The music thumps and you peel off an elbow-length glove. It picks up and you give the crowd a little shimmy. Finally, down to your pasties and g-string you give a little bounce and twirl your tassels. Yes. YOU. Come on, admit it, you've always wanted to learn the art of the bump 'n' grind.
Burlesque classses and seminars around the country let you get your glitter on with help from the pros. For an intensive workshop Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque and Jo Boobs' School of Burlesque have teamed up to offer a Summer Weekend Burlesque Retreat. From August 23-26 you can learn about the history of burlesque as well as performance skills like the burlesque walk, developing a stage persona, and, of course, tassel twirling. Can't make it to Arlington, Washington for the retreat? Here are a few other spots offering classes.
In New York Jo Boobs regularly offers workshops including a Master Class at Coney Island.
Lux LaCroix teaches a five-week class called Bump & Grind 101 in the Los Angeles area.
In Montreal Velma Candyass teaches a fun-filled workshop.
In San Francisco Betty Bombshell runs several burlesque dance classes per week, plus special workshops including Pinup Posing, Pastie Making and Twirling and Corset Making.
Kitty Victorian offers a burlesque workshop in Washington, DC.
In London the Ministry of Burlesque offers Burlesque for Beginners, Boylesque and more.
In Chicago Michelle L'Amour teaches two levels of burlesque, performance-based classes.
The Candy Pitch gave burly a twirl, but this week we take our first pole-dancing lesson. Stay tuned for a report. Know of other classes? Leave 'em in the comments or e-mail me at kellydinardo AT gmail DOT com. I'll add 'em in throughout the day.
30 comments:
I wouldn't take a class
from Copy Kitty Victorian
exhibit a
exhibit b
Kitten DeVille teaches classes in Southern California!
Thanks Anonymous.
Anyone interested in Kitten DeVille's classes should head to her web site.
These schools tend to create cults of personality, gangs, and cliques. They are the worst thing to ever happen to burlesque. Now rich girls can just buy thier way in. Kitty Victorian is no worse than Jo Boobs- they are both selling out the art of burlesque for personal profit. In fact Jo Boobs CREATED Kitty Victorian and now constantly complains about her, much like Bella Beretta complains about Lux LaCroix even though she was the one to "teach" Lux.
And how exactly does one get the credentials needed to be a certified teacher of burlesque, anyway?
These classes havee literally littered the streets with second-rate performers who should be saving this shit for thier bedrooms- not the stage. I am all for creating sexual confideence in women- but turning out terrible performers for your own personal profit is just wrong.
It used to be that women danced be that women danced burlesque for art and most importantly, money. Now, due to these "schools" people have been told that anyone can do it (as long as you can afford the fee) and that is simply not true.
It is really terrifically sad what the neo-burlesque art movement has turned into and these burlesque schools are almost entirely responsible for the pollution.
Burlesque classes are no different than music lessons or acting classes. The people who go to them are already interested in the art and are just looking for some fine tuning or feedback.
Just like in music, acting and other art forms, there are naturally good performers, students and people, and there are bad.
The cream will rise to the top, student or not.
&
No teacher that I know of CREATES an atmosphere where is is ok to blatantly copy.
Kitty Victorian is a cold sore on the body of burlesque.
What amazes me is that the NY burlesquers are viciously attacking this Kitty Victorian- yet she seems to be doing all right and have friends in Washington. If Jo Boobs is such a big deal in the burlesque world- well then wouldn't she have something better to do than go after Kitty? (And get everyone else hyped up about this?). What did she expect to happen? If a woman is so unimaginative as to have to take burlesque classes then why wouldn't you expect her to steal? It happens here in Los Angeles all of the time. Every single burlesque school graduate takes off her bra in the same way hre in LA. Is that stealing? NO! That is an unimaginative girl who took a class and doesn't know any better.
"an unimaginative girl who took a class and doesn't know any better."
Doesn't know any better?
She isn't mentally challenged.
Taking off your bra the same way is not the same as step by step outright thievery.
Have the courage of your convictions -- if you're going to shoot your mouth off and make baseless accusations about a beloved, learned and recognized teacher at least have the nerve to sign your name to it.
