1

2

ContributorsTom Stanger

Editor of The Big Tease, producer of After Hours Cabaret and Burlesque Heritage

Ray TaylorCreative Director of The Big Tease, Senior Designer at Mosquito Creative

Lady Jessa BelleInternational Burlesque performer and singer

Sea BreezeSeamstress, specialising in womens clothing, and make-up artist based in Tampere, Finland

www.evildressmaker.com

Trudy LiteLife Coach to the stars

Silk SeductionSilk Seduction has over 25 years in professional dance. This former ballerina is still very much in demand. In

each issue Silk will cover a different dance genre and how it can be used to influence your burlesque acts.

Tanya RichTanya, the Boss with The Bellefleurs is most known for being a voice-over artiste, having voiced everything from an animated sofa to the most corporate instructional videos for NASA and Governments throughout the

world.

Richard McKenzieRichard McKenzie is a Burlesque, gig, event and wedding photographer based in Reading UK.

digitalmck.zenfolio.com

Bec McKernanRebecca McKernan is an award-winning International Burlesque performer, writer and general artsy type

based in London, England

Cover art by Ray Taylor at Mosquito Creative.www.mosquitocreative.co.uk

Many thanks to Silk Seduction and Glory Pearl whose invaluable help has made this magazine possible.

All submissions property of the contributors and The Big Tease. The entire content is a copyright of The Big Tease and cannot be reproduced in whole or in part without written authorisation of the publishers.

3

Ok you’ve made it this far, you’ve downloaded the free Little Tease, so you’re obviously curious as to what it’s all about. Well, basically this whole creation is about everyone and everything in the wonderful world of Burlesque and Cabaret!

I’ve always wanted to do something that not just focuses on the major performers in our little community but also those who are up-and-coming, the stars of tomorrow, if you will, and not forgetting the unsung heroes who, apart from performers, make every show possible, the promoters, the photographers, the stage kittens and all the staff behind the scenes making sure everything works properly and looks fantastic.

One of the things you’ll notice about The Big Tease is that this is designed to be a ‘coffee table’-style publication, it’s not just a magazine, but something that we hope you’ll keep, with a limited amount of collectors’ editions for you to collect and keep. If you are an avid collector and don’t want to damage these fantastic publications then there will be both a regular issue and also a PDF version.

So, apart from it having a fantastic design and sumptuous packaging what else is there? Well, as with other publications there will be numerous sections within. Firstly there will be News; what’s happening in the Burlesque & Cabaret community. We’ll have Interviews galore with some of the greatest Burlesque & Cabaret performers in the world, sections on fashion & vintage style from those who review products and designers. There’ll also be a Profile-On section, highlighting performers, photographers, promoters and

other personnel involved and getting a name for themselves.

If all that’s not enough we’ll also have reviews of stage productions; if you’ve enjoyed a show, let us know! It’s not limited to Burlesque & Cabaret, but also West End shows and further. There’ll be film reviews, not just old or new, but something to look out for, and a comprehensive and national ‘What’s on’ guide. The Gallery, showcases photos submitted of people at shows, a kind of rogues gallery, and our Tips and Tricks section, which could be anything from designer tips to cooking recipes. We want this project to be about you and as interactive as possible!

If this has whetted your appetite there is also a new website (www.thebigtease.co.uk) that contains other content not available in the magazine. One major part will be submitted videos, which could be performance, tips and tricks, links to competitions, links to back issues and a mini cinema.

If you’re interested in contributing to the magazine get in touch with your idea, we’d love to hear from you. We are looking for contributors on a freelance basis and are open to all ideas relating to the magazine. With your ideas we can all make this truly something special.

If you’re interested in stocking the magazine or advertising please get in touch at info@thebigtease.co.uk

So, we hope you enjoy this Little Tease, thank you for reading and hope you enjoy what we’ve got planned for the future.

Welcome...

4

ContentsPage 3News

Page 4Profile onCeCe Sinclair

Page 12 Fashion

The lure of vintage and burlesqueSea Breeze

Page 18Photography

CurlesqueEmma Jenkins

Page 24Lifestyle

A Life in the Day of Trudy Lite

Page 28Dance

Around the world in 80 dances Silk Seduction

Page 34Music

Meet The BellefleursTanya Rich

Page 38Photography

My first time – Shooting BurlesqueRichard McKenzie

Page 44Reviews

Neo Burlesque Awards- Thursday 10th JulyBec McKernan

Cabaret Roulette Addiction - 8th October 2014Tom Stanger

5

You’ll all be glad to hear that Facebook has retracted their rule on performers having to use their real names on their profile. As you may be aware this caused a huge backlash towards Facebook and a large exodus towards the new ad-free Ello site. Although still in Beta stage the site gained a large number of new profiles onto the site. Whether this will be ‘the’ site to takeover from Facebook only time can tell.

