Burlesque: Express

The reactions to me taking up burlesque class with the amazing and wonderful Lisa have been diverse. Some people have laughed (thanks dudes, really); some people have said, "hey cool!" and others have been angry (what the heck is a self proclaimed feminist doing burlesque for?!) This was not a decision that I spent much time making (Lisa: "hey Liz, I'm starting burlesque classes, do you want to come?", me: "Hell yeah"), I enjoy dancing, need the exercise and have also always been slightly obsessed with the whole vintage glamour/pin up girl aesthetic, so pondering the deeper meanings or implications of attending a dance class did not enter my head until much later.

A proper Martini

I take Bettie's picture with me
every time I get my
fringe cut

Veronica Varlow:
rocking the fan

Personally, I don't see any contradiction between my enjoying burlesque and my feminist views. The classes are about celebrating being a woman, which can be incredibly empowering. Learning to use your body in a new way is always a good thing in my view; laughing is also a good thing, and there is a lot of laughing during our classes. In fact, how our teacher Lauren manages to keep a straight face for (most) of the class is beyond me. 

It's a fan. It's pink.
 It's mostly made of feathers. 

Burlesque class is the perfect remedy for Monday blues. Donning some heels, grabbing a couple of fans and shimmying around a light up dance floor is my idea of fun. To me, there are no sinister, sexist overtones to leaning burlesque. All the women in the class are educated, independent and fabulous. The fact that they now know the correct way to remove an elbow length glove and how to properly position a fan only adds to their long lists of achievements.

Over the next few weeks, Lisa and I will be completing our intermediate burlesque course. I am beyond excited! Due to the fact that I am usually busy dancing in class, there are a serious lack of photos of us doing our thing - I will try to remedy this soon.

What is it about a disco ball that
makes everything better?

The new kitchen floor at Birds on A Wire
Towers

Liz xXx