Jo Weldon's New York School of Burlesque

Above: The flyer for my 63rd Birthday show. I've been producing shows from dive bars to BHOF for decades! Ask me anything! I always encourage my students to produce their own burlesque shows! They make new friends in class and build new audiences at student showcases -- their fresh energy is just what burlesque needs to stay exciting and relevant. There are many, many ways to produce burlesque shows, so if you read my recommendations and have different experiences or preferences, I hope this will at least give you a clearer idea of what you don't want to do! 1) Visualize your show. Ask yourself as many questions as you can think of. Will it require a stage? Will that stage need a curtain? Make a poster for it, even if it's just a sketch on a pad. Make a private online or print vision board with pictures of how you want it to look. Make a name for it -- and research the hell out of that name to make sure it's unique so you can promote it easily. 2) Find a venue...

Want to write a class description that packs your class with students who want to learn exactly what you’re teaching? With these six simple elements, you can grab their attention and hold it all the way through to registration and payment! *Date & time So they know if they’re available to attend *Title Do you want it to turn up in google results? What terms do you think people looking for something like your class will search? Put those first in your title. *Description -What they get out of the class (1 sentence) "You'll take your floor work to the next level in this class with [ your name ].” (Add your tagline or favorite credit, especially if it relates to the class content.) -1-3 things they can expect to happen in the class (1 sentence) "You'll do a warmup, a series of the most popular floor work moves, and then take some time to discover what your personal floor work style can be." -Experience Level (1 sentence) "For people with som...

Above: me in a costume I made by gluing appliques to a vintage bra. Photo by Dale Harris. This morning I posted a request on Instagram and Facebook for links to sites where people can buy ready-to-ship burlesque costumes and pasties, in an effort to help students quickly acquire costume pieces. Since there isn't really a "burlesque store," most of the people who responded are, as one might expect, individual creators who also make custom items. The folks I've listed in this post were all recommended! If you're a maker or have a recommendation, you can comment with your own or others' links using the guidelines at the end of this article. For the list below, I chose the ones where it was easy for me to figure out how to order immediately. I put an asterisk next to those from whom I've already got items and can therefore personally recommend the quality of their work. Be sure to read reviews when available. If you want to see even more responses, ...