For those familiar with former school teacher turned Burlesque performer and comedienne Glory Pearl, will be pleased to hear that Ms. Pearl is performing her new show The Naked Stand Up on 18th November 2014 at Mimetic Festival, The Vaults, London following a hugely successful series of shows at this years’ Edinburgh Festival. The show is sure to be a feast for the eyes and ears for all attending in a show that would certainly have renowned campaigner Mrs. Virginia Dryvaj in a kerfuffle! Tickets are on sale now, priced at £10 (£8 Concession) available from boxoffice@mimeticfest.com

In other news, Miss Pin-Up UK 2014, was a rousing success with dozens of entries hoping to be awarded the accolade at the show’s award show held at the London Tattoo Convention. The show was attended by a host of celebrities from the UK and Europe, including guest judges Sini Tarkkinen, aka Ariell, October Divine, Terry Mendoza of Retro PhotoStudio and Miss Pinup UK 2013 Scarlett Luxe.

With the grand final being held at the London Tattoo Convention on 26th & 27th September 2014 and a glam fest of performers and glamour we give a huge congratulations to this year’s winner Fabia Cerra. Further details can be found at www.pinupuk.com

Congratulations are also well and truly awarded to circus

and cabaret performer Preacher Muad’dib for his world record attempt at chain sawing apples out of his mouth to raise money. Accompanied by fellow performer Le Snake-Fervor they attempted and broke a number records. Not only did they double the record for most apples cut from one’s own mouth with a chainsaw, they trippled the record for most apples cut from someone else’s mouth with a chainsaw, almost doubled the record for most blowtorches stubbed out on the tongue and most fire torches eaten in 30 seconds, with Le Snake-Fervor also taking one of his fire records. Guinness reviews all the details and makes a judgement, which can take a while, however, fantastic work.

The record attempt was all in aid of homeless charities, Centrepoint and Focus Ireland, and has already raised a great sum for the charities. Further donations, however, can still be made athttps:// fundrazr.com/campaigns/dkyI9?

Finally in very sad news for us in the UK as we say farewell to the fabulous Miss Gemma Sheree who is returning, with her husband, to Australia. Gemma has built a fantastic career in the UK on the Burlesque circuit, and has been a huge influence to many performers over the past few years, not only performing, teaching and helping newer performers on their way to the stage, but offering a huge amount of performance and practical advice. I know I, as a promoter, wouldn’t be who I am without her invaluable advice. So we wish Gemma all our very best wishes in her new life and hope she continues to wow audiences there as she’s done here.

NEWS

6

7

Influenced by the golden era of burlesque, Cece Sinclair’s performances blend together vintage glamour with dynamic ideas and diverse influences. Cece has stage experience and training in a number of performance artforms from classical vocal training to Shakespearean acting! After years training in performing arts, Cece has spent the last 6 months under the wing of the highly accomplished Lady Wildflower and is now ready to venture further into the captivating world of Burlesque.

Although having only recently entered the Burlesque circuit, she is already making a huge name for herself. Having made her debut at the Hebden Bridge Burlesque Festival 2014, this fine sassy performer has been taking the UK by storm, garnering a huge amount of supporters and respect within the community, not only for her high-energy performances but also for her captivating personality, leaving one renowned promoter to state

“CeCe Sinclair is quite honestly one of the most exciting performers to emerge onto the Burlesque circuit recently, she’s sassy, sexy, funny and her performances are a pure adrenalin rush. A pure delight to work with

and a performer who’s going to take the world by storm!”

Ok, it was me!

Interview by Tom Stanger

Photography by Joshua Leo Dorfman

8

How did you decide you wanted to become a Burlesque Performer?

You know what, in a way it just sort of happened! When I was younger I was fascinated with old Hollywood films and showgirls and costumes of that era, and like many, I watched Gypsy as a child and I always remember loving You Gotta Have A Gimmick and deciding that I wanted to be a stripper! I forgot about burlesque somehow until last year when I started lessons with Lady Wild-Flower. Suddenly I had found something that I was good at and took it all off from there.

Is performing your full time job?

Sadly it isn’t, although I hope that one day it can be!

Do you have a favorite song or genre to perform to?

I usually go with a gut feeling when it comes to music. Generally when choosing a song I go with a song that naturally makes my body want to move and make me feel sexy. You know sometimes a song will come on and automatically I think, “yes, I want to do a routine to that!” Do you still get nervous going on stage? If so how do you overcome it?

Oh of course I do but it is a far different kind of nerves. I have a performance background and I remember when acting or singing I used to get stupidly nervous to the point where I would cry, in fact to the point where I stopped auditioning and performing. I hated almost every moment of it, yet a big part of me still yearned to perform in some way and that conflict really sapped my confidence. I realise now that I just hadn’t yet found a performance art that was right for me.

My burlesque debut in May 2014 was actually the first time I had performed or stepped on a stage in over 3 years! Leading up to it I used to lie in bed thinking what I’d gotten myself into and telling myself “you can’t back out now; you’ll be performing alongside Kitten De ville!!!” On the day, surprisingly, I suddenly felt nervous in a way I’ve never felt before; it was all the positives that come with nerves, I was excited, I had a huge adrenaline rush and all I could see in my head was what it would be like if I do well and the support I would get. I do not fight to overcome nerves anymore but rather just accept

them as being natural and draw the positives from the situation and usually as soon as I step on stage I forget that I was ever nervous.

