Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

The New York School of Burlesque is so excited and honored to have Alek Paliński as a guest author this month! With his 7 years of experience in burlesque, Alek has performed all over the world and contributed to the creation of many burlesque acts. He's worked with iconic burlesque performers, such as Dita Von Teese, Dirty Martini and Zelia Rose, to name a few. Enjoy Alek's comprehensive guide to filming your burlesque act for performance submissions. We get so many questions about this topic and this guide is just what performers need to put their best work forward when submitting for an audition or applying for a festival or gig. The world of burlesque continues to flourish, bringing more interest and a fresh wave of enthusiasm towards the art form. A new generation of performers combined with the post-pandemic reality in live entertainment makes it harder for the up-and-coming artists to book work. In-person auditions are increasingly rare. Video submissions have b

Hello Burlesquers! I've been inspired to update my Burlesque Festival List, which includes dozens of festivals in the US and around the world, as well as links to social media accounts that keep their own lists so you'll always get the latest information. Check out my burlesque festival list now! Looking for tips on making your best impression when applying to burlesque festivals or other shows? Follow the instructions on the application and BE PREPARED! Photo: BurlyCon 2013 , by Don Spiro

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

Above: Miss Poison Ivory winning the Burlesque Hall of Fame pageant, 2016. Photo by Don Spiro. Image via burlesquehall.com. BY JO WELDON NOVEMBER 19, 2014 This article was originally published at https://21stcenturyburlesque.com/12-tips-supporting-friends-burlesque-competitions-jo-weldon/ In the world of burlesque, ballyhoo is part of the fun. Taglines and titles pique the audience’s curiousity and make for vivid introductions by emcees. Pageants and competitions offer opportunities to make things up and then invent value for them. It should always be in a spirit of fun, but of course it can get much more complicated than that. In a spirit of support and compassion for competitors, I’d like to offer the following suggestions for being a good friend to someone who is participating. You know your friends best, and some of these suggestions might not work for everyone, but I hope they help friends of competitors think about the best ways to be supportive. 1. Feel free to pampe

Our student showcase is tonight at DROM NYC! Headmistress Jo Weldon is in COVID quarantine, but Gigi Holliday is taking up the mic so the students will be in good hands! Tickets are at https://dromnyc.com/event/new-york-school-of-burlesque-2/ And if you're thinking about performing yourself, you can sign up for the next Act Development series now: http://schoolofburlesque.com/actdevelopment.shtml Below are a few pictures from Katherine Whitehead, who'se been our official NYSB photographer for 2022. Check back for more student photos and quotes! Above: Amanda Poise Above: Stiletto Sinclair. "This whole experience exceeded any of my wildest dreams and expectations and has only strengthened my desire to explore more of this beautiful world that is burlesque! Working with Kathryn was also a dream: she was very easy to communicate with and gave stunning images in a very timely manner. I can't wait to work with the NYSB and Kathryn again in t

Above: Burlesque Performer Rosie Cheeks as many different characters. Rosie is also an excellent classic showgirl performer! When I'm teaching, I differentiate character and persona in a specific way that relates to the necessity for most burlesque performers to have a consistent stage name. Your stage name is for your persona. This is your general presentation. This presentation may have multiple variations -- you may do classic, comedy, horror, and political burlesque under this persona, but it's all under the same stage name. Your character is someone (or something) that you portray in that persona. For instance, if you do nerdlesque, you might have a Catwoman and a Fitzwilliam Darcy number; those are characters you portray under your stage name, so the producer is booking your persona (your stage name) to portray that character (the name of someone who isn't you). It could also be a character you've invented, like The Angry Milkman or The Passive Aggres