Magazine

Burlesque: Misrepresentating the Art

What do you think of when you hear the word 'burlesque'? Is it “a humorous and provocative stage show featuring slapstick humour, comic skits, bawdy songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad female chorus” as defined by the dictionary? Or did your mind wander to stripping and nipple tassles?

Burlesque originated as a form of satire in the 1840's, and the term covered a wide-range of comic plays which entertained the lower and middle classes by ‘burlesquing' the social habits of the upper classes; mocking the operas and plays which they frequented.

Nowadays, people tend to think of burlesque as stripping to show tunes, but there are people working hard to ensure that the original veneer of glamour, empowerment and fun is retained. People like Zoe Charles, a.k.a. Lady Cheek, who says “Burlesque is the perfect place to express femininity, humour, cheekiness, glamour, tease and all round fabulousness.”

There is constant debate around whether women who take their clothes off for an audience can really be empowered, with plenty of vocal argument from each side, but the purpose of burlesque is not, at its heart, to arouse, but to titillate. The difference is that burlesque is about women becoming comfortable in and with their own bodies, for themselves. Consider that most people's nightmares focus on being suddenly naked in a crowded room!

A big part of the empowerment aspect of burlesque is size acceptance. If you look at any troupe of burlesque performers, there will usually be a range of body types; nobody is turned away on the grounds that their body isn't sexy enough. After all, the art of burlesque is the art of learning to feel attractive in oneself, and having fun while doing so!

Zoe Charles set up 'The Cheek of It School of Burlesque' in 2007, after studying Theatre at Brighton University, setting up a theatre company and training as a performing arts teacher. She discovered burlesque in 2005 and says that she found 'her true home'. The school now trains over 700 women a year and promises to turn you from a Curious Kitten into a Teasing Tiger over the eight week Showtime Beginner's Course (which starts next week!)

Many who attend the school speak of the confidence which burlesque has given them, and anything that encourages women to love their bodies, rather than feeling they are inadequate should be celebrated.

Zoe will be hosting the body awareness masterclass at our Workshop Weekend on the 18th and 19th May. Find out more HERE.

Read more about the art of burlesque at The Cheek of It website HERE.

Photos are from The Cheek of it Website, taken by the fantastic Tigz Rice, whose portfolio you can visit HERE.