Showgirls, we are just two weeks away from starting our second year of classy classes. Our new venue is all ready for us and will give us lots more space to sashay around in.
Classes start on Weds 8th September at the new time of 8pm. Do email us if you think you might want to join us so we can give you all the details. New ladies join us all the time and there's no better time to start than at the beginning of a brand new term.
We're designing two very different new routines for this term - one sizzling number with chairs and one cheeky little number using our new canes. We can't wait to introduce them to you!
So, bring on the satins and sequins, let's get back into our gloves and boas and get ready for a sparkling new term!
Yours, stepping into fishnets and heels,
Burlicious x
25 Aug 2010
27 Apr 2010
Practical stuff - term dates and future ideas
I can't believe we're already well into the summer term of classes! We're currently doing a very sassy version of Lady Marmalade - lots of bumps, grinds and bum swings. If life were fair, we would all have teeny tiny hips by now! Still, burlesque is the perfect place for the woman with curves as well as welcoming the slender gazelles amongst us. What other dance style suits such a range of female shapes?!
On a practical note, class dates for the rest of term are every Weds at 8.30pm until 26 May. Then the Hasland is closed for half term for a week so there's no class on 2 June. Classes will then run from 9 June to 14 July before we break for the summer. New ladies - you can join us at any time. Just email us at burlicious@gmail.com to check we'll have space the night you fancy joining us and to ask any questions you have about what to wear, how the class works etc.
We've plenty lined up to take us through to the summer break. We have acquired some perfect chairs which we'll be able to use to great effect in our next dance routine. After that, we're toying with the idea of a routine using canes, or maybe doing something very smoky and langorous with chairs. So many good pieces of music; so many ideas for dance routines; such a fab group of women coming along to dance with us....the possibilities are endless!
Here's to a glittering and gorgeous summer term.
Yours slinkily,
Burlicious xx
On a practical note, class dates for the rest of term are every Weds at 8.30pm until 26 May. Then the Hasland is closed for half term for a week so there's no class on 2 June. Classes will then run from 9 June to 14 July before we break for the summer. New ladies - you can join us at any time. Just email us at burlicious@gmail.com to check we'll have space the night you fancy joining us and to ask any questions you have about what to wear, how the class works etc.
We've plenty lined up to take us through to the summer break. We have acquired some perfect chairs which we'll be able to use to great effect in our next dance routine. After that, we're toying with the idea of a routine using canes, or maybe doing something very smoky and langorous with chairs. So many good pieces of music; so many ideas for dance routines; such a fab group of women coming along to dance with us....the possibilities are endless!
Here's to a glittering and gorgeous summer term.
Yours slinkily,
Burlicious xx
8 Mar 2010
That showgirl look
Just wanted to report in on some very successful (so far) online shopping with Corsets UK (www.corsets-uk.com). They have some truly wonderful designs in lovely materials, as well as a "buy two, get a third free" offer. The corsets are good quality and are nicely tailored, without being so tight you can't breathe or move in them. One word of warning, we're not describing the ones that take up to 4 inches off your waist here - it's probably too much to ask to get that wasp-waisted look AND be able to do a full dance routine!
As with most online shopping, it's a trial and error thing to get the right size. Certainly the orders made so far have been despatched very quickly. Time will tell if refunds are made as speedily! We'll let you know. If you're right at the smallest end of a size (they go by waist size) I would suggest buying the next size down. Otherwise, you can't tighten the corset any further to get that finely adjusted fit. Better a smaller size with a bit of back showing between the laces than a corset that's just a bit too big for you around the waist and hips, and that is already as small as it will go.
Try them out - get laced into something gorgeous and then trot your burlesque stuff on the dancefloor....a treat not to be missed!
Yours, purring in little scraps of satin,
Burlicious xx
As with most online shopping, it's a trial and error thing to get the right size. Certainly the orders made so far have been despatched very quickly. Time will tell if refunds are made as speedily! We'll let you know. If you're right at the smallest end of a size (they go by waist size) I would suggest buying the next size down. Otherwise, you can't tighten the corset any further to get that finely adjusted fit. Better a smaller size with a bit of back showing between the laces than a corset that's just a bit too big for you around the waist and hips, and that is already as small as it will go.