Those can do, those who can do more TEACH.
Nasty, nasty, nasty. And I don't mean Canasta.
Point the first: You don't have to be rich to take a class in burlesque. In fact, I taught dance both with studios and independently for several years, and to be honest, I have no clue how burlesque teachers manage to teach their classes for the price they do. I'm not going to explain the nuances of teaching arts to someone who obviously doesn't think they should be taught, but trust me, it could not CONCIEVABLY be about the Benjamins.
Point the Second: Schools don't create cults, they create culture. God forbid people should actually know something about burlesque that the Pussycats Dolls didn't teach them. God forbid someone might be interested and develop their own tastes and preferences. Oh, and God forbid burlesque might have an audience that cares deeply about it.
Point the third: You can't buy your way into bookings, no matter how hard you try. There may be a sense of entitlement among newly-minted burlesquers, but it's no different than all the drama school grads who think stardom is around the corner. Let 'em think it. If they're great, they'll be 'stars' (as much as we have them in bq) and if not, they won't get booked... and then maybe they'll start watching, thinking, writing, reading, talking about burlesque. How can you possibly argue with that, unless you're an elitist that's pissed off that other people are beginning to enjoy something you used to feel was your exclusive property.
Sorry, honey, joy doesn't work like that. And if you don't like where burlesque is going, take a look at yourself and your own actions in the community instead of ripping apart people who are genuinely doing what they think is best for bq. You may not like it, and you may not agree with me, but you have to ask yourself if posting anonymously and slagging people for wanting to run a business (in the ARTS! gasp) is actually productive. I don't think it is. Like Tolstoy said, "Everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself." If you're not getting booked, don't blame schools, blame yourself. If you feel like bq is full of the same old bs, do something innovative. Maybe you'll inspire someone to do something creative, instead of inspiring negativity and upset.
My two (four, seventeen) cents.
Jezebel Express
I took a class with Kitty Victorian and was not impressed.
Her students and troupe members, however, are fantastic.
Jo Boobs and the NYC crowd, however, I think are phenomenal. Plus, teaching is a way to keep burlesque alive and I'm glad that there are people doing it. Seeing people get on stage for the first time and do something they never believed they could have done...that's worth it and that's a gift. I think anyone should be able to learn and get a chance to dance if that's what they want to do.
How does one get the credentials to become a burlesque teacher?
I think that a) credentials aren't always required. In the same way that there are tons of guitar teachers who teach because they're good at it and can help other people be good at it, someone who has a lot of experience dancing and lecturing on burlesque might just maybe have something to teach, and b) your most significant credential is that people show up, pay you, enjoy your class and recommend their friends.
As I said before, I'm a professionally trained teacher and dancer. I firmly believe that unless your teaching is HURTING people (in the way that a bad ballet teacher can screw up the bone and joint development of little girls), the fact that people enjoy it, learn from it and use it is quite enough.
What's the obsession with credentials? Is there a Burlesque Teachers Union floating around out there that none of us belong to? Because that would be a different story. But we're talking about a DiY movement, and there is not yet a rubric for 'good' and 'bad' teaching, other than personal experience.
As an aside, it's a bit of a tautology to argue that no one should teach burlesque *and* then suggest that burlesque teachers should be required to have credentials (how might we set up a set of teaching guidelines if no one is allowed to teach, exactly). Of course, I'm assuming I'm dealing with the same anonymous poster here on both counts, and since they're.. well.. anonymous, that's all i can really do.
The students you call "litter" are bringing in new fans and devotees who quickly become burlesque audience regulars. They are creating an invaluable benefit to burlesque by doing so. Performers are coming in from every kind of background--dance, theater, costuming, comedy, music--and plenty of them have professionally-developed performance skills in addition to "exploring their sexuality," and even those without performance backgrounds are fierce and wonderful. They are not "litter." It makes me sick for you to call them that.
