Posts In “Articles”
The Irresistibility of the Femme Fatale
Of all of the archetypes that exist, the femme fatale is my favourite. Infinitely more interesting than the virgin (although she too has her charm), the femme fatale is the thinking man’s sex symbol. She’s dangerous, she’s dark and she’s no man’s property. The 1920’s had the vamp but when I think “femme fatale” my mind goes straight to the 1940’s. Ava Gardner in ‘The... • read more •
Tackling Pre-Performance Nerves
You’re standing at the side of the stage waiting for your name to be announced. Your hands are clammy, stomach nauseous and your heart is pulsating through your body. Sound familiar? Well you’re not alone! Performers – seasoned or new, have all felt like this at some point in their performing lives. The good news is that it’s completely natural. In fact I think it’s... • read more •
Too old to dance? Think again!!
Bologna – the Italian province and city made famous by its delicious spaghetti sauce – at a swing dance camp, is where I first encountered Frankie Manning in person. He shuffled into the hall, leaning on a cane, put down his walking aid and taught a dance class to 5 dozen enthusiastic lindy – hoppers. He was 93 years old. His son, Chazz Young, a... • read more •
The Inimitable Chester Whitmore.
This year was the first year in five that I was not able to make it to the Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden. This is an extraordinary event that takes place in a tiny town outside of Stockholm. It is essentially a ‘swing dance’ camp which encompasses everything that comes under that umbrella term, and no, this does not in any way refer to the... • read more •
Kitty Littéur’s inspirations!!
Hello everyone!!! Wow!! My very first blog entry, it’s great to say hello and welcome everyone to our wonderful Sugar Blue blog!!! Burlesque is one of my great joys in life, both performing and watching (and yes, even staying up all night sewing for!) and I wanted to share a bit of why I love it so much and some of my greatest inspirations. I... • read more •
Pointe shoe nostalgia
My colourful pointe shoes adorn the wall of my living room. My very first pointe shoes are on the end, extremely tattered and worn, but well loved. I think I used them for too long given how soft they became, but it’s hard to move on once pointe shoes feel comfortable, especially when they’re your first pair. A girls’ first pair of pointe shoes... • read more •
Burlesque Vs Stripping (Aren’t They The Same Thing?)
I came across this article and thought it raised an interesting point. Burlesque has an interesting relationship to stripping in that it was the stripping of its day, back in the first half of the 20th century. That all changed with the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s when the strip clubs that we know today started to come into existence. In these clubs the girls would take... • read more •
Bumper Burlesque Weekend In Las Vegas Part 2!
Here’s a little article covering the two big burlesque shows (and associated politics) on in Las Vegas over the weekend. http://www.lvrj.com/news/competing-burlesque-shows-create-dilemma-for-performers-123212623.html • read more •
Bumper Burlesque Weekend In Las Vegas
As many burlesque enthusiasts will be aware, this weekend is the 2011 Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend which of course includes the Miss Exotic World competition. Who will be crowned the Reigning Queen of Burlesque? Who knows, but I sure as hell want to check out the clips on YouTube afterwards as no doubt there will be some astounding routines and costumes. Also happening this weekend in Las Vegas... • read more •