Try them out - get laced into something gorgeous and then trot your burlesque stuff on the dancefloor....a treat not to be missed!
Yours, purring in little scraps of satin,
Burlicious xx
4 Mar 2010
Dance classes with a burlesque twist
People ask us how our dance class actually works. Well, every term-time Wednesday evening we gather in studio one at the Hasland School of Dance here in sunny Herne Bay. First of all is the unveiling. Our undercover showgirls arrive in whatever is sensible to travel in and then get themselves into their dance outfits once they're in the studio. It's always lovely to see what little burlesque gem someone has unearthed in a charity shop or online, or what they have found in a mainstream shop and then tweaked to make it an imaginative part of their outfit. Almost everyone arrives for their first class in comfortable exercise gear and then develops a burlesque outfit over time.
Then we do a warm up just to get us moving and stretching and to practise some of the foundation moves of burlesque dance. Next, the three of us demonstrate the dance routine that the class will be learning. We think it really helps when you're learning a routine step by step to have seen what the whole dance looks like - it helps you to know where you're heading.
Finally, we teach the routine, breaking it down into little bits and dancing each section over and over until we can see that the class has stopped worrying about what step comes next, and has started enjoying being able to dance the steps and add some of their own style. We'll work on each routine for a few weeks until we get to that magical bit - when we can look in the mirror and see a whole troupe of burlesque lovelies dancing the routine we have created whilst bringing to it their own individual flourishes.
Best of all, there's usually lots of laughter throughout. Not only does each of us dance a routine in our own way, we muck it up in our own way too!
If you fancy joining us, drop us an email. We don't ask people to commit to a term of classes at a time - you can attend as many or as few classes as you fancy. All we ask is that you check in with us before coming so we can make sure that we'll have room for you on the night that you want to attend. The last thing we want to do is overbook the class and cramp your showgirl moves! We'll be starting a new routine in a couple of weeks time.
Yours, in diamante and sparkles,
Burlicious xx
Then we do a warm up just to get us moving and stretching and to practise some of the foundation moves of burlesque dance. Next, the three of us demonstrate the dance routine that the class will be learning. We think it really helps when you're learning a routine step by step to have seen what the whole dance looks like - it helps you to know where you're heading.
Finally, we teach the routine, breaking it down into little bits and dancing each section over and over until we can see that the class has stopped worrying about what step comes next, and has started enjoying being able to dance the steps and add some of their own style. We'll work on each routine for a few weeks until we get to that magical bit - when we can look in the mirror and see a whole troupe of burlesque lovelies dancing the routine we have created whilst bringing to it their own individual flourishes.
Best of all, there's usually lots of laughter throughout. Not only does each of us dance a routine in our own way, we muck it up in our own way too!
If you fancy joining us, drop us an email. We don't ask people to commit to a term of classes at a time - you can attend as many or as few classes as you fancy. All we ask is that you check in with us before coming so we can make sure that we'll have room for you on the night that you want to attend. The last thing we want to do is overbook the class and cramp your showgirl moves! We'll be starting a new routine in a couple of weeks time.
Yours, in diamante and sparkles,
Burlicious xx
29 Jan 2010
Satins and stockings; basques and bows; gloves and gorgeous things
We're often asked where to buy the kind of lovely items that will make up a good burlesque outfit. Now, What Katy Did and Agent Provocateur sell beautiful things, but they tend to cost a lot and they may be a bit restrictive when you're dancing. Remember, you'll want to be able to bend ALL the way over so you can sweep a hand back up your leg. You'll also want to bend forward and shimmy without anything escaping from the top of your corset! What follows is our hit list of local shops where you can get pretty things at a very good price. When we say local, our class is based in Herne Bay, so we're talking about East Kent.
TK Maxx and Peacocks often have underwear that is both sexy and capable of being worn for dancing. TK Maxx and Matalan often have superb high heeled shoes - not the kind of thing you might want for walking the dog, I grant you, but perfect for strutting your stuff on the dance floor. Long evening gloves can be bought really cheaply at Debenhams, or at Funky Monk in Canterbury High Street, or online (see earlier post). Charity shops are superb sources of cheap little tops covered in sequins and sparkles. Some of the girls have ordered stuff from Corsets UK - none of the three of us has done that yet so we can't speak from experience. Little sequin shorts appear sometimes in Bay Trading and in Top Shop. Alternatively, buy some practical black knickers and add a fringe...or pin a double length of boa to the back as a tail. Gorgeous.
