Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

Ever wonder how to burlesque performers get and stay so confident? Ever think you'd try a class or performance if only you felt more sure of yourself? You can watch Jo Weldon's confidence workshop for FREE if you send your request by January 7, 2022. To request it, email schoolofburlesque@gmail.com with the words "Confidence Workshop" in the subject line of your email. You'll receive a link to a pre-recorded live workshop on confidence and stage presence. The link is good for 72 hours. Wishing you good luck, good health, and the best possible New Year in 2022!  

                       Above: Students in the September Fan Dance Workshop Want to find out  more about any of the classes listed below?  Head over to  schoolofburlesque.com ! FLIRTING WITH BURLESQUE Are you Burlesque-Curious? Get acquainted with our fancy performing art in this fun and friendly class, featuring simple moves that will get you into the burlesque groove! BURLESQUE IMPROV AND CHOREOGRAPHY Dress for movement! Gigi Holliday will teach you basic burlesque moves and get you into showgirl form in this introductory class! Designed for all levels, it's the perfect way to begin your journey into this sexy and playful performing art. PERFORMANCE FUNDAMENTALS! Thinking about performing? Get a crash course in what goes into Burlesque Act Development! You'll learn about coming up with an effective stage name, generating ideas, getting into character, choosing music, developing choreography, incorporating stript...

How to Bring a Legend to Your Event and Make Them Feel Like Royalty Image Above: Toni Elling, Escorted by Butch Charming C. Photolena Onstage at The Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender 2019 https://burlesquebeat.com/2019/08/22/burlesque-hall-of-fame-weekend-2019-titans-of-tease-show/ There is no thrill quite like seeing a Legend of Burlesque bring their decades of skills to the stage. It is a unique experience that every festival should bring to their audience. However, if it is your first time hiring a Legend, you’ll find they may have different needs than newer performers, so here are some tips on how to treat your Legend like the royalty they are and make them feel safe, comfortable, and happy. These tips are based on conversations with Legends and with people who have hired Legends. Communication is key. Be prepared to talk with your Legend on the phone. You may follow up with emails confirming the details of your conversations to make sure you are in agreement and to have a record of...

You can join the entire weekend of classes, many of which are also available as recordings if you can't make the live class, or you can sign up individually. Headmistress Jo Weldon will be joining a FREE panel with legends of burlesque and the people who love them. If you've been hearing about legends and you want to know how to meet them, or just understand their place in the professional burlesque community, you can attend! All BurlyCon options are available at https://www.burlypod.com/ #burlesque #burlesqueclasses #businessofburlesque #burlesquelegends  

The rehearsal studio, where most classes take place, is a sacred space, and must be used with enormous consideration of everyone who uses it. Here are some general tips for using the space considerately (and making good impressions on other performers and producers): 1) Manage your time. Your time starts when it starts. That means that your access to the space that is being rented begins with the start time you booked, so if you need half an hour to set up, you reserve and pay for that half hour. This includes breakdown and socializing time, too. Make sure you are not occupying another performer's time, or taking advantage of a studio that is probably already stretched to the limit of its resources. And know where you are going afterwards so that you are not milling around the entry. 2) Leave it like you found it. If it was messy, leave it better than you found it. Return everything to a position that allows maximum space and convenience for the next artist. 3) Plan when you'll...

Medianoche in a costume with matching mask. All photos courtesy Medianoche. Medianoche, Miss Exotic World 2017, is well known for her graceful and sensuous performances, as well as for making her own glamourous and unique costumes. During the pandemic she added new panache by making the essential fabulous. Jo: "When did you start making masks?" Medianoche: I started making cloth masks soon after the pandemic began. With mask shortages and seeing as I had free time and a big stash of fabric, it made sense! I took my time to develop a pattern that was flattering and fit my face correctly... It took a few tries but it was worth it! "Did you make them to match existing costumes?" I started off with just regular everyday masks, but eventually made one to match a costume for my first show back -- and have been making them to match all my costumes since! I now have about 8-10 costume masks. I have fabric and rhinestone remnants from most of my costumes that I hold on to fo...