Regarding your comments about the effects the schools are having on the quality of burlesque in general, here in New York we have everything from free shows beginners are producing in small bars, to upscale variety and burlesque shows costing $125 per ticket which are produced by Broadway-level producers at The Box, as well as a Forty Deuce on the way. Shows like those at the Cutting Room, the Slipper Room, Coney Island, and Rififi continue to thrive with many of the same performers people have loved for a decade, and a new more scripted and structured show produced by Pinchbottom is thriving as well. Burlesque shows at Spiegeltent are selling out. Burlesque is booming in Brooklyn with shows like Wassabasco. Burlesque seems to be exploding on all levels, including both smaller scale and larger scale productions than existed here two years ago, and this is happening several years after the scene's demise was predicted. There are now fresh articles in my burlesque news feed from around the world almost every day, where it used to be four or five a month. The schools may not be responsible for this boom, but they certainly aren't preventing it. I'm sorry you're not enjoying burlesque right now, but lots of people--exponentially more than in the 1990s, for certain--are loving it. LOVING IT.
As for Kitty, you can skip over to my blog right now and see that I haven't mentioned her once in dozens of posts, nor did I respond here with any comment about her. The something better I have to do than go after her is obvious, and it's easy to see I'm doing it. You're INVENTING a situation that didn't exist--"constantly complaining." When I think it's necessary to explain what I got upset about, I do it (I don't consider this to be one of those occasions), and to be sure I vent when I do and I'd have to be a saint not to get pissed and a fool to not defend myself, but I don't bring it up before anybody else and I'm not conducting a smear campaign. So clearly I'm not as concerned about vilifying her as you are about insulting anybody so silly as to take a class with the intention of improving their performances, or so bold as to teach when requested to do so. The implications in your post are unfounded and your agenda is beyond my comprehension.
Anonymous,
The women who run these schools, if they are worth their salt, are already personalities with cults. And if "gangs" and "cliques" translates to good friends, bring it on.
The idea that you can buy your way into showbusiness displays how little you really seem know about the matter. Ask Pia Zadora.
"Selling out"?
What, they should give it away?
Complaints?
Just because I taught you doesn't mean I sold my catalogue to you.
Credentials?
How about a life-time of undressing for the public, being at the top of her craft, and smart as a whip.
I'm sure she could teach me a thing or two.
The classes have not "literally" littered the streets, nor have they virtually done so. You may not like their work, but you've got to start someplace, and if you don't perform you can't hone your craft.
Burlesque is a lost art, and needs seasoned teachers. It's easy to pount at new-comers and sneer about their limited talents, and rant about the teacher, but I wonder what your reation would be to an art show you didn't like.
Whould you rant about their teacher as a "sell-out"?
As far as I can tell, the schools are the only safty-net Burlesque beginners have,and I wonder what kind of acts we'd be seeing without them.
Maybe not everybody can do it, but you'll never know if you don't try, and the Burlesque schools are the best place to start.
Greg Theakston
Tease! Magazine
The Betty Pages
Greg,
I can't believe that you are an editor of a magazine (or 2) with all those typos!
And so does this meean that Kitty Victorian is also qualified to teach classes and should?
Dear anonymous:
Your grasp on logic is so poor it is making my eyeballs hurt.
The only person who wants this to be a conversation about who 'should' and 'shouldn't' teach burlesque is you. I think the rest of us are pretty content to take and recommend to others the classes we like, and steer people away from the ones we don't.
This conversation has ceased to be useful, and you're just baiting people now, so I'm going to quit posting on this particular thread. That said, if you'd like to critique my grammar, spelling, teaching style, height, weight, fashion sense or opinion, please contact me privately and spare the rest of the board your vitriol.
Or would that take the fun out of it?
Jezebel
Kitty Victorian is as qualified to teach burlesque as milli vanilli are at giving voice lessons.
Actually, Jezebel, I am making a point and not baiting.
I think that you do need certain credentials to teach burlesque dancing. It can hurt your body. Dancing in heels can ruin your knees. Teachers can become revisionists, and so on. I was never attacking Jo Boobs- she took it upon herslf to think that the entire post was about her when it wasn't. I think that out of all of the burlesque teachers out there she is probably the most qualified. But I do take issue with so many unqualified teachers out there suckering in the masses through Craigslist.com posts.
