Burlesque

In February 2011 I entered the world of burlesque.

I had been an audience member for a few years in the run up, but last February I performed my first act. Performing under the name Aurora Borealis, my debut act was The Mermaid. My nerves were the worst they had ever been and my costume had been a mad rush but it created such a positive response from the audience it was well worth the hard work. I was so happy to hear everyones feedback from the performance as it was all positive. I received a further 6 bookings and was described as one of the best "newbies" people had ever seen ( I hate to sound braggy but I'm still patting myself on the back for it).

Myself As Aurora Borealis performing The Mermaid

Using My sequinned fish Poi's

My Seaweed fan

I made the costume myself and choreographed the act so that it was jam packed with content to keep the audience interested. My costume became the waves of the sea as I took layers off and I hand made my self sequined fish poi's to twinkle as they swam through the air.

But why did I do it?

Well there were so many reasons to do it and only a few insignificant not to. I spent my childhood at dancing classes, competitions, exams, acting classes and in shows. For ten years I hadn't done any kind of performing, so when I went to my first burlesque show in Leeds and watched performers from around the world grace the stage with their mouth watering costumes and vintage elegance. I immediately knew that I HAD to do it. It took about two years of putting off and psyching up but I did it. I had found a medium of performance that incorporates dancing, acting, comedy, music and wonderful costumes. I could take my acts in what ever direction I wanted and had complete creative freedom. The only down side was having to take my clothes off. Essentially I didn't want to "strip". I took the risky decision to try and avoid showing anything, like the traditional forms of burlesque and managed to pretty much pull it off. The beauty of burlesque is that you can make it work for you and mould it around what you want or don't want to do. I find myself asking are there actually any rules in burlesque?

Where did I do it?

Casa Bellini Burlesque! My friend a fellow performer Constance Peach created and runs the Newcastle burlesque night and was kind enough to take the risk on me. I have now become a resident performer of Casa Bellini and Constance has been incredibly supportive by letting try new experimental things each time. I must say the venue, The Peoples Theatre, has a fantastic stage, atmosphere and audience, which is pretty much my motivation.

The cast of Casa Bellini warming up for the July 2011 show

Then What?

I spent 2010 performing around the North East at nights such as The Golden Garter in Sunderland and created a further two acts:

 

Jacqueline

Jacqueline is the story of a Jack in the box that tries to win the heart of a toy fire man (comedy).

The moment The fireman shows me his tassel's 

My non revealing version of a tassel twirl!

The Aurora Borealis A dance based piece based on the phenomena of the Norther Lights.

Coloured sparkling silks are pulled from my costume through out the act to create the northern lights

Boro Burlesque Agency

I also had the chance of creating the Boro burlesque agency sketch with my comedy sketch group Heavy Petting (I'll explain all about Heavy Petting in another post)

Heavy Petting performing "Boro Burlesque Agency"

Why Don't You Give It A Go?

Yes really! If you're reading this thinking "I wish I could have the nerve to do that", then do it! There are plenty of burlesque classes happening round the country. I recommend the class at Dance City, Newcastle if your in the north east.

If you would generally like to learn more about Burlesque then I recommend my burlesque idols:

Vicky Butterfly

Beatrix Von Bourbon

Kiki Kaboom

Anna Fur Laxis (Anna also runs workshops)

Next Performance?

I'll be performing two acts (one of them a debut new act) at the next Casa Bellini Burlesque, at The Peoples Theatre, Heaton, Newcastle.
 

See you there?