It must be difficult travelling to shows while working?

It can be very difficult especially as where I work is quite strict with time off and I don’t drive so I rely on public transport. When I performed for Infinitease Heat 9 my schedule went a little like this: work 9am-1pm, 1:55pm train to London, then from station pretty much straight to venue (with a brief stop at hotel) then after show straight to hotel. The next day I was straight on a train back into Manchester at 1:00pm, and by 1:30 I was back in work until 6pm.

It can be very surreal, Burlesque and Cabaret offer you such magic, a sense of being someone great and fabulous, whether you are an audience member dressed to the nines or a performer. After Infinitease Heat 9 (and after many shows I’ve done) I remember traveling back to Manchester and back to work and I felt like I had gone from winning second place from a world where I have an identity and a skill where people enjoy watching that skill to a world where I am nothing but a cog in a wheel! I had no one to tell about coming second place in the competition or to enjoy that excitement with which can be extremely tough emotionally but my day job is what pays for me to live my dream and I try my hardest not to forget that.

What are the staple items you never leave home for a show without?

To me every item is a staple item. I always have this thought of “you never know what you may need”. Other than my costume I always double check I have my full make up bag, a bag of different costume jewellery, false eyelashes, baby wipes and a spare roll of tape to stick my pasties on. You never know if a venue will have enough mirrors for you to get ready and you may get to some venues and there are no mirrors in sight so I always carry a mirror. I have also got into the habit of drinking a glass of prosecco before a show so I always grab a £3 mini bottle of prosecco to take with me. I’ve found that treating the lead up to a show like a mini pampering/relaxing session as opposed to the build-up to something big helps me unwind.

9

10

Who is your biggest inspiration and why?

Oh my, that is a very, very hard question, ha-ha! I don’t think I could name one but I have been asked a similar question before and I always list the top five I adore and hold in equal high regard. They are Lada Redstar, Lou Lou D’vil, Medianoche, Lady Wild-Flower and Banbury Cross. When I was starting out and I was trying to think of the kind of performer I wanted to be, I would always think of these ladies. The way they move across the stage is just…I have no words! Not only do they encompass such a sensual, sassy level of confidence which in turn just makes them drip with sexiness and seduction but they also hold such an old Hollywood kind of class and playfulness, I LOVE IT! Lady Wild-Flower was my burlesque teacher and she continually inspires me, If it wasn’t for her seeing my potential I wouldn’t be doing burlesque today…well maybe I would have, but very badly!!

What do you like to do with your time off from being a showgirl?

Burlesque now plays a very big part of my life. When I’m not performing on stage, I’m usually rehearsing, looking at new skills I can learn or going to shows looking for inspiration for future acts, but none of this feels like a chore because I enjoy it so much. Who wouldn’t want to spend their spare time dancing around or designing shiny costumes? When I am far too tired for the above I enjoy ‘vegging out’ in front of the TV, mainly watching documentaries, I love crime documentaries.

What would you say makes a good show?

Variety and fun. I like going to shows where I get to see a different kind of performance art that I haven’t seen before, a variety of classic burlesque or comical routines, or fire skills and clowning like a theatrical buffet where you get to have a bit of everything hahaha! Recently I saw Lou Safire for the first time and he stapled playing cards to himself and used whips, it was great! I had never seen anything like that before and I loved it! Also as I mentioned fun and enjoyment are really big things for me there are times where the theme of a routine isn’t chirpy and cheerful, but you can still add that element of fun that I think an audience really loves to see such as Mimi Amore’s routines. She is a very skilled performer especially in her dance ability and at times you watch her in awe and the audience is silent, but then

she gives a cheeky grin and suddenly the audience are brought out of their daze and are whooping and hollering again!

What is your attitude to style?

Who I am off stage is totally different to who I am when performing in terms of style. Its odd really, I feel like as soon as I step into the cabaret world and I am amongst my friends and it’s my chance to be who I really am. When performing or going to view a show I love to dress up as glamorous and classy as I can. I love old Hollywood glamour and really love to go for it when performing or viewing a show. In my “everyday” life, with working 9-6 rushing around, and usually having commitments after work, I rarely wear makeup and usually wear anything that’s comfortable purely for convenience. Its quite funny I feel like most people who see me during the day do not really know who I am and I should imagine if they saw me outside of work, or at a show, they would have the biggest shock of their lives!

How do you go about creating your costumes?

Another tough question! I design my costumes, choose all the fabric then have it made for me, as I do not sew. It’s hard to say how I go about designing it all as lot of my creative process is gut instinct whether it is costume, choreography or music choice so it really is hard to think of the thought process behind it if that makes sense? When I created my Wild Thing act I literally just saw the costume in my head, I put the music on and I walked around and I just knew what I wanted, how I wanted it to move and how I wanted it to make me feel. Any changes made after that are generally made to make my costume more practical for stripping purposes. My current costume for the act stayed very true to my original design.

So, what else is coming up for you?