Free Fan Dance mini-tutorial tonight! Tuesday, October 12, 9 pm Eastern Time Live on the New York School of Burlesque Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/nyschoolofburlesque/ Why? Because we like you! (Also, to encourage students to follow our IG!) Image above from World Dance New York One of my goals ever since I began was to introduce newcomers not just to me, but to the entire fabulous world of burlesque, its community, its performers, and of course its many brilliant instructors. I hope you find a wide range of ways to enjoy burlesque in all its versions, and all its many fabulous people, here!  

  Above: Virago Nation See Virago Nation Perform Today is Indigenous People's Day, which is a great day to tell you about just a few of the Native American/First Nations performers using burlesque to express identity, history and purpose. Get to know a few in this post! Support them by watching their performances and following them on social media, liking, commenting on and sharing their work, and looking out for their suggestions for support. Virago Nation: "We are a collective of Indigenous artists creating performance through burlesque, theatre, song and spoken word as well as workshops, and community rematriating Indigenous sexuality." Learn More About Virago Nation Adele Wolf Productions: "Adele Wolf Production is an Indigenous LGBTQ+ owned, international, award-winning entertainment company established in 2011 and specializing in world-class burlesque and variety entertainment. Our World-renowned revuews include tlaent from Absinthe Las Vegas, Crazy Horse Paris...

Image: The New York School of Burlesque Mug, available now from Lola Star! Click here to purchase If you're just getting started in burlesque but you plan to become a part-time or fulltime performer, you can start branding yourself right away! Take these three steps to claim your social media and internet presence, and you'll look professional when you start to get bookings. All of the suggestions below assume that your stage name (or, show title, or any other thing you wish to brand) is unique.  If they are not unique enough to follow these suggestions, see my article on stage names. Get the simplest email with your stage name.  Yourstagename@gmail.com or you@yourstagename.com are both ideal.   Get your stage name on all the social media you wish to use, such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, etc. For instance, Instagram.com/yourstagename. Create the hashtags #yourstagename and #yourstagenameburlesque . Purchase the domain yourstagename.com. You can forward it to yo...

On August 15, I produced the first New York School of Burlesque student showcase in over 18 months. The students spent five weeks developing their own routines with guidance from me and from each other. They chose their own themes, assembled their own costumes, and developed their own choreography. Many of them had been waiting for years to do their first performance! We also featured Trinity Starlight as our headlining alumna, a former student who's now an accomplished producer. Here are some photos from Katherine Whitehead Photography , who was hired by the students to do photos and video of the show.  Kaya Toast Alexandra Peach Miss Miette Sassie LeFay PuppyGirl Anastasia Agent DD7 Trinity Starlight Tatas Fornow Tann Talizing Constance Snow Headmistress Jo See video clips from my IG Live Our next 2021 Student Showcase is November 7 at DROM! Featuring an all-new group of students creating solo numbers together. Details to come at New York School of Burlesque

  Above: Removing my corset at The Burlesque Hall of Fame. Photo by Mike Albov My number one choreography tip for burlesque is that your costume IS your choreography. That's right! That's because the costume removal will include logistical decisions, will affect your movement ability and choices, and make your performance unique. It's possible to start a number from any point, whether from an idea, a piece of music, or a costume, and you may start out with everything but the costume and still begin developing the number. You may get the costume last! And yet you will, with some exceptions (there are exceptions to EVERY guideline, of course!), have to adjust any choreography you made without the costume to the ways you move with the costume. It's also possible to adjust the costume, but sometimes not as much as one hopes. Get to know your costume well -- where it's easy, where it's challenging, where you have opportunities for play. Make sure the audience can see...

 Since I published The Burlesque Handbook in June 2010, I’ve gotten a lot of response to it from both beginners and pros, and the most frequent comment I’ve had from experienced performers has been, “Thank you for the chapter on etiquette!” And most of them add, “Especially the part about taking pictures!”   In the guidelines for the chapter, I wrote:   1. Ask before you take pictures, and be genuinely willing to not take them. People who don’t mind being photographed doing all kinds of wild things onstage may not want to be photographed checking the crotch of their underwear for clitty litter. Or they may wish to be photographed only by professionals. This is not necessarily uptight of them. There are a lot of issues around photography and burlesque. And for god’s sake, if you post a photo online and someone asks you to take a picture down, do it!  (This photo of me by Allen Lee has been stolen repeatedly, and Allen has had to fight for his rights as a ph...

