Burlesque Rocks

Sometimes we meet up in real life

I have finally decided to publish the blog I have spent the last three months procrastinating over. This was intended to be a celebration of the Burlesque Rocks clan and how we meet up both online and in person even though we are all spread out across the country. But when I began writing I felt like a fraud who was bragging about what I had achieved.

Even though part of me knows I am not a fraud, I can’t help but think it. I worry people see my blog in a negative and cynical way, that I use my experiences and students to sell the classes. Essentially, yes, my monthly blog promotes my classes, but the women in my class want me to succeed just as I want them to succeed, and I am proud of each one of them every time they click the link and come to class.

Let’s go back to the beginning of Burlesque Rocks. Before the word ‘covid’ became commonplace, I had been thinking about making my classes available online as well as in person. It was because I had a young single mother on the performance course who was struggling with her childcare arrangements. Not only that, I was struggling with the cost of dance studio hire. Costs were rising, and I needed more people on the course to make it viable. On top of that I was getting bored with the music. I do enjoy music that is seen as “burlesque” like big band and blues but I wanted to use more music that felt a bit more me. Then covid happened, and Zoom came into my life. So I was ready to give it a go and work out how to make it happen. What I didn’t expect was how the women who came to my online class would bond and that eventually I’d have a dedicated wee clan of rockers.

When you are in the eye of the storm you don’t quite appreciate how you have touched other people’s lives. I loved the Burlesque Rocks class I developed through covid, dancing and creating some fab routines to music that I loved that wasn’t your classic burlesque style of music or choreography. I figured no-one would miss the class when I shut down Luscious Cabaret and all of my online classes at the end of 2021. Turns out I was wrong!

At the time I didn’t realise how I had connected with thousands of people through Luscious Cabaret both through the classes and the shows. I decided I didn’t want to bring back Luscious, but I did want to bring back Burlesque Rocks. So in July 2022 I put a call out to the old regulars for a one off class and the old regulars showed with one even bringing their mother in law as a new recruit.

Since that class the clan has fluctuated in size but the core regulars remain and over the past year it has been heart warming to see the online group meet up in real life at various different events. These are just a few of the highlights…

Meet Bad Reputation

In October 2024, three women came together and performed on stage after meeting in real life for the first time that afternoon. Miss Liberty Law had wanted to perform a solo but had had a wobble. She really wanted to perform, but the thought of doing a solo was overwhelming. Enter Miss Fire Pheonix and Candy Cox, they said they would do a group number with Miss Liberty Law, and Bad Reputation was born. I helped choreograph the routine and left them to rehearse together online. I could not have been prouder.

When one was in need members of the clan came together to support them and help them realise their dream of performing. They supported each other both online and in person, and then only went and smashed it out of the park on stage!

Not only that, Perrie- Maine O’Pauze and her husband made it to the show to support them too. This was the first time we met them in person too and it felt no different from our online chats before and after class.

The Empire Strips Back

A burlesque parody of Star Wars. Two of my favourite things on stage. I put a call out to the gang to see who was up for it. A small band of us met in Hammersmith and witnessed Emperor Palpatine ride a giant disco ball Death Star to Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” and watched as Han Solo moonwalked across the stage. It was a fun afternoon. And I loved how the clan wanted to celebrate my love of Star Wars and Burlesque with me.

The Wedding Of The Year

Miss Fire Phoenix tied the knot, and not only was the Burlesque Rocks clan invited to join, there were members of the Luscious family there too. It really did make my heart sing to see so many lovely people in a room together.

There was a moment whilst watching the dance floor I realised that at least ten of the guests would not have been there if it hadn’t been for my classes. A feeling of both sadness and pride washed over me. Pride because I did achieve something; I helped change Miss Fire Pheonix’s life. She began my online drop-in classes during covid. Post covid I offered an option to join my in person burlesque course online. I was able to realise the dream I had pre-covid of offering a course online and in person! After attending my burlesque course in London, she made friends with her group, who regularly get together, and she then went on to attend more courses and classes in burlesque after I left London. I felt sad that I hadn’t realised what a difference I had made until that moment.

Miss Fire Phoenix’s love of burlesque had stretched to her mother-in-law, who joined the Burlesque Rocks clan in 2022. After years of online classes and a few one-to-one sessions conducted on Zoom, I met her at the wedding too. Again, chatting to her felt no different; the major difference was we could hug, and I could see her feet!

Welcome to the stage, Miss Lavina Popjoy

Inspired by Bad Reputation and going to see burlesque in her local area, Miss Lavina Popjoy decided it was time to make her stage debut. I called in Ms Larissa Thorne and the Luscious family. Larissa runs Glitter and Titter, a monthly cabaret show that took over both my slot at The Albany in Great Portland St and my team. This was their accessible show at the Two Brewers, the perfect venue so her son could support her in her burlesque debut. All of this because Miss Fire Phoenix found my classes during lockdown.

Supporting Miss Lavina Popjoy backstage was fellow clan rocker Stormina Teacup. The burlesque rocks WhatsApp group was alight with messages of support for her from the clan. I could tell the support in person and online meant a lot to Lavina who smashed it on stage. She received rapturous applause, as she shared her love of Cornwall with London.

Sometimes I need a little help

Something I am learning is to ask for help when I need it. And the clan have been there for me. Miss Liberty Law moved to Newcastle around this time last year and back in July I needed some help picking up the newest member of clan rocks – Kevin the cockapoo. Who knew that when Miss Liberty Law logged on to my classes in covid, a few years later she would be sitting in the back of my car comforting my new dog on his way to his new home.

I love the blend of in real life and online connection. The burlesque rocks online clan is a fun loving community. A mix of people with busy lives, who find logging on to do a class more convenient. In between classes there is the WhatsApp group where we chat, send memes and raise each other up. So when I say we are a clan, we really are a clan. We don’t just meet online; we bond in real life too.

When I decided on the theme of this month’s blog I knew I wanted to write about how we sometimes meet in real life, but I didn’t know what the point of that thought would be. After several drafts and months of procrastination, the point of the blog is: doing an online class doesn’t mean it has to be isolating or polarising. It can also be a community. And that is something I do well — building community.

Every time I’ve got to meet one of the clan in person, it feels no different. It’s like I’m just seeing their full body for a change. Oh yes, and I get a lovely hug too! Everything else about them is still the same. The mannerisms, the chat, the giggles and the fun.

If you’re a fun person who wants to try out a new dance class or learn more about burlesque but don’t have the time or the energy to get to a class in real life, join me and Clan Rocks. We are a fun-loving bunch who every so often meet up in real life.

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