Hopefully lots!!! I am still very new, but am lucky enough to have steady bookings throughout this year. I literally want to do everything, learn all I can and grab any opportunity that comes my way because that is the best way to live life and that is how you grow as an individual.

11

What advice would you give to someone reading this interested in getting into this industry?

I guess it would be dream big and be a perfectionist! There are two things that a lot of new performers believe, firstly confidence will come with performing and secondly my skills will improve as I perform. Of course these things are true in a way, but at the same time it doesn’t have to be that way. When I started burlesque, before I had even performed, I would look at some of the great Burlesque performers and I would think “I want to be like that, I want that presence on stage”. I was aware that I would be “the new performer” for some time but I still wanted people to think “wow” when I stepped out on stage. So what did I do? I practiced and practiced and practiced. There was a time where I honestly listened to nothing other than Wild Thing on my mp3. Why? Because I knew that confidence comes from trusting yourself and you can gain that confidence and trust long before you step on stage. I knew that skill came from pushing myself to try new things and to not stop until I had mastered it. I recall saying to my teacher “I don’t want to ever NOT put something in a routine just because I can’t do it, if I envision it then I will practice until I can do it!” Be a perfectionist, and do not take anything onto stage until you feel you have done your best to make it as great as it can be at the time. This idea should apply to every

aspect of your creative thinking, even costume. To many, it may seem easier said than done and Costumes can be very expensive, but all I am saying is don’t settle, don’t lower your dream! If you imagined your costume to be a sexy bra and pants and that fits in with your theme and makes you feel confident then that’s really great. If you imagine your costumes to be covered in rhinestones and come with giant butterfly wings and a huge headdress then save up to make that happen! It took about 3 months for me to get my Wild Thing costume because I couldn’t afford it so I saved up and paid for fabric here and there and gave the costume maker money in 2 payments. It is always said, but it really is true, you only live once, so be the best you can be, be your dream! Give yourself something great to remember!

Cece Sinclair can be found online at

www.facebook.com/cecesinclairburlesque

For booking please contact

cecesinclair@outlook.com

Cece Sinclair images courtesy of Joshua Leo Dorfman

12

Vintage clothes, those beautiful feminine gems from the past are very much in fashion right now and there are more and more people who not only, adore and collect the past styles but also wear them more or less frequently. It is also quite noticeable that many of Burlesque performers seem to like vintage too.

What is it about vintage garments that seem to enchant especially Burlesquers? Are they related at all? Well, let’s find out shall we? I asked two lovely Burlesque ladies about their feelings towards vintage.

Fräulein Frauke, the Swedish Burlesque and Vintage Queen says she has so many reasons to love vintage. She loves the fabrics, cuts and craftsmanship as well

as the aesthetics of it and how vintage garments are truly unique items. She can’t stand minimalism in modern clothing and in her opinion the vintage wardrobe is not only fun but also suits her better.

When I asked if she thinks vintage and Burlesque are related somehow, she said: “ Yes, absolutely! While doing Burlesque we are looking at a whole spectrum of vintage entertainment in images, film and books. Everything from the birth of Burlesque in the second half of the 1800’s to Vaudeville and Can-Can to fan dances and Burlesque through to the ‘golden days’ of the 30’s and 40’s to striptease, Pin-Up and the Rockabilly culture in the 50’s. All this is where we as an industry come from and take a lot of inspiration from.”

The Lure of Vintage and Burlesque

by

Sea Breeze

13

14

Fräulein Frauke loves glamorous costumes and thinks that Burlesque routines should be a visual spectacle, regardless if it’s classic or neo style burlesque. She is also a jazz singer and her choice of music often guides her to what vintage inspired look she should have. So everything is linked together: music, styles, films etc.

Wanting to know what Fräulein Frauke’s favourite vintage era was and she replied, “I love everything from the 1860’s to the 1950s”. On an everyday basis she wears mostly the 50’s styled clothes she loves for the glamour and female forms and the fact they are fairly easy to get hold of. She also loves the 20’s that in her opinion suit her less curvy figure better and the smouldering elegance of the 30’s. It has to do with what she sees and “is around” at the moment and after seeing the TV show Downton Abbey Fräulein Frauke feels very inspired by 1910s. However she can also enjoy a really fun 80’s outfit a la Madonna or Michael Jackson so for her the joy of dressing is to mix it up!

Lolita Love is a Burlesque performer in Finland and she longs for the old times. She likes the details, aesthetics and all the effort put into the looks in the old times but also likes how her body looks in vintage cuts. Vintage outfits and cuts seem to suit her better and make her feel unique and beautiful. Lolita thinks that part of the enchantment in Burlesque is the history and roots in the past. She also gets lots of inspiration from vintage, combined with humour and modern ideas of femininity.

Lolita says that her vintage hobby affects her Burlesque a lot and she wants, in many ways, to respect the Burlesque tradition in the outfits and the style of her performance that usually dates to the decade she sources for the outfits. Stories in her performances might also relate to certain decade in history with her current favourite decade being the 1930s. She loves the long flowing silhouettes, wavy hair and arched eyebrows, “They are wonderfully dramatic and oozing film noir”, Lolita says.

