The Beauty of Burlesque:   Body Size is Not an Issue    by Tara Mullowney. The Evening Telegram

Women can be sexy at any size or shape, says Miss Jezebel Express, burlesque dance teacher extraordinaire.

If you need proof, just look at her dance troupe, the Purity Girls (names after the local syrup makers, for the range of "flavours" of each of the dancers).

"A lot of the most beautiful women in burlesque are overweight or very tall or very short or a little pear-shaped or have saggy breasts or whatever. It's not about being perfect," Jezebel explained.

Miss Express is a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa. After completing a degree in dance from the university there, she moved to this province -- where her parents are from -- in 2003.

She realized, she said, that there wasn't much here in the way of burlesque performances -- something she had been interested in since seeing a live burlesque show in Iowa. So she began doing them herself as part of fundraising efforts for the Neighbourhood Dance Works.

Burlesque comes from commedia dell'arte, and began in the Victorian era poking fun at entertainment forms like ballet, opera and drama. A mix of satire, performance art and adult entertainment, burlesque performances traditionally included things such as puppetry, magic, juggling and acrobatics.

Burlesque acts also usually include striptease dancing, which is what Beresford teaches -- albeit not the kind of striptease that exotic dancers perform in nightclubs.

Burlesque stripteases, Express explains, might involve taking off only a glove.

"No, no, absolutely not," Express said when asked if dancers ever get naked onstage. "There are people in burlesque who don't take their clothes off -- I've spent six minutes taking off one glove. The heart of burlesque is in the teasing."

Miss Jezebel herself teaches in underwear, a corset, heels, red lipstick and false eyelashes, but her students, she said, often come to class dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. She does, however, encourage them to bring sexier attire with them, in case the mood hits.

"I find it only takes a couple of people in the class to be interested in seeing what it looks like, and then everyone goes for it," she said.

Kelli-Rae Hynes, 26, is a member if the Purity Girls who has been a student since last fall.

Although she's not generally a shy person, she can understand how other people might find their first burlesque class intimidating.

However, body consciousness is not something that lasts long with Miss Express in charge. "In the classes, you look around and we are all sizes and all shapes. I'm five-foot-two," Hynes said. Everybody looks amazing. If you have some weight on, well, it only shakes a little extra when you're shimmying."

"Women aren't told often enough that they're beautiful," Jezebel said. "I think we do live in a culture where men are afraid to say that. You can't say to a woman in your workplace 'That skirt looks really nice on you.'"

"To go someplace where a girls says, 'Oh, I wish I had the body for that corset' or even for a girl who's overweight, for people to say "You're so curvy, it's sexy', is really, really great for women."

A big part of the burlesque act is choosing a persona, complete with over-the-top Bond Girl-ish name.

Current Purity Girl members include  Miss Kittie Page, The Notorious Birdie St. Cyn, Madame Blanche DeVin, Miss Tress, and, in Hynes' case, Miss KeiKei Demurre.

"KeiKei is a nickname a friend of mine used to call me and I thought Demurre would be cute spelled that way," Hynes said.

"She's a little mean, and wants people to know she's there. She's a bit of a tease and a flirt, but says 'You're not getting any of this because I'm too good for you."

Once the girls choose their onstage persona, Jezebel guides them in choreographing their moves accordingly.

The first five weeks of her ten week course dwell on the basics of burlesque dancing, and learning to walk on stage in heels and in character. The second half of the course delves more into the character, she said.

Miss Jezebel Express is conducting a two-hour Valentine's burlesque workshop this Saturday in her home studio, which she said will focus on the basics of burlesque, as well as how to pose and walk. The cost is $25.

"Students will leave knowing how to perform a sexy striptease for their valentine, if they want to", she said. Next week, a new term of weekly burlesque classes will begin, costing $50 for five sessions.

The Purity Girls will be performing in the Neighbourhood Dance Works fundraiser, "An Evening of Burlesque" at the Majestic theatre February 16th as part of a larger show which will include musicians, jugglers and other performers. A solo show will follow sometime in March.

Anyone interested in registering for workshops or classes can contact her by e-mail at jezebelexpress@yahoo.com.

Reprinted with permission, 2/09/2007

The Scope Spotlight (2007)