Burlesque returns with dance, magic
Friday the 13th might be unlucky for some, but for the organiser of a burlesque show, it’s proved quite auspicious.
The event today seems to have bucked the unlucky superstition surrounding the day and is close to selling out.
The ‘‘Down ‘n’ Out Speakeasy Friday the Thirteenth Freakshow’’ promises ‘‘a whole new lineup of performances’’ – burlesque dancers, comedy and magic at Studio One.
Nelson Showgirl Academy founder and events organiser Jasmine Turner said the evening was more of a cabaret show than an illicit bar in the traditional sense of the word.
‘‘We hold it down a little alleyway, it feels quite secret to go down and find the venue,’’ she explained, ‘‘so that’s why we called it a speakeasy’’.
The event had only a handful of tickets left, which was ‘‘amazing’’ and a sign that people wanted to venture out, she said.
Turner’s burlesque academy has seen an upswing in students recently.
The school had an open day in April to mark World Burlesque Day. Students came to demonstrate the routines in class, and around half of the attendees signed up.
‘‘People are sort of just coming out again, [and] starting to feel safe coming out again,’’ Turner said.
During the lockdown periods, she tried delivering classes online, but the uptake wasn’t there.
‘‘Where do you burlesque dance in your house if you’ve got kids?’’, she laughed.
Students did, however, keep in touch via an online private group, where they shared articles and videos from overseas.
The appeal of burlesque, Turner said, was showing an audience your own interpretation of the genre.
‘‘There are no certain steps that you have to follow to be a performer. It really is empowering, especially for us curvier ladies, you feel a bit in control on the stage, which is quite a cool thing.’’
Students reported in surveys that they found the classes ‘‘confidence building’’.
‘‘That’s not something we set out to teach, it’s something that seems to happen along the way.
‘‘You get halfway through these classes, and you really start to notice everyone just starting to glow a little bit more, there’s a bit of a ‘pep in their step’ kind of thing.’’
Costumes are not as costly as you might think. Burlesquers were a DIY community, Turner said.
Students were taught that they could go out and buy something ‘‘basic’’ like a bra and spend time affixing fringing or other embellishments.