15

16

17

On personal level as a Burlesque performer and also as a vintage lover I have to agree with these two ladies on pretty much everything. I love vintage for the quality and the craftsmanship, for the looks, cuts and styles that are very pleasing to look at. Burlesque and vintage clothing both have similar glamour and femininity. Of course there are many different ways to do Burlesque, but to me and to my Burlesque routines the similarities in the aesthetics are the key. Speaking for myself vintage is definitely affecting my Burlesque too, the outfit, the themes and so on. I suppose it is very natural, after all, the golden age of Burlesque was the era many modern Burlesque performers now take their styles from. My own inspiration comes from anything from 40’s backwards but right now my favourite era is definitely the 30s with slim silhouettes, swinging hemlines and wavy curls.

Photos by Sea Breezewww.evildressmaker.com

18

19

CurlesqueCurlybonce Photography is the creation of natural light photographer Emma Jenkins.

20

21

22

23

24

“Procrastination is the enemy of success.Don’t think about it too much, focus on the best possible

outcome, and take the first step”

25

A Life in the Day of

Trudy LiteHi, boys and girls. Trudy Lite here. You’ll know me as one

of the UK’s leading burlesque life coaches to the stars -

well, certainly one of the top ten in South Devon - and

they’ve asked me to put something in this organ. At

least, I think that’s what they said.

26

I’ve decided to tell you all about a typical day in the life of a burlesque life coach to the stars. So OK, you’re thinking, what’s a burlesque life coach? I just wish people could get out of the habit of starting every sentence with the word “so”, don’t you? So normally I’m up at the crack of half past ten. Then it’s the post, piles of it every day. Sometimes I’m lucky and I get sent new Tesco Clubcard vouchers. Other times, I receive notification of an award I’ve won, which almost makes up for the lack of Tesco Clubcard vouchers on any given day. Almost, but not quite.

My latest award meant a trip to Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, where I was personally presented with the Haywood Award by the Governor of the Falkland Islands, Nigel Havers, or maybe it was Nigel Haywood. The Award is made annually to the Dependency’s favourite Burlesque Life Coach. A total of 1,517 valid votes were cast in the South Atlantic archipelago, a turnout of 92 per cent. Just three people said ‘No’ to Trudy Lite being given the award. But Argentine president Christina Fernandez de Kirchner claimed the poll was illegal. And the country’s ambassador to the UK, Alicia Castro, said the vote was “totally irrelevant”. I emailed Ms de Kirchner and suggested she wasn’t getting laid enough, then called Ms Castro and asked if she had sand in her vagina. The other thing that disappointed me was that the flight didn’t qualify for Tesco Clubcard points. Air miles? What good are they to me?

Next I check my emails. Every day I get literally millions of emails asking for my help, from all over the world and elsewhere. It must take me at least twenty minutes to go through them all. And every day I pick one miserable and worried boy or girl, and I do what I can to help them with their life. That’s why I’ve called my article A life in the day… Do you see? It’s their life in my day. There are all kinds of magazine articles about a day in the life of someone, but mine’s about a life in my day. Not my life, but my day. Someone else’s life, in my day. Don’t you get it? Maybe you’re a bit slow. There’s no shame in it, not these days.

Now, there’s been some very unkind gossip emanating from… well, you know who you are, Dita… suggesting that the emails I respond to on my weekly YouTube programme The Trudy Lite Show are made up. Well, I ask you – would I do that? It is true that, on occasion, I have used an email I receive to illustrate a broader point, which might be important to a vast number of my viewers. For example, episode twelve, about religion, started as an email I received from one of the utility companies. Boys and girls, there’s no need to get sniffy about it – it was a particularly interesting dual fuel deal. And one thing led to another and before you could say ‘pure invention’, there was Donatella from Rome asking me for help. I hope you’re not going to doubt the authenticity of that mail, as British Gas are a thoroughly reputable company you’d do well not to impugn. Apart from when they’re profiteering, that is, or stealing money from the elderly.

27

“It costs nothing, takes little effort, yet can change everything. Smile!”

There it is, then – a day in my glamorous life… no, that’s not right, is it? Never mind – I think we’ve all learned something today, especially you if you’re still using big box powder or buying grapes with the pips still in them, even if they are from Tesco. Do find me on YouTube and visit my website www.trudylite.com.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues I’ve been writing about, well, it’s time you grew up.

Just remember… keep it Lite! Till the next time, it’s love and lite from Trudy, signing off.

The Trudy Lite ShowFREE to subscribe at:-www.youtube.com/user/TheTrudyLite

28

I am often asked what it is that made me fall in love with burlesque and it was always to easy to bat the question away by describing the glamorous costumes, or the wonderful friendships made on the circuit.

