Burlesque Rocks

I’m often asked; “How did you get into burlesque?” Like most things in my life, there was a “that looks fun!”, a coincidence, and a failed relationship.  I think the more interesting story is how I fell in love with burlesque…

Auckland, New Zealand, 2009.

I hit my final pose and the crowd went wild! Wearing next to nothing I was on stage breathing hard, make-up melting away from the heat of the lights. I wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened. What I did know was;  

“Whoa, I totally want to do that again.”   

The whole night had been a whirlwind, rushing from work to get to the venue on time for the dress rehearsal, the stage manager within me got very stressed out by that!  I had a make-over, and somewhere along the line, I performed my first ever burlesque routine!  Not only that, I’d kicked ass!  I remembered to do everything from the glove peel to the final skirt tease. Plus I’d added in a few extra flourishes here and there.  Who knew I could give a cheeky wink and sly smile while slowly and seductively slipping out of my dress?!  I think it would be fair to say Erin knew I could.

A couple of months before hitting that final pose, I had decided to settle down in Auckland for a while, I’d spent much of the previous year travelling around Australia & New Zealand and I was ready to unpack the backpack. I had a fun job with an international removal company and lived with my boss Sarah and her son Malcolm. Sarah was your classic Scottish ex-pat; she hadn’t lost a hint of her accent, spoke so fast, that you weren’t entirely sure what you were agreeing to, and she was tight.  Living with her meant she didn’t have to pay me as much, plus I could cook.  Malcolm was a typical seven-year-old: sassy, scruffy, and enjoyed hanging from trees. He spent half of the week with us and the other half with his dad.

On a none Malcolm weekend Sarah and I were hungover, and lazily hanging out in the living room. Sarah, who knew I was interested in burlesque, with eyes wide and mouth a gape handed me the local paper, there was an article about burlesque within it’s pages, not only that it advertised the Hootchy Kootchy burlesque course!  I called the contact number provided and signed up. The following Tuesday I was strutting my stuff in Grey Lynn community centre with a boa around my neck.

I’d arrived at Grey Lynn Community Centre with butterflies in my tummy. As I wandered in, the room was buzzing with excited chatter, there were women scattered around the edges of the hall changing from work clothes into what they felt comfortable wearing for a dance class.  I headed towards the corner with the largest group, I’d guessed correctly this was the check-in area with Erin.  I’d seen a picture of her in the paper all glammed up and posing for the camera. In real life, she was tall and had an open and reassuring smile, that put you at ease instantly.  

Her passion for burlesque came across straight away. There were books on the history of burlesque on the table, and she described her style as the ‘Disney Style’ –  featuring big knickers and bras, similar to the burlesque style of the Pussycat Dolls in 90’s Hollywood.  Coincidentally, that’s how I discovered burlesque – by watching a documentary about the Pussycat Dolls.

Once we were all warmed up we put on our heels and were instructed to take a feather boa from the box, and split ourselves into groups of 2-3. In our group, we strutted down the hall and struck a pose with our feather boas.  I loved how strutting down that hall made me feel; powerful and in control, with my head held high my inner monologue screamed;

“Step aside, I’m coming through!”

The music we strutted to was classic burlesque, Etta James, Peggy Lee, and Nancy Sinatra to name but a few. I have no doubt it was chosen to set the mood for the dance routine, which was to ‘Mercy’ by Duffy. At the time it was considered a modern song, but it’s now a classic burlesque tune. 

We held on to our boas and were handed a pair of gloves. Erin proceeded to teach us how to tease and peel our gloves off, all the while imagining we had an audience to throw our gloves to. Throughout the routine, we played and teased, and my imaginary crowd was going wild. It turns out the imaginary crowd wouldn’t be imaginary for long.  As the end of the class drew near, we were split into two groups and tasked with performing the dance routine. We’d just learnt. To each other.  

It sounded daunting, but the group watching wasn’t allowed to sit in silence, they had to whoop and cheer the group performing. I decided to join the first group, we took our places, and Erin got the rest of the class cheering before she started the music. That wave of noise filled me with confidence and made me puff out my chest. I forgot most of the routine, but I kept going and it made such a difference having an audience cheering me on, I felt a glow inside knowing that 15 other women were encouraging me to succeed.  So when I watched I cheered and encouraged my fellow classmates;  “Whooo! Get it off! Go for it! YEAAAH!!”

By the end of the class, I was 100% falling in love with burlesque. I’d experimented and had fun finding what worked for me, I got to play and perform, something I hadn’t done in a very long time.

But the class wasn’t over yet we were given homework, yes, there was homework.  The first piece was to find your burlesque name, this was to be your stage name, your burlesque persona and a way to help build your character for the second piece of homework.  My name came to me in a flash, “Little Miss” (more on that another time).

The second piece of homework was to start creating our very own burlesque routine, to perform on stage as part of an end-of-course showcase night!  Most people gasped and began saying they couldn’t possibly perform (they all did). After the fun I’d just had, I was TOTALLY in. 