While I love a great debate, let's keep this civil. If you criticize people by name, please have the courtesy to leave your own name and affiliations. Strong opinions are welcome as long as they are backed up with reasons.
The Candy Pitch's comment policy is as follows: The Candy Pitch allows anonymous comments as long as they don't contain content the administrator deems inflammatory or spam. The Candy Pitch reserves the right to delete any comment at any time for any reason.
If you say something like
If Jo Boobs is such a big deal in the burlesque world- well then wouldn't she have something better to do than go after Kitty? (And get everyone else hyped up about this?).
of c0urse the person you named is going to respond. Don't act like you weren't baiting.
Okay, I'm back because this conversation may actually be GOING somewhere now. My apologies if anything I've said has been overly inflammatory. I get very frustrated when people don't communicate clearly.
Case in point: to the "anonymous" who addressed me directly... now that you've made it clear that you DO think there should be standards and that you have a specific set in mind, I see what you were doing. Cool. I don't think it was necessary to post and repost the question "yes, but what are the criteria?" when you could just share your opinion, instead of asking us to suggest things so you can argue with them.
Realistically, I think invoking Kitty Victorian in anything you genuinely want to be a rational discussion is counterproductive. Obviously there have been some hot feelings, none of which have been mine personally. I don't know her, I don't care. But asking specifically after a hotpoint like that is akin to saying "Let's discuss the state of American healthcare. Oh, and also debate abortion." There are two different things going on there, and you can't conflate them and expect to get straight answers.
By the by, I don't care if you leave your name or not, but leave some fake initials so I can at least tell who's said what. I'd hate to have one anonymous flame me when I'm addressing another.
If this is a conversation about what a good teacher SHOULD be, I'm genuinely interested in hearing opinions. What SHOULD the criteria be? What are the concerns?
I'm interested in hearing about your revisionism concerns. To be honest, though, I don't buy the bit about shoes. No one teaches all those drunk NYU girls how to dance in heels, but they were all doing it long before they stumbled (no pun) across burlesque lessons. Heels aren't required, anyway. They look nice, but if you can't walk in 'em, I can't imagine a teacher is going to make you.
That said, when I taught, I did a whole section on the anatomy of walking in high heels (I did a year of pre-med anatomy and kinesiology as part of my dance degree). It IS useful knowledge. But I sure as hell wouldn't blame a burlesque teacher if some girl tripped doing something that she is likely to do outside of a burlesque class anyway.
I'm not defending Jo, and I'm not defending (or maligning) Kitty. I haven't taken class with either, and I'm not prepared to judge their teaching, not can I speak with any authority on past conflicts. But I *will* defend to the death the right of people who know their shit to teach what they love without being accused of money-grubbing and sycophantism. And I believe that, as in any art form, there will always be good teachers and bad teachers, good performers and bad performers, and so on. It's the way of the world. There are zillions of dance accreditation boards, and Dolly Dinkle studios still abound. No amount of policing is going to change it. All you can do is speak up for teachers you like, and dissuade people from paying the teachers you don't. And like I said before, I think that's quite enough.
A moment for fact checking...
Funny...
I "Constantly Complain"
yet I publicly recommend her.
it's even on the my space page for the classes...
We fell out professionally and i take the lumps on that- I was having a hard time being professional. I was having a hard time being anything but a total crazy pants at that time.
However, not once have I discredited Lux's talent as a dancer or as an instructor.
Do I like having competition, no.
I do think it is great for so many classes to be offered for the sake of women having a choice of instructors.
Someone may not like my performance lab approach and want a full on dance class....now they have the opportunity to choose
Each of us teaching has our own strengths- anyone shopping for a class can survey them and see what they want.
I have "graduated" over 90 students now- some of them have gone on to some pretty great heights and damn am I proud.
However, it's not about me.
Other than offering information and opportunity- It is all their determination and dedication that makes it happen.
Hello Ladies! I am very interested in the topic of what should the criteria of bq teachers be, etc. I would like to give some insight as a hopeful future performer.