But I started to ponder more on this and realised that it is the complete creative freedom that feeds my soul and keeps burlesque in my heart. As a former ballerina, I was very used to the strict and regimented cor de ballet, hours spent at auditions and reliance on your agent for work. Burlesque gives performers complete freedom to adopt any persona or brand they choose, where you are able to apply for any show you desire and take the lifestyle as far as you want. There is something very refreshing and liberating in the thought that you are solely responsible for your act, its costume, story, music and success which is a powerful realisation. When I teach new students I try and pass on the confidence to be free and explore, rather than the more traditional class that covers strip tease technique because I believe that if you are true to the act and the character you are trying to portray then there are no set rules.

So with that in mind I will be covering a new dance style every issue, to expand your performance influences and hopefully inspire you to try something new. You never know where it might take you! As this is the first article, it felt right to cover what is arguably the foundation of modern dance - ballet. Now don’t shy away, you don’t have to be ‘stick thin’ or 18 to give ballet a go, nor is it a one-way ticket to pointe shoes. What ballet does give you is an understanding of the body and how to use muscle groups to achieve a turn, or balance that might not have been possible otherwise. Ballet gives great posture and core strength with the added bonus of super flexibility and people always comment on the grace of my acts that comes greatly from the ballet training where no movement is ever truly finished and each line could be further extended. Ballet training gives you four key choreography tools; turning, adage, port de bras and elevation. With a little technique, you will be able to jump much higher, whilst protecting your joints, your arm lines will look more polished, your leg extensions will be higher and your turns much faster and with no dizziness. Sounds awesome right? Even Dita utilises adult ballet training to polish her acts.

Around the world in 80 dances

with Silk Seduction

29

30

31

32

So what does this mean to you? Well if you are a neo, a classic or even a comedic performer, the bigger vocabulary of movements you have, the more you can grow and challenge your acts and that can only make you a better performer. Now I am not saying that we should all be black or white swans (Lou Safire and I have that covered), but the confidence to double that pirouette, or extend your arabesque to give a reverse stocking removal, might just be the sparkle you have been looking for. There are adult classes across the country, that cater to complete beginners and even past ballerinas that have lost their mojo, give a class a go and let me know how you get on.

33

As a final note, please do not rush out and buy pointe shoes, I have seen far too many performers injured because their technique and body is just not strong enough yet. Find a class, practice and grow then it will all fall into place. I am always happy to hear your stories and open to suggestions of dance styles you would like me to cover, so please do get in touch.

Until next time,

SIlk Seduction xxhttp://bucketlistthirty.blogspot.co.uk/

34

35

36

Meet The BelleFleurs!

Bath Based Trio The BelleFleurs are described as the Antidote to all those Andrew’s Sisters Tribute Acts! They take songs from Pop, Metal, Rock and Punk, give them a good spanking and make them into completely new arrangements and no genre is safe! With their individual costumes and characters, innovative and witty ‘mash ups’ and new arrangements, their great sense of humour, super tight harmonies and experienced performance skills these corseted chanteuses know how to please their audiences!

Their debut album Fleurting is due for release on 25th October 2014.

With fans ranging from actress Loraine Chase, to Burlesque Artistes like Khandie Khisses, Raven Noir and Gemma Sheree to Festival darlings Mik Artistik’s Ego Trip they have delighted audiences across the nations, even performing to thousands of people at Glastonbury and in front of smaller audiences at small burlesque shows, Club openings, private parties and weddings.

With a love of the close harmonies of 40’s groups like the Andrews Sisters and music of that era The BelleFleurs were founded in 2011 by Tanya Rich, AKA The Boss who after getting tired of hearing every girl group constantly doing the same type of material. So, as much as she enjoyed singing it, she wanted to combine my admiration and affection for this genre of music with my own love of Metal, Punk, Rock and some Pop. Her mission was to subvert and amuse, in perfect harmony; Rammstein AND The Andrew’s sisters…why not? With stage clothes custom made by Lindsay at ACSWbespokecorsets.co.uk and HotCorsets, Vodka provided by Black Cow.There is no one quite like The BelleFleurs!

But who are they, and why should we listen to them!

The BelleFleurs…coming to a stage near you very soon!

Further details of The Bellefleurs, including upcoming shows and bookings, can be found at www.thebellefleurs.co.uk

Miss Rich - The Boss

Tanya is originally from Wolverhampton and grew up surrounded by music and ‘loviness’ as her father was pianist with the Midland Light Orchestra based at the BBC and musical director for Pebble Mill at 1. Her mother was an actress, pianist, and solo and backing singer, it is from them she gained an appreciation of jazz and classical music, and performing in general. She won her first singing competition at 5, bringing the house down when asking for ‘Edelweiss in the Key of Eb please.’ Eschewing classical singing, piano, cello and Drama school to Manage Punk legends Discharge in 1977 through to 1980. Her parents were delighted….! She also began working as a session and jingle singer.

Tanya is most known for being a voice over artiste, something she has been doing for the past 30 years and feels lucky enough to work every day having voiced everything from an animated sofa to the most corporate instructional videos for NASA and Governments throughout the world. She has an LLAM from LAMDA. She also runs Ultravoice Master classes with Voice over Peter Dickson.

