Bringing the Dancing Waiters back to Golden City Days! New Exhibit at Curiosity Clothing

While we are used to seeing enthusiastic can-can dancing from the Gold Fever Follies and the Boomtown Garter Girls, not everyone knows about Rossland’s other can-can troupe - The Dancing Waiters!

For one weekend a year, during Golden City Days, Rossland was home to the high kicks of the Dancing Waiters. What started as a case of the “the show must go on” at Rossland’s first Golden City Days in 1972 quickly blossomed into a beloved tradition at the city’s fall celebration. The Dancing Waiters graced the stage at the “Golden Nugget Saloon” for 25 years, creating some lasting memories. While they no longer perform, no one can question if they can-can!

The Dancing Waiters in their final kickline - Bill Profili, Troy Albo, Mark Marin, Ron Holm, Jim Albo, Brian Stevenson, Vince Profili, Joe Ranallo.

Photo provided by Larry Doell

Featuring photographs from the community and uniforms from some of the Dancing Waiters themselves, our new outreach, Can-Can, Do You Think They Can-Can? Rossland’s Dancing Waiters, explores the story of this beloved group of gentlemen that provided entertainment to generations of Rosslanders.

Joe Ranallo, Brian Stevenson, Maurice Samuelson, Jim Albo, Ron Holm, and Bill Profili, 1981.
Photograph by Steve Cutt

Joe Ranallo, Vince Profili, Maurice Samuelson, Jim Albo, Brian Stevenson, Mark Martin, Ron Holm, and Bill Profili, 1981.
Photograph by Steve Cutt

Bill Profili, Jim Albo, and Vince Profili do one more kickline for the crowd at the Gold Fever Follies Naughty Knickers Night, August 2023.
Photograph by Leeanne McLim and Lisa Henderson

To learn more about the Dancing Waiters, visit Curiosity Clothing & Gifts until September 20th or read our blog post on their fascinating history that we wrote in 2021 for Golden City Days.

Can-Can, Do You Think They Can-Can is on exhibit at Curiosity Clothing & Gifts from September 6th through September 20th.

This exhibit wouldn’t have been possible without the tremendous generosity of our community! A huge thank you to Jim Albo and Vince Profili for contributing their Dancing Waiters uniforms for display and various community members for sending in photographs!

Curiosity Clothing & Gifts has been a long supporter of our Outreach Exhibit program and offers up her store front window to us several times a year so we can bring more of Rossland’s history to downtown.