After our short break for the festivities, we'll be back to gorgeousness with a sprinkling of titters (now, now. That's "titters", as in: "silvery bell-like feminine laughter". What on earth were you thinking?) on Wednesday 4th January.

We're brushing off a bouncy little breeze of an old favourite that's perfect for the beginner, and we'll start teaching it from scratch next week.

Do join us - it's the perfect time!

Yours, hoping that our corset laces will take the strain,

Burlicious x

And smile!

The last class of the winter term is always a delight. Often we'll have a Christmas theme to our outfits. This year, we Santa'd up a week prematurely and saved yesterday for a triumphant bit of dancing, followed by a photoshoot.

Now, it's fair to say that our little hall has many good points, but being photogenic ain't one of 'em. So the Sparkly Bra Pixie and I arrived at class clutching bags of furry throws, quilt covers, and lengths of pretty material to disguise our surroundings. Showgirls were pressed into service, just out of shot, to hold up lengths of material to cover up crappy plastic chairs. the dart board, old pipes, and sweet little Sunday school collages of the Three Kings and shepherds watching their sheep.

Over the next few months you'll see some of our work and snippets of the everyday, individual, genuine beauty of our gorgeous girls.

Have a fantastic break, Showgirls, and thank you so much for humouring us last night. Your beautiful bits are safe in our Burlicious hands!

Yours, rejoicing in the varied loveliness of real women,

Burlicious x

Our philosophy, made tangible

You will have seen the photo clips that we use to adorn our site and our posts. Apart from a handful of guest appearances (and it really is a handful), every single one of those photos that we have used over the seven years of this blog is a photo of a Burlicious showgirl... or a photo of a part of her.

This is really important to us. It's a regular demonstration of our core belief, which is that every single one of us is beautiful in some way.

We have never subscribed to the view that there is just one kind of beauty. We're unimpressed and frustrated by the increasingly sexualised, commercialised and homogenised role models that are offered up as being what all women should aspire to be. We believe that women are beautiful in different ways and that they should recognise and love what makes them uniquely lovely.

So, showgirls, here's an idea. We're cantering to a close with our current routine and we have two dance classes left this term. Do any of you fancy using a chunk of our last class as a photoshoot? It's always been a giggle when we've done it before.

There would be no obligation to join in (or, indeed, for us to do this at all). Any pictures that we then use here on the blog will be edited so that you are anonymous (unless you tell us you want to be seen, which some of our lovely showgirls have already said!). Trust us, we are pretty good at seeing the gorgeous in you and in capturing that for posterity.

Have a think about it. And, in the meantime, feast your eyes again on the impossibly lovely legs of one of your troupe mates. :-)

Yours, proud of you all,

Burlicious x

Havin' a giraffe

No, we're not talking about the long, lean legs of some of our showgirls.

Nor are we talking about a Burlicious zoo sponsorship scheme (although we're confident that the Voluptuous Jules would do almost anything if it meant that she could wear a really, really nice long tail).

We're talking about the absolute best bit of our weekly class, which is that it's all a bit of a laugh.

Thrilled though we are whenever we see our troupe of luscious showgirls stepping through the routine like absolute pros (that's "professionals", people, "professionals"), we get as much of a boost from seeing them collapse with laughter at some small mishap and then totter about aimlessly just giggling.

It's such a  nice position to be in. We're chuffed to bits when we see how gorgeously they can bring our steps to life and we're just as delighted when we see them b*ggering it up and having a whale of a time.

Of course, we may have to turn up the music to maximum to drown out the sound of showgirl snorting and cackling. :-)

Yours, smiling at the happy daftness of it all,

Burlicious x