Burlesque Taster at myHotel Bloomsbury

Burlesque Taster at myHotel Bloomsbury

26 March, 2009
by: ChloeM

The old-fashioned seductive glamour of burlesque is back - and Polestars are here to show that anyone can give it a go.

The ultra-glamorous and ultra-feminine style of dance is all about nostalgic glamour, rather than about simply stripping off. And whether you see it as a mysterious, seductive art form, or simply a slightly more imaginative way of titillating your partner,  Polestars unravels the steps of burlesque in their classes, all the while making women feel sexy and body confident.

The taster class involves learning the use of the fan, and learning a little in the way of walking, posing and dancing in some pretty provocative ways. Thankfully, there's no removal of clothing yet. I ask our wonderful instructor, Kate, what to expect in the full Burlesque course, and quite how racy it gets. She says there is, of course, a strip-tease class, where she teaches the essential skill of twirling nipple tassels, among other things. Rather more unusually, there is a Military class, involving the use of whips, along with some rather more dominant moves.  By day a gym instructor and choreographer, she brings a sense of fun and quickly makes us feel at ease in preparation for the class.

Kate explains a little about the history of burlesque, a spinoff of vaudeville that was mostly geared toward the working-class, with the highly stylised hats and fans mimicking the Victorian gentry. The slow, gradual reveal of only a minimal amount of flesh was more because of restrictive licensing laws, but now it's seen as a 'boudoir art' that many women find quite empowering.

And just as the style of burlesque originally intended, there's women of a variety of ages, shapes and sizes attending the class. There's no projected image or desirable body shape for the burlesque dancer, and Kate reminds us that the art form should make every woman feel sexy. She runs us through a series of basic moves, and then adds to them some individual poses and variants, so we can each make the dance our own. All the moves are very exaggerated; we're swinging hips, pouting, poking out our feminine features, bending over, and even giving the occasional cheeky wink. We are encouraged to flirt with each other, and to really learn how to tease.

Some of these moves will certainly imrpove muscle tone and increase flexibility, so there is definitely an element of productive exercise to the class. But more than anything, this class is about confidence building, learning how to feel sexy, and master the provocative skills of being a class A seductress.  Those who progress onto the Beginners and Intermediate burlesque courses will become part of a burlesque troupe that goes on to perform at Madame JoJo's, but at this early stage it's very much about creative ways to flirt with your significant other - in ways they really wouldn't expect.

The burlesque class is the most recent addition to the Polestars classes, they also offer the chance to get to grips with the Pole or try the vibrant French Can-can, and now they even have a Cheerleading course in the pipeline. Burlesque classes are very few and far between, but having taught over sixty thousand students, Polestars seem to know what they're doing.  Their classes are always about fitness and fun, rather than professional training, so you can expect a super friendly, fun environment with plenty of like-minded women.  Their 'taster' sessions allow you to give it a go before committing to the full course, so there really is no reason not to at least try to unleash your inner burlesque vixen!

Click here for all London burlesque.
Click here for all London dance classes.
Click here for things to do in London.

ChloeM