A lover of all things Gothic and Punk, and of tight lacing and PVC…Tanya is easily recognisable with her ‘big’ purple hair’, a feat of engineering in itself and married to ‘the most patient man on earth!’ and has a horse mad daughter.

37

Miss Harbour - The Vintage Vixen

Kate Harbour is well known as being the voice of Wendy, Dizzy, Pilchard and more in “Bob the Builder”. Her fascination with character voices started when she first saw “The Muppet Show” and after performing ‘Halfway up the Stairs’ in front of her class, with her Kermit the Frog hand puppet, the scene was set for her lifetime of vocal theatrics!

Kate started dancing at the age of 4 and after training hard with The Arts Educational school Tring and the Central School of Ballet she landed her first coveted role of the back end of Maggie the Cow at Watford Palace! Always good to start at the bottom and work your way up! After a stint at bad paperwork as a receptionist and being a ‘Lauder’ girl for Harrods she finally landed a dream job as ‘Jammes’ (the ballet dancer) in Ken Hill’s Phantom Of The Opera. It was the tour of a lifetime, not least because she got to choreograph her own part that she then taught to subsequent ‘Jammes’ on international tours. It was made all the more special as her father, actor Michael Harbour, was also in the show. They toured the UK, Japan and Manila prior to the West End run at The Shaftsbury Theatre. Over the last 20 years Kate has performed in a variety of genres from Cabaret, ”Cissy and Sal” to several West End Musicals including Cameron Macintosh’s “Oliver”, “Martin Guerre” and “Hey Mr. Producer” to various plays including Chekov’s “The Bear”. All the while providing voices for more animals and varied characters for Aardmans “Shaun The Sheep” and “Timmy Time”.

Kate loves singing with The Bellefleurs as it combines all her favourite occupations singing acting to and choreography. Working with great people and oh, wearing fab outfits!

Miss Bluebell - The Firecracker

Bluebell Spark was always going to end up a musician. Growing up with a professional musician for a father it was always ‘the norm’ that music paid the bills. After teaching herself guitar at 5 years old she soon started collecting more and more instruments to play and now has an ever growing collection at home (as well as tattooed onto whatever part of her body she can find some spare skin!)

So far this includes several electric and acoustic guitars and bass guitars including 4, 5 and 6 string basses, plus an electric double bass, cello, ukulele, keyboards, drums and a Celtic harp. She’d love a concert harp really but the baby grand piano takes up too much space in the music room.

She wrote her first opera at 12, received top marks in GCSE music at just 13, was a grade 8 cellist by 15, also started playing in bands at 15 and turned professional at 18. Known as ’Bluebell’ due to her unusual and completely natural hair colour (honest), she has spent most of her musical career as a bassist and singer in various guises touring around the UK and Europe, including solo, duo, 3-piece and 5-piece line-ups.

She loves playing and performing with The Bellefleurs so much because it allows her to really express her individuality and sense of humour musically. She’s even learning how to walk in high heels! Who knew playing with girls could be so much fun?

38

My First Time -Shooting Burlesque

Richard McKenzie

39

40

It’s a Thursday evening at the first Fringe Festival in Reading Berkshire, the lights are low and after a couple of years taking photos at gigs I am about to shoot the fantastic Scarlet Vixens at my first ever Burlesque show. I’ve shot lots of gigs and lots of low light work in rowdy bars, how different can it be?

A lot different that’s what! There’s less light, more movement on stage, wrong lenses, wrong camera settings and it’s a job trying to keep out the way of the audience, performers and staff. All this while capturing the spectacle of the amazing Reading based Scarlet Vixens on their first outing and you can begin to see why this photographer is starting to sweat a bit.

I remember to breathe, think deliberately and to take glorious pictures of each act as they perform on stage, all the time looking for interesting angles that the crowd won’t see. I spot that a purple light stage left is throwing a strong silhouette of the performer stage right. These shadows turned the Burlesque night to an expressionist film with its portentous shadow play and all apparently just for me, as

everyone else’s eyes were on the centre of the stage. Slowly the problems sort themselves and I find a formula that worked on the camera dials, ISO64000, 125th and f3.5 if you’re interested, and began to see the rhythm of the acts. I can see when to concentrate solely on the electric acts and when to move to the audience’s reaction and the beguiling shadow play. I still got caught out but less often. You could say I got my eye in but boy, was I surprised when the delightful Lilyana L’amour ran in to the crowd as part of her act and my camera was still pointing at her shadow.

With the show over I have over 1,000 images. That’s right a 1,000 images! Now to find a workflow that enables me to process these images and not go mad that keeps the excitement of the show, reflects the performers in the best light and will be an advert for me as a Burlesque photographer. I am also about to discover how difficult it is to process images without Photoshop. I know that Photoshop is a dirty word in some circles but you try dealing with the delights of a Burlesque evening without it. It’s a nightmare, one that is thankfully in the past, but it was a strain on the day. I have to work these problems out and quickly, it took two nights looking at the pics forensically and staying up to 3am twice to find the answer.

