a final culmination. The musical range spans from jazz and swing references to pop and variety orchestrated opulence.

Her artistic development illustrates how drag today functions as a performative space of possibilities. Wolf employs costume, makeup, and body as instruments of a vibrant composition; tease becomes a choreographic metaphor for transformation. In doing so, she embodies a contemporary interpretation of vaudeville that relates to the present without denying history.

Cultural Influence & Community Work

As a producer and networker, Wolf has created infrastructures that give talent visibility. The Vaudeville Variety Revue and the Boylesque Drag Festival are more than shows: they are nodal points of a community where performers exchange, educate, and support one another. The programs work with international casts and local roots – fostering artistic exchange that extends beyond the stages.

Simultaneously, Wolf's work contributes to a culture of remembrance. She quotes Berlin revues and connects them with contemporary queer narratives. This bridge is culturally and politically relevant: it demonstrates that cabaret is not merely a museum piece but remains highly topical – a place where diversity is celebrated and represented.

Reception, Milestones & Media Feedback

Series like the Vaudeville Variety Revue are discussed as “iconic” within the scene, not least due to the high-caliber line-up featuring BHOF headliners. The regular collaboration with renowned venues like Wintergarten Varieté Berlin affirms the artistic quality and production security. Press features, interviews, and event recommendations in cultural portals enhance public perception – from intimate backstage stories to grand hall premieres.

Milestones include international guest appearances, TV presence, the continuous evolution of festival dramaturgy, and formats that fuse variety with dining experiences, live music, and elaborate scenography. This creates a sustainable profile that unites entertainment, artistic aspiration, and hospitality.

Current Projects and Premieres (2024–2026)

Since 2024/2025, Wolf continues her curatorial line: the 19th edition of the Vaudeville Variety Revue in Berlin marks the continuation of a decade-long success story with an international star line-up. In 2025, the Boylesque Drag Festival returns with a diverse line-up and plans to expand as a regional format. In 2026, she will present the show “Grand Hotel Faburlesque” at Wintergarten Varieté – an evening full of spectacle that encapsulates excellence in dance, burlesque, acrobatics, and drag into a coherent concept.

Simultaneously, she is developing the festival architecture further and strengthening collaborations with venues in Berlin and Cologne. The projects share a clear quality promise: top-notch acts, precise show design, and a host who creates atmosphere with dramaturgical sensitivity.

Productions & Format "Discography" (Selection)

Although Sheila Wolf primarily works as a live performer and producer, her "discography" can be read as a catalog of productions, festival editions, and media contributions. This includes multi-part vaudeville editions at Wintergarten, annually recurring Boylesque festivals with changing line-ups, curated late-night formats, and TV work as a makeover expert. This is complemented by appearances in music videos – prominently in the pop context – and ongoing media work in cultural and scene magazines.

This list forms a vibrant overview of her work: instead of records, a series of elaborately composed evenings. Each program is its own production with its own sound dramaturgy, choreography, and visual vocabulary – a performative "album series" on stage.

Voices of the Fans

The reactions from fans clearly show: Sheila Wolf fascinates people worldwide. On Instagram, a visitor writes: “This revue is pure magic – costumes, music, moderation: everything on point!” On Facebook, one reads: “Thank you for an evening that inspires courage and celebrates diversity.” And a YouTube comment regarding the pop reference goes: “Magnificent presence – this is what modern cabaret art looks like.”

Conclusion: Why Experience Sheila Wolf Now?

Because she not only performs variety but renews it. Sheila Wolf combines the grand gesture of revue with queer present, musicality with moderation art, entertainment with attitude. Her shows are brilliantly arranged, technically precise, and emotionally immediate. Those wanting to understand why Berlin is once again regarded as the capital of sensual, intelligent entertainment will experience in her evenings a condensation of this city: diverse, cheeky, moving, metropolitan.

The best place for this remains the stage – live. Whether Vaudeville Variety Revue, Boylesque Drag Festival, or new Wintergarten productions: the invitation stands. And those who have once immersed themselves in this cosmos leave with sparkling eyes – and the feeling of having become part of a grand, elegant, queer narrative.

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