All you really need to think about is "do I like it? Do I feel good in it? Can I move in it without bits of me popping out? Can I breathe in it if I try to bend?" There are surprise downsides in many outfits (sequins that catch on your boa or gloves; fringes that catch beads) so it's worth building up a few cheap outfits first and finding out what kind of look works for you before investing serious money in something. There are only two things that really matter. Firstly, enjoy what you buy - burlesque is about having fun, dressing up and feeling great. Secondly, decide what your burlesque style is and shop with that in mind. You're your kind of showgirl - you don't need to stick to anyone else's rules!
Yours, haunting the clothes rails...,
Burlicious xx
TK Maxx and Peacocks often have underwear that is both sexy and capable of being worn for dancing. TK Maxx and Matalan often have superb high heeled shoes - not the kind of thing you might want for walking the dog, I grant you, but perfect for strutting your stuff on the dance floor. Long evening gloves can be bought really cheaply at Debenhams, or at Funky Monk in Canterbury High Street, or online (see earlier post). Charity shops are superb sources of cheap little tops covered in sequins and sparkles. Some of the girls have ordered stuff from Corsets UK - none of the three of us has done that yet so we can't speak from experience. Little sequin shorts appear sometimes in Bay Trading and in Top Shop. Alternatively, buy some practical black knickers and add a fringe...or pin a double length of boa to the back as a tail. Gorgeous.
All you really need to think about is "do I like it? Do I feel good in it? Can I move in it without bits of me popping out? Can I breathe in it if I try to bend?" There are surprise downsides in many outfits (sequins that catch on your boa or gloves; fringes that catch beads) so it's worth building up a few cheap outfits first and finding out what kind of look works for you before investing serious money in something. There are only two things that really matter. Firstly, enjoy what you buy - burlesque is about having fun, dressing up and feeling great. Secondly, decide what your burlesque style is and shop with that in mind. You're your kind of showgirl - you don't need to stick to anyone else's rules!
Yours, haunting the clothes rails...,
Burlicious xx
4 Jan 2010
New Year, new routine
At last, the new term of dance classes is about to begin! Like Santa's secret sexy helpers we've been hard at work over the Christmas break designing a new burlesque routine for our bevy of Burlicious beauties. Back to school we go with Herb Alpert's "Love Potion" as the sound track for our new dance. Of all the routines we learnt when we were attending burlesque classes as punters rather than as teachers, this is the only one we're using in a form that is anything like the original. The track is made for sashaying in a sassy way around the dance floor. We've tightened the routine up in places, nipped and tucked it in others, and it's good to go.
Whilst it's hard work creating burlesque routines and polishing them until they sparkle, I must say that it's one of the most fun things that you can do with (most of) your clothes on. You would not believe the number of different ways in which three perfectly capable women can b*gger up a routine that they have designed and danced. Stepping on your own boa; coming to a complete halt with no idea what the next step might be; peeling off a glove and then accidentally slapping the next woman along with it...it's all part of an average rehearsal and leads time and again to helpless laughter and collapse of all concerned. Oddly, they never showed these bits in "Moulin Rouge" or "All That Jazz"!
Yours, lacing up the basque,
Bulicious xx
Whilst it's hard work creating burlesque routines and polishing them until they sparkle, I must say that it's one of the most fun things that you can do with (most of) your clothes on. You would not believe the number of different ways in which three perfectly capable women can b*gger up a routine that they have designed and danced. Stepping on your own boa; coming to a complete halt with no idea what the next step might be; peeling off a glove and then accidentally slapping the next woman along with it...it's all part of an average rehearsal and leads time and again to helpless laughter and collapse of all concerned. Oddly, they never showed these bits in "Moulin Rouge" or "All That Jazz"!
Yours, lacing up the basque,
Bulicious xx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe
Posts
All Comments
.