Burlesque Crafting Classes! In-Person in NYC. Thursdays in September at 6-7.15 pm. Only $40 each, supplies included. Location: Club Cumming at 505 E 6th St, NYC 10009 Instructor: Tallulah Talons, Producer of Pandemic Burlesque. All are welcome--no prior experience needed Space is very limited and advance reservations are required. Use PayPal button to pay to register. Scheduled Topics: 9/2 - rip-away fringed shimmy belt making 9/9 - custom pastie making 9/16 - pinup hair flower making 9/23 - fancy facemasks for performances 9/30 - panel skirt making What to bring: Bring proof of vaccination and ID showing that you are 21+, and a facemask. Your fee includes the basic materials needed to complete each project such as fabric, thread, needles, glue, fasteners, fringe, tassels, sequins, and resin rhinestones. If you would like to use specific materials or need to match the colors of a specific costume, you may also bring additional things from home like custom trims or rhinestones. Location...

T his Monday, August 30, at 6 pm in NYC! Taking Off! Striptease Choreo and Improv Live in-person in-studio. Playing with new topics every week while developing choreography skills. Mondays, 6-7 pm. Please arrive with vaccination card or pass and ID. Location: In NYC's fabulous Garment District at Aerial Arts, 150 West 30th St. in Manhattan August 30: Zip It! We'll be talking about zippers as we discuss the basics of burlesque choreography! Bring at least one item that zips -- hoodies, dresses, boots, jeans, etc. -- and Jo will show you how to develop choreography for you during the class! This is a movement class. Important note: bring items that remove easily once unzipped.     PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR A NEW IN-PERSON CLASS ABOUT STRIPTEASE AND SENSUALITY, CALLED "FEELING YOURSELF." See Jo Weldon do a devastating zipper tease on IGTV https://www.instagram.com/tv/CSIjuxmHN87/ Rhinestone zipper image from: https://www.etsy.com/market/the_zipper_lady

  Happy Birthday, Dixie Evans! If you've ever heard of The Burlesque Hall of Fame, it's Dixie you have to thank. She took over the burlesque museum, Exotic World, when it was a ranch in the middle of the desert, and kept it going by starting the Miss Exotic World Pageant. This museum and event became The Burlesque Hall of Fame and The Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender you'll often hear referred to as BHoF. She and Jennie were ahead of their time, demanding recognition, respect, and rights for strippers, and crediting the influence of strippers on popular culture in a way many people weren't prepared to appreciate. They were activists and advocates and we owe them so much. Dixie was one of my personal mentors, and one of the most powerful things she taught me was to welcome everyone. She always loved the history of burlesque, and celebrated new performers as the future of burlesque. Just a few months before she died I got to sit with her and tell her how I had traveled al...

Where to buy excellent nipple pasties? You are probably looking for pasties that can be applied many times, that stand up to use, and, if you want to twirl tassels, have tassels that twirl easily. The ones in sex toy stores or on Alibaba may not be knowledgably constructed with tassel-twirling or sturdiness in mind. Like lacy playsuits, they are great for photo shoots, but don't necessarily function and hold up under performance conditions. You need pasties made by people who know what's involved in a high-perofrmance pastie! Above: A video of me testing a leopard-print rhinestone pastie I made, to make sure the tassel-twirling attachment is operating smoothly. I often get asked where to buy pasties, and I always say that the best pastie makers have experience with burlesque. Either they are performers themselves, or they specialize in making costumes for performers. They understand the functions and rigors of performance, and they are inspired by the opportunities of innovativ...

Shopping for your first pair of feather fans can be confusing! Let me put your mind at ease. I’ll make a separate post about building your own fans. This post is written to help you understand what you’re looking at when you’re shopping for a pair of constructed fans. Also, this post is only about feather fans, so it won’t discuss silk, paper, or other kinds of fans. Common Feather Styles: Marabou Marabou, when talking about fans, is a special type of down feather – the soft feathers that lie under the firmer, shinier feathers of birds such as geese and the actual marabou stork. The marabou you’re likely to encounter is often from turkeys. It’s often used as trim – the light and very fluffy boas you often see used on the hems of nightgowns, for example, or in rows on the hems of fine dressing gowns such as those made by Catherine D’Lish. Below are some links to marabou fans: Standard 11-12 inch fans: https://www.etsy.com/listing/688901986/marabou-feather-fan-12-x-20-many-colors?ga_orde...