{"id":484,"date":"2011-02-20T16:30:50","date_gmt":"2011-02-20T16:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mmcgrath.co.uk\/?p=484"},"modified":"2015-05-09T19:08:47","modified_gmt":"2015-05-09T18:08:47","slug":"on-the-art-of-burlesque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mmcgrath.co.uk\/?p=484","title":{"rendered":"ON THE ART OF BURLESQUE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>Often criticised by those who have never seen a performance Martin McGrath<\/strong> discovers that burlesque is not a dirty word when he talks to three performers about how they discovered their artform, their pride in their work and the controversy that has threatened to drive this thriving entertainment scene off the stages of London.<\/h3>\n
\n

You can get some interesting reactions when you tell people that your task for today is to interview three burlesque dancers. There\u2019s a lot of eyebrow lifting and some smirking, a bit of tittering and even the occasional nudge and wink.<\/p>\n

Which is, frankly, all very silly.<\/p>\n

These reactions seem even stranger when sitting down with the three dancers themselves, Tempest Rose, Beulah Bell and Amber-Rosia. I am immediately struck by their shared intelligence, determination and self-confidence. These are very modern young women, but they\u2019re also possessed of a real sense of belonging to an entertainment tradition stretching back hundreds of years.<\/p>\n

When I ask them how they would describe their acts, they each reach back into the history of their artform before talking about what they do today.<\/p>\n

Tempest Rose calls upon the \u201cbroad history and different elements of burlesque\u201d before describing it as \u201ca theatrical art that pulls together eroticism and sensuality, sometimes striptease, parody, comedy, dance, theatrical spectacle \u2013 costuming and presentation are a large part of burlesque \u2013 and then unique specialist skills because it can bring together circus and fire-eating and storytelling and point work in ballet and singing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beulah also describes feeling that her act is a part of a long history \u2013 one that often courts controversy. \u201cThe revival of burlesque has taken a slightly risqu\u00e9 form from another era. You\u2019d think that in this day and age people would be able to cope with it. But I do quite like that we still have that ability to shock, that we still have a slight innocence as a society. \u201d<\/p>\n

The situation in Camden, where the local authority has been forcing burlesque venues to close or cancel performances through a draconian interpretation of licensing laws (see Camden in Crisis below), makes them all angry.<\/p>\n

Beulah\u2019s first concern is with the effect Camden\u2019s rulings are having on the perception of what they do. \u201cThe worry, as performers, is that we\u2019re being looked down upon and people are getting a misguided view of what we do. People who are into burlesque know what the artform is but others may read one article or see one thing and get the wrong idea. And if people who don’t have experience of burlesque make assumptions because of what Camden council are doing, for example, then they may think thatour profession\u00a0 is something that we should be ashamed of. And that upsets me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tempest, who lives in Camden, is bewildered by the strange priorities of the council. \u201cI could buy crack at ten o\u2019clock in the morning on the corner of my street, if I wanted to,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I can\u2019t dance in an over-18 venue in front of a consenting audience of adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there are also wider concerns \u2013 points of principle and practicality that bother her, and that she believes should bother people who have never even seen a burlesque show. \u201cAn artform is being censored which hasn\u2019t even been viewed properly by the censors. In the future that could be applied to anything. And it is costing performers work. I\u2019ve lost three regular paying gigs, but it isn\u2019t just burlesque dancers who are losing out. The burlesque revival has allowed other cabaret and variety performers to work as well. As burlesque has become more popular there\u2019s been work for magicians and comedians and ventriloquists. Variety kind of died out in London but burlesque has helped bring it back. It affects their work as much as it does ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amber-Rosia wonders where the censors will turn next if Camden gets its way with burlesque. \u201cIt\u2019s going back to the 1950s censorship laws,\u201d she says. \u201cIt not only going to affect burlesque, it will also affect theatrical performance where someone, as part of the storyline, removes some clothing. Or look at the Carry On<\/em> films. If you applied Camden\u2019s rules to them, they\u2019d be banned. They\u2019re burlesque. They have more nudity than some burlesque shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentiment gets vigorous agreement from all sides. The Camden censors, some of whom happily admit that they\u2019ve never even seen a burlesque show, have entirely misunderstood what burlesque is about, they all insist.<\/p>\n

