Burlesque Rocks

I’ve recently been looking at how other burlesque schools advertise their classes on Instagram, paying particular attention to the reels they share. The videos are very sleek, with sexy routines in moody pink lighting. Quite frankly, I am intimidated by these reels. If you have a look at my Instagram page for Burlesque Rocks and for my old company, Luscious Cabaret, you will see I am far from sleek. Not going to lie these other burlesque schools put me to shame.

But I realised that if I’m feeling intimidated by these reels and social media posts, maybe other people are too. Maybe those people want to give burlesque a go, but those sorts of reels are putting them off. I’ve always felt uncomfortable posting to social media as I find it hard to put across what I am about on there. But here in my little blog corner, I can. So this month I am dedicating the blog to the curious beginners who want to dip their toe in the water. This is what you can expect from a burlesque class with me.

A warm welcome

The class may be online but I pride myself on putting any new recruits at ease. I check in with everyone at the beginning of class, to see how you are all doing and I check in again at the end. I’d like to say it’s all very professional, but there’s always time for a gossip, be it at the check-in or on a tangent at the end of class.

Once the class gets underway, I ease you in with a good fifteen-minute warm-up. I’m getting old, so I find a gentle start to class is best. I like to use the same three warm-up tracks; familiarity is like a big warm hug. The final warm-up track is for walking and posing. The walks are aimed at getting you in the zone: walk big and tall. At the end of walking and posing, you’ll feel fabulous and ready to take on the world.

There is a mix of people in my classes: single, married, parents, non-parents. What they all have in common is they like good music and they want to switch off from the world for an hour and feel the powerful goddess within.

Encouragement, there’s no judgement in clan rocks

I encourage you to feel yourself. And by that I mean enjoy your body, embrace your curves, and show off your assets! We all have parts of our body that we dislike but we also have parts that we love. For example, I love my eyes and my ass. I use my gaze in poses and I frame my ass with my hands or just blatantly show it off with a slap or an ass shot to the camera. I was never a fan of my thighs or hips, but through burlesque, I have found a way to embrace them. Now, I can’t stop adding choreo to stroke them.

I used to walk into new dance classes and freak out at the talent and abilities of the others in the class. I was always convinced others would be judging my dance ability. There is no judgement at Burlesque Rocks. On a practical level, all I ask is you let me know if you have an injury or something that will hinder your movement in class, and then I can provide ideas on how you can adapt your movement. And please ask questions, if there is anything you are unsure of, just ask.

As a teacher, I provide solidarity. I do the class with you but also when I watch I encourage you with loud whoops and cheers, especially when you walk and pose, and don’t worry if you miss a bit of choreo, add a wink and a smile and carry on. You’ve got this and I’ve got you.

An hour to switch off from the world outside

It’s hard getting from one thing to the next. Online classes mean you can rock up to your class without the stress of driving or public transport. The number of times I used to turn up stressed to a class because of a broken down tube, traffic or simply because I didn’t give myself enough time to walk there – I would have to spend the first half of the class calming down from my journey! So I love the ease of getting ready for class online. All I have to do is move the sofa and shut the door. With the click of a button, I’m tuned into a class full of lovely people from across the country.

And it’s the same for you, the moment you click the zoom link, it’s an hour at home where you switch off from the world and focus on yourself. This is your hour. Put the kids to bed (or put them in a bassinet next to your screen, yep one of my students would put the baby down next to her through class), shut the dogs out (and cats, especially if it’s a boa week), leave your partner in charge of making dinner (or pop it in the oven for afterwards), and switch off the phone (unless you’re using it to mirror the class to your TV screen). This is a guaranteed hour of not picking up your phone; there’s no time to check your text messages or social media in class. We live in the moment. Prepare to shimmy and shake out the stress from the world outside.

Freedom to express yourself

I provide the choreography, you provide the attitude. For me, there are four main attitudes in burlesque (I think I mentioned them in my ‘What is Burlesque?’ blog):

Sensual
Cheeky/Pin-up
Comedic
Powerful

I’m not precious with my choreography, put your own stamp on it. If you’re feeling sensual put a sensual spin on the movements, likewise if you’re feeling powerful go for it. I want you to make the routine yours. If you don’t like a movement change it. You can’t grind to your left? Grind to your right instead, and make it work for you.

Essentially, you’re in class to enjoy yourself and have fun. I’m not here to tell you off, a lot of movements just take practice. If you are new to the class all I expect is for you to take part and have fun. I will break down dance moves, sometimes it takes a while for them to click, which is why I will repeat moves within a routine.

Take what I give you and play with it, make it your own. Burlesque with me is about finding your inner rock god!

Great music

I love rock music. I grew up in the ’80s with classic hair metal, then the ’90s came along with alternative rock. But I also love classic rock of the ’60s and ’70s. There are so many good tunes to choose from; there’s also great rockabilly music and much more. I search for music that makes me feel good so you feel good too. I choose songs where you can feel like you are on stage in a stadium with a crowd of thousands cheering you on. My classes are aimed at boosting your confidence and music for me is a huge part of that.

I recently found out that a track I chose in class a few years ago has become a student’s confidence boost song. You know the track you play before you get to work or before you need to do something major? Mine is She by Suede – the opening beats never fail to get me going. The track the student now uses as her confidence boost song is Dyn-amite by Mud. She plays it before she teaches her own online class, and I love that!

So hopefully, when you come to one of my classes you’ll find a track that you love, and it will become your entrance music!

At its heart, Burlesque Rocks is here to make you feel awesome! You get to switch off from the world, feel at ease and you get to shimmy out those negative feelings and replace them with good vibes!

So come along and join me every Thursday at 7 pm or on the next Beginners’ Basics course in May!