As a child I used to make up dance routines in the kitchen, taking ideas from the latest ballet I’d been to see, telling stories with my body.  My body, which wasn’t the ideal body for a dancer.  But it was the ideal body for burlesque. The women in the class were all different shapes and sizes and we’d just rocked an awesome, fun and sensual burlesque routine.  I was excited to see what we would all create.

My first class with Erin unlocked a door I had kept locked since age 15, when it became clear I had to leave my dreams of becoming a dancer behind. With my dance creativity unlocked, the first thing I did when I got home that night was head straight to my wardrobe. My options were limited. I had a few things I could use as a costume, but there was a posh frock, I was meant to go to a wedding in Australia and packed it so I didn’t have to buy anything new, funds are limited when you’re a backpacker! I also had a pair of stockings, and a basque with a suspender belt attached, ideal for burlesque (these were packed for an Australian naval officer I met in India; the failed relationship), with the beginnings of an outfit all I needed now was music and choreography. 

I played and created, this time in Malcolm’s playroom (while he was at his dad’s!). I was once again making up a routine and telling a story with my body, but this time what I was creating, was going to be seen.  My routine came tumbling out of me to Gabrielle Climi – Sweet About Me, I began by playing around with what I had as a costume and then added a pair of evening gloves, a boa and a little wrap ballet skirt for an added bit of tease and to give a little nod to the ballet dancer inside. Soon there was nothing sweet about me.

I enjoyed the messiness and experimentation of those early days, you stood out by your act instead of by what you were wearing.  I was able to create and fail within a supportive and fun system, which is why when I began teaching I wanted to provide a similar environment to the one I learned in. I wanted the people in my class to have fun and enjoy creating a whole new persona for themselves. Play, experiment and find what works for them so they can own it and have fun!

I digress, back to 2009. I was finally prepared for the showcase night, or so I thought. Erin pulled me to one side after the dress rehearsal, she had noticed that I wasn’t wearing any make-up, I had to share the fact I didn’t own any.  Thankfully a lovely girl whose name I can’t remember came to my aid.  It annoys me that I can’t remember her name but I can still see her clearly; blonde hair up in an immaculate chignon, pale almost perfectly white skin, which made her red lipstick pop, eyes bright & blue, her costume entailed a gorgeous pink corset, with black lace trim, her calming voice kept me relaxed while she expertly applied the make-up.  I’m eternally grateful to her for making over the clueless backpacker.

I had worked as a stage manager in theatre so I was used to being behind the scenes, but being backstage at a burlesque show was different.  It was supportive and exciting, with everyone chatting together, and no one being above anyone else or separating themselves from the group, we were all performing solo routines, but we were in it together.

The pre-show checklist was complete, now all that was left was to perform…

Yes, I really wanted to perform, but when I was waiting at the side of the stage the nerves began to kick in. Watching the other women perform and cheering them on from the sidelines wasn’t enough to keep them at bay. My mind started ticking over everything, I’d had to have my shoes re-heeled a couple of days before the show, ‘would they be ok?’ The last time I had had a run-through, the zip in my dress got stuck, ‘please God let it work and slip off easily, what’s the bit after I throw off the boa?! How does the routine begin!!!’

“Please welcome to the stage… Little Miss.”

‘That’s me! Shit!’ The crowd cheered, there was only one way to go and that was on. I stepped from the darkness of backstage into the light, it was hazy and humid, the scent of sweat and the last performer’s perfume hit my nostrils. I spotted Sarah and my work friend Kathy in the crowd waving and showing me their support, it immediately made me feel better. I also couldn’t help but notice that they were a little surprised, I think they were a bit shocked to see me so dressed up.  I chuckled to myself: ‘I won’t be dressed for long.’ In what felt like the longest walk of my life, I made it to centre stage, hit my starting pose, the cheering died down, the music kicked in and my hips started bumping in time to the beat.

My heels held, my zip came down and I remembered the bit after the boa went off.  There were a couple of stumbles but nothing a cheeky smile and a wink couldn’t fix, and then it was over, I was in my final pose, I saw my friends on their feet, and realised the rest of the crowd was cheering too and the host, Tony Bambino, was shouting my name again “Little Miss, everybody!” It was around that time I realised I should get off stage but before I moved that’s when I thought,

“Whoa, I TOTALLY want to do that again!”

The clueless backpacker did it!  From novice to performance in just six weeks!

The Hootchy Kootchy classes with Erin were the start of my burlesque journey, they made me feel amazing, strong and powerful. I fell in love with burlesque at that first show. My creativity was unlocked, and I felt supported and inspired by my classmates. I will be forever thankful to Erin for her teaching style and the supportive atmosphere she created.

Unknown to me at the time the classes had done something else, they had opened the door for me to share the joy of burlesque with others.  

If you’d like to join me and discover the wonderful world of burlesque I have a weekly online drop-in class every Thursday at 7pm you can book your first class for FREE via the link below.

First Class for Free!

* Yep, there’s two stories there.  How I came up with the name Little Miss and why I changed it to Little Lady Luscious