Sword-swallowing burlesque performer: 'Being a naked woman with a sword is always empowering'
A sword plunging almost 20 inches down your throat to the bottom of your stomach feels as gentle as running the back of your hand down your arm.
It's true. So says sideshow artist, and Chicago's only active sword-swallowing burlesque performer Sally Marvel. And please, take her word for it.
"Sword-swallowing, along that line, is not like riding a bike where once you know how to do it, you can always do it," Marvel says during an interview at the Logan Theater.
"I would equate it more to weight-lifting. You can know how to lift 200 or 300 pounds, but not be able to do it. I can tell you how to swallow a sword exactly, but your body would not allow it because it hasn't been trained to accept it. You have to keep training."
As of 2017, the Sword Swallowers Association International (of which she is a member) counts 126 active, verified sword swallowers worldwide.