41

First ditch any pics that aren’t in focus, then ditch all the pics that don’t say anything interesting, amusing or aren’t going to show the performers off in a good light. Then you have your core set of pics, I find black and white or sepia works very well. Then look for something unusual. Remember the shadow shots? A lot of these came out of the corner of shots that couldn’t be used for anything else and made a real feature of that show. Finally once you have done that you have to look at the shots where the performers just look gorgeous and make the images “pop”. Each photographer probably has their own set of processing criteria and if you want to know how I process mine give me a call. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.

After all the excitement and all the hard work you have perhaps, 100 or 120 shots from the show with maybe half a dozen stand out shots which have captured the evening. You send the shots to the performers and to the show organisers and wait and see if the performers like the shots, hoping you’ve captured the excitement of the evening. Then you notice on Facebook and elsewhere your pictures starting to be used as profile shots, as banners and elsewhere, the performers start to ask you for hi res copies and you know you have got it right. If you are lucky you get to do it again in a couple of weeks. If you were me you get to do it all over again the next day as you are on duty at the festival’s show photographer at next act: Betty Dame La Reine and her Victorian Burlesque.

42

43

44

Neo Burlesque Awards- Thursday 10th JulyReviewed by Bec McKernan

Thursday night in the Shadow Bar of the Empire Casino in London’s Leicester Square found me watching eight burlesque performers battle it out for a place in the finals of the Neo Burlesque Awards. The audience sat all at the one edge of the dance floor, eagerly awaiting the arrival of our compere and master of ceremonies, the Divine Miss Em. Although the crowd was smaller than usual audience they were in very good spirits. As Miss Em made her entrance with her wonderful

pair of-ahem-lungs she received a warm reception and the evening began. Eight acts, varying both in style and standard were presented by Miss Em and assessed by the panel of judges consisting of Burlesque Baby’s Natalie Russell of RC Management and the beautiful international performer Odelia Opium. We were treated to a performance by October Rush, though unwell she still managed some impressive splits, Merlesque performers Ondine and Melusine gave us a little taste of life under the sea with their Mermaid act featuring some very funny little ditties and gorgeous costumes, the wonderfully offbeat Bonnie Pinns entertained with a Jurassic Park inspired number, is it right to find a dinosaur so attractive? Parisian trained Fatale Redvenan showed us a creepily kooky blend of classical Venetian fan dance and voodoo witch doctor, complete with audience participation in the form of getting a few lucky men in the front row to eat ‘brains’ out of a skull and Ruby Ruffles, who trilled with her edgy Corpse Bride routine.

As an audience member you don’t just get to watch this all passively. Oh no, your role is vital, with the audience voting for who gets through to the finals. Last night’s awards went to Gloria Zsa Zsa Zsu, who’s curvy and seductive sorceress put us all into a hypnotic state when she was on stage. In second was the effortlessly beautiful CiCi L’amour, mixing 50’s housewife with Michael Jackson and a whole heap of rhinestones, and giving the barman the time of

his life when she used his worktop to prostate herself upon. First place went to the feisty Miss Tease Cake who’s upbeat routine to Do Right; a much higher paced version than typically seen won her favour with the crowd. Both CiCi L’amour and Miss Tease Cake will go through to the final at Madame Jojo’s on the 20th November, I for one will certainly be there to see who battles it out for the crown.

Reviews

45

Cabaret Roulette Addiction - 8th October 2014Reviewed by Tom Stanger

The second Wednesday of every month is always a date to look forward to for me, it’s Cabaret Roulette night. This is the night I’m almost religiously taking the 6 hour round trip to London to get to Madame Jojo’s and see what’s going to happen. I’m probably somewhat bias in this review, with this being my favourite monthly event, however, tonight’s show really was a standout night of pure entertainment!

For those not familiar with this show the format is very simple, unlike other shows with performers showing off their favourite and best routines Roulette gives eight performers one theme and two months to create an entirely new act. The results are often hilarious and genius. For me it’s always been a joy to see something original and exciting, and Roulette never fails to disappoint.

This months theme, Addiction, seemed to be a blessing for the performers who twist and turn the theme into something unique.. Hosted by the fantastic Eva Von Schnippish and ably assisted by Lou Safire we were introduced to Ria Lina, whose comedic song on the subject were hilarious, confusing the theme Addiction for Diction, something we weren’t expecting, Lily Raptor’s hoop routine got the crowd cheering and hollering, and although I’ve seen plenty of hoop routines before, I was made very aware that I’ve not nearly seen as much as I thought! Following up was Peggy De Lune who took us through Facebook addiction and Kiki Lovechild’s beautiful performance with butterflies certainly made sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, although I think I actually had something in my eye.

After the much needed break to replenish drinks the only regular performer Anna Lou Larkin gave us a hilarious rendition of lost loves, followed up by a fantastic performance by drag artist Lydia L’Scabies and Joe Black, who gave a wonderful spoken word rendition and finally Bettie Bob Bon who let everyone in the audience she was addicted to glitter. This was probably the first time there’s been glitter at a

show and I’ve not been covered in it, which was lucky as I had a meeting the following morning!

Images courtesy of www.lensintheface.com

46