\u201cBurlesque performers don\u2019t all even do striptease,\u201d Tempest points out. \u201cThere\u2019s an obsession with nudity from people outside burlesque \u2013 that it\u2019s always striptease \u2013 and they discount that you can have completely valid burlesque routines that don\u2019t use striptease at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main elements of burlesque aren\u2019t actually sexual,\u201d Beulah adds. \u201cThe main elements of burlesque are comedy and cheekiness. It\u2019s not offensive. I can\u2019t imagine anyone being really offended by our burlesque show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mum comes to the shows for God\u2019s sake!\u201d Amber-Rosia interjects.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth my parents are extremely proud of me,\u201d Beulah agrees. \u201cThey understand what I do. If my parents aren\u2019t offended by it I don\u2019t see how people can see it in a sordid light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tempest Rose believes that there\u2019s more to burlesque than its critics understand. Where some can\u2019t see beyond sexy dancing and lingerie, some acts are working at entirely different levels. \u201cA lot of burlesque crosses that boundary into performance art and burlesque always was a comment on society. It always contained satire. It\u2019s more obvious with some acts than others but certainly I\u2019ve watched acts and been made to think about social attitudes in a new way. The critics discount all the strands that make burlesque a unique artform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burlesque seems caught between two sets of moral crusaders. There are those who criticise it for contributing to \u201cmoral decline\u201d but there are also those who believe that what performers in burlesque do is damaging to the interests of all women because it contributes to the idea of women as just sexual objects. The three women reject this totally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is still this bizarre notion, that I absolutely despise, that any time a woman, in any situation, displays herself in an erotic or sensual light, automatically her body is there for the sexual pleasure of men,\u201d Tempest argues. \u201cThat is a very dangerous viewpoint and I think all women should be very wary about it. Because it is saying that you can\u2019t be sexy, or, if you are, it is only for men to get off on. It turns the clock back to a time when the onus was on women not to be sexual rather than on men to control themselves. All of a sudden it\u2019s the women\u2019s fault that men objectify women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like saying that if you wear a mini-skirt, you\u2019re asking to be molested,\u201d Amber-Rosia agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what it\u2019s saying,\u201d Beulah adds. \u201cMen can\u2019t be trusted to exercise control so the law should be directed at limiting what women can do. The mainstream media is always using the female form in an overtly sexual way. Look at the girl groups or rap videos on MTV. There is stuff that\u2019s played before nine o\u2019clock for any young girl to watch that is far more sexualised than our nightclub act to an audience of consenting adults. We are tasteful, we are beautiful, there\u2019s no sleaze. If people want to worry about sexual images of women, they should look at the mainstream media, I think. Not people like us, who are promoting femininity and strength and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And advertising is full of explicit images, Amber-Rosia points out. \u201cYou get these huge billboards \u2013 Marks & Spencer bras for example \u2013 that are far more sexual than anything you\u2019ll see in burlesque. Anyone can see those adverts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut no one is trying to shut down the fashion industry,\u201d Tempest Rose says.<\/p>\n

So, if there\u2019s so much overtly sexual material in the world \u2013 and if recent changes in the law mean that strip clubs and lap-dancing venues are opening in larger numbers all across the country \u2013 why should the comparatively modest style of burlesque suddenly be experiencing a dramatic renewal?<\/p>\n

Tempest Rose thinks part of the reason is that people are trying to escape from the aggressively sexualised images that dominate society. \u201cWomen are really sick of being told what is sexy. The image of what is sexy on television and in the media is so aggressive. There are people who like the slightly understated, old-fashioned sensuality that exists in burlesque. It\u2019s a way of finding your own sexuality and watching someone else do it without it being so aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

These women make it absolutely clear that they\u2019re not being exploited by anyone. They decide the content of their shows. They decide what they will and won\u2019t do on stage. And they manage their own careers, taking what work they want.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re professional,\u201d Amber-Rosia says. \u201cNo one is taking advantage of us. We don\u2019t need to be regulated at that level. I\u2019ve never seen a burlesque artist who is up there and doesn\u2019t want to do it. You look at some of the women we work with and they are the strongest and most powerful women I have ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burlesque artists are strong and confident, Beulah says. \u201cYeah I might have a bit of cellulite, yeah I might have a few spots here and there, but you know what? I can perform, I can put on a really good show, and I can make everyone in a room smile and enjoy themselves. I entertain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been about me,\u201d Amber-Rosia confirms. \u201cWhen you are up on stage, you have to have that exhibitionist streak, you know? Women who are not happy doing this job tend to leave, they do not stay around for long. You\u2019ve got to find your niche.\u201d<\/p>\n

CAMDEN CRISIS<\/h2>\n

Camden Council officers have chosen to classify any performance that involves the removal of clothes as \u201cadult in nature\u201d even if, as is the case with most of the burlesque acts, the acts don\u2019t involve explicit nudity. As a result, venues seeking to put on Burlesque shows in the borough are being forced to apply for licences of the kind required by lap-dancing venues.<\/p>\n

A number of venues have cancelled regular events and Equity members are losing work as a result.<\/p>\n

Equity has written to Camden Council asking them to reverse their policy.<\/p>\n

The Council said it was acted to \u201cprotect the public, especially children from harm\u201d but these performances are taking place in licensed premises to adult audiences. Burlesque is not primarily about titillation and the content of burlesque shows is no more \u201cadult in nature\u201d than many plays in theatres across the West End such as Blue Angel<\/em>, Equus<\/em> and Chicago<\/em>. Will Camden extend its ruling? Or is this a case of one rule for burlesque performers and one for large theatres?<\/p>\n

UPDATE: A vigorous campaign by the Burlesque Women’s Institute (www.burlesquewomensinstitute.com<\/a>), supported by Equity, has seen Camden reverse its decision on the treatment of Burlesque performances in the borough.<\/strong><\/p>\n

DANCING DIVAS<\/h2>\n

Tempest Rose<\/strong>
\nTempest Rose started out as an actress, joining Equity in drama school where she studied classical acting and musical theatre. She successfully auditioned for the Kitten Club, London\u2019s longest running burlesque troupe, with whom she continues to perform as well as working as a solo performer.<\/p>\n

Beulah Bell <\/strong>
\nBeulah was classically trained in dance \u2013 studying tap, ballet and modern \u2013 but rejected the rigorous training and lifestyle. She started working as a striptease artist in an old-fashioned club in Soho where she met and teamed up with Amber-Rosia. She now performs solo.<\/p>\n

Amber-Rosia<\/strong>
\nAmber-Rosia \u201cfell into striptease\u201d and met Beulah in Sunset Strip. With a background in trapeze and gymnastics, she found she had a talent for pole dancing but a desire to take her performance down a different route. She found burlesque allowed her to tell stories that were more sensual and artistic.<\/p>\n

(Originally published in Equity<\/em> magazine, Summer 2009)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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