While I have not officially begun my journey into burlesque, I am developing an extensive set of criteria for the show/group I plan to start up as soon as my husband and I move & get settled. I am however a dancer with about 10 years training and another 7 or so of just doing it cause I have to. I am also a poet, song writer, singer, designer and activist (which translates to really saying something with my performances & trying to make a positive difference). So, I believe I have a great foundatin to build on.
Now, even with all that and more I have been considering taking classes as I am not finding exactly what I want just Googling. But I am running into a familiar delima; one I came across when searching for designer certfication.
I think that it is wonderful that bq is having a revival and also that it is making it's way into the lives of "everyday women". I think all women need to feel beautiful, capable, and in charge of their sexuality. However, if you are serious about performance and wish to take this as far as it will let you...how do you make sense of all the options? There is no way to tell which classes are worth your time and money, and which ones aren't. I know each teacher has her own style and approach, different levels of experience, and topics they cover, but finding the one that suits you isn't easy.
It's nice if you get recommended to someone but that still goes only so far since people have widely varying opinions on things like this. So mostly you're limited to who's available where you live and how much they cost. And I mention cost because I have been supported by my husband for 2 years now as I start up my design business and build our future plans so we are always tight on funds and always have 50 places desiring each dollar my husband makes, so money is very important. I cannot afford to just go "try out" 5 different teachers based on what their website says. There really should be a better way. In fact, I have an idea!
I would love it if there was one central website where if you are a teacher you register all the important information about you and your classes. Then, a prospective student could log on and do a search for things they are looking for. They could search in a number of different ways such as: yrs. of experience, location, topics taught, specific teacher, etc. There should be clips of the teachers performing so you get an impression of their style and skill level, there should be bio's on their experience, a list of their specific skills or specialties AND a place like this for previous students to comment on their experience. I don't think that would be too difficult and boy would it help sort through all the choices!
If there was something like that and a way to verify the credentials it would really help the individual find their perfect match. In that case I wouldn't mind the cost, even if I had to go out of town, because I would be more assured that I would get the experience I was looking for, rather than trying the 'hit-or-miss' approach of reading someone's website and taking their class.
I personally want to know that whoever I'm taking a class with really has something valuable to teach me. I'm no newbie to the stage and I know I have the skills to create a dynamite show, but I also know that there are some real treasures that pro's can impart to someone like me who has never done this particular type of performance. I can dance my booty off (not really, it's far too precious to my hubby! :-P) but I could be spared some of the stumbles of learning when it comes to tassel twirling, making a costume easily removable, corset making, specific moves to really get it going, and the history etc.
Both learning and teaching are extremely important, and I do not plan to ever stop doing either, but on that note, the approach to doing either is something that should constantly be re-evaluated to better serve the other. I would love to take random bq teacher's word when she says come to my awesome class and learn this art form, but I know better. No one is going to tell you they're less than adequate and I really don't have the time or the money trying to find out the truth.
Oh and P.S. while anonymous went about her point quite unproductivley, I do think there was some validity to what she was saying, minus the cattiness. Just like a good song that gets worn out and eventually hated by listeners, this great thing we've got going in burlesque can be ruined by the carelessness of indviduals who may be well intended, but mis-guided. It is not a service to anyone to have teachers out there providing an inadequate service to hopefuls, nor is it to have a flood of mediocre talent passing themselves off as the real deal. Most people I know don't know a lick about bq and wouldn't have a clue if a show they saw was a great, good, or bad representation of what bq has to offer. I do believe there is room for all levels of talent, but if too many acts that should stay at home make it to the stage, not only would uneducated patrons be missing out on the good stuff, but flooding the streets with it could cause them to think that's all there is.
I myself had that experience 2 years ago after seeing my local revue, which ended up becoming the spark that led to me starting my own business and planning out a huge performing arts venture. I knew that they did not get it and were just using the lure of the bq movement to do their thing and say they are bq. I'm betting here in Fort Worth, TX where I live didn't know anybetter. And now, that sad show is gone, well actually I just found out 2 of the girls have moved to where I'm going and have started another show! There's a huge amount of education missing from it all. And I really hope that bq never gets watered down with these sub-par acts to the point where it's like a played out song.
I love boobs!
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