How to Choreograph a Burlesque Striptease Dance for Yourself: Three Steps (Burlesque Performance)

-

How to Choreograph a Striptease Dance

1) Find a piece of music you love so much you can listen to it hundreds of times without getting tired of it. Prance around to the music and imagine yourself in the environment you dream of getting the loving and enthusiastic response you deserve.

2) Find some articles of clothing that make you feel spectacular. Admire yourself in the mirror. Talk to yourself like you talk to the people you compliment on social media. Say extravagant nice things and give yourself permission to accept them as the truth they are.

3) Take off those articles of clothing to the music five times in a row, till you know exactly what you have to do to remove them smoothly. Allow for humor and mischeif. Think of it as play rather than as work. If an article of clothing is making you unhappy because it's too hard to remove the way you want, after five tries, put it aside for now and try something else. You can always come back to it later if you feel like it.

You did it!

To prepare it for the stage, watch it on video and fix the parts that don't work from the perspective of the viewer. Write down notes about what works. Tell yourself what looks great. When something doesn't look great, simply release it. All performers at every level flop their way through many rehearsals before the magic falls into place! It's perfectly natural.

That's where you start! During the creation of the number, set aside criticism of yourself and allow yourself complete improvisational freedom. Throw in some moves you know and love. See what happens. Keep what works and release what doesn't with love -- it may come back to work for you in another number.

Rehearsals can, if overdone, make the number begin to look mechanical. Remember to reconnect to your original joy in the music and your love of the audience right before you perform. You may find yourself improvising onstage -- and that's okay! Go with the flow.

If you are a fan of bling, bling up the costume. If you want to add a layer of humor, glamour, emotion, remember to speak to the audience as if they are on your side. They are rooting for you!

Looking for an online course on striptease?
Check out Jo Weldon's striptease video program.
Looking for live classes? They're at
New York School of Burlesque

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Girls in Giant Champagne Glasses

-
Image
Today I received this question from a reader: "[I] was wondering if you might know where one could purchase an oversized champagne glass, like the one dita von tease or catherine d'lish uses????" Venus Delight in her Giant Champagne Glass circa 1989-1994. Photo Property of Venus Delight. Catherine D'Lish in her champagne glass at Tease-o-rama 2002. Photo Copyright Jo Weldon. Honestly, I probably can't afford a giant champagne glass, and if I could afford it, I probably couldn't afford to store or transport it, and even if I could, I couldn't afford stage hands to get it onto the tiny stages I usually occupy. It just so happens, however, that I do know how to purchase one. What I know is that you have to have one made, unless you can find one used, as they are not mass-produced. If you want to have one made, you first have to locate a prop maker or custom acrylic fabricator. The same prop makers who make props for movies, theater, and events a
Read more

Tami Roche

-
Image
Image courtesy of Skinnergy . When I was growing up in Atlanta, I saw the strip joint signs and old burlesque signs; I was also aware of Atlanta's burlesque star, Tami Roche. Because I started working the clubs in 1980, there were still some dancers who had done burlesque in the 50s and 60s around, some of them still dancing but most of them not interested in the full nude table dance format (and sometimes not so nice about us doing it), still working in the clubs as costumers or managers, wearing fabulous hair and nails and giving us great advice about showmanship and terrible advice about how to make money. I didn't get to meet Tami Roche but her name came up frequently as one of the last great tassel-twirlers. She appeared in Russ Meyer's Beneath the Valley of the Ultra Vixens with Kitten Natividad (one of the most lovable and darling people ever born) And she appeared in Ann Corio's revival of This Was Burlesque in 1981. Available on VHS as "Here It
Read more

How to Get Started as a Performer in Burlesque

-
Image
Above: Jo Weldon performing at The Burlesque Hall of Fame. Photo by Tigz Rice. Many students come to my classes with the intention to perform professionally. Not all who want to perform want to become fulltime performers, but they'd like to get onstage now and then. I work in the field of what I call "Independent Burlesque," where most performers are creating individual acts that then get booked into variety or burlesque shows. People also sometimes hear about a theme for a show and then create an act based on that theme, or start producing a show for which they then create acts. There are as many different approaches as there are people to come up with them. However, for this article, let's focus on what most of my students are asking me about, which is how to get booked as a solo performer in a burlesque show that already exists. I'll also be focusing mostly on how things work in New York. Traveling to work is a separate topic, but I'll have an article
Read more