The world of burlesque intrigues me endlessly. I am not sure if it is the elaborate costumes (or lack of them), the element of the theatrical or the beautiful creatures that cultivate these fascinating personas, but something has always drawn me.
My teenage fashion years were inspired by burlesque and were a texturous parody of bustles and bustiers, boning and layers upon layer of froth, ruffle and lace. I placed little thought into the origination, I just loved the look.
Burlesque is a luscious satirical extravaganza, the word itself derived from the Italian word burla which means ‘a joke,’ or ‘to ridicule’. While it’s historical story started in the late 17th century, and it has periods of resurgence and in recent years it has regained popularity as a form of theatrical expression.
Burlesque is an art form; it is more than just dress ups. For those involved in the industry it is a culture and the performers live and breathe their characters.
In Brisbane, the burlesque scene is alive and strong with unprecedented exposure. Dr. Sketchy’s curator/headmistress, Kahlia Litzow, breathing her own style of magical life into real life burlesque drawing classes, held at The Press Club, as well as some other pop up venues. Here, exotic creatures pose in various states of elaborate undress while would-be, could-be and amazingly-so artists, immortalise them on paper.
Kahlia is a photographer, her beautiful imagery capturing the essence of many of Brisbane’s burlesque luminaries, though she modestly claims her talent is just smoke and mirrors. I think it is a little more than that; only a refined creative eye can see things through the lens the way she does.
Then there are the girls; the stars of the show. What I find fascinating about the burlesque performer is that each girl has a well-researched character that they have developed. This is how the Chéri Blossom began… she was to be my character.
Kahlia and I, while chatting one day, toyed with the idea of me, creating a character. A bit of a social experiment I guess. Because I have always been so intrigued by the burlesque scene, I silently pondered that I may be nurturing some deep desire to express my inner burlesque. Obviously my pondering was not as silent as I had thought, and the suggestion was made to explore my ‘character’.
I have to say, deciding what my character was to be was a fun part of the journey, but that’s the thing with journeys, sometimes you end up at an entirely different destination than you had planned.
Defining my character was an interesting lesson in self-discovery. First I had to define how I actually saw myself – as I currently was. This can be quite amusing, as we always see ourselves differently to how others see us (well, some of the time). Then I had to establish what image or character I would like to see myself being.
I was totally stepping out of my comfort zone.
Lets’ just say I am not a delicate, or petit, or subtle personality. I am a bit bolder, louder and abrupt. Had I been born a few days earlier, I might have had the subtler traits of a Pisces; sweet, gentle, patient…
This was the foundation for the burlesque persona I was cultivating.
The Chéri Blossom was to be sweet, demure, gentle – yet sultry, exotic and mysterious. While I often appear otherwise, I am actually quite shy – the Chéri Blossom was to be quietly brazen. I usually shroud myself in bright colours – the Chéri Blossom was to be soft and demure… and totally unshrouded… and so, the Chéri Blossom developed. It is quite entertaining to see what you come up with as an ‘alter ego’ of sorts, when you let your imagination run free.
The name came first. It was a twist on ‘cherry blossom’ – there is quite often a sense of humour in the naming of a burlesque performer, as well as a contradiction of sorts… Diamond Dahlia, Strawberry Siren, Lila Luxx…
Then I needed to learn to play the part. This is where I had great difficulty in capturing the essence of my character. I think if I had genuinely wanted to be part of the burlesque circuit, or had acting aspirations of some degree, it would all have been a lot more convincing – at least to me!
However, I had embarked on this journey and I was interested to see where it would lead. So on Kahlia’s suggestion, I visited the Bombshell Burlesque Academy.
The academy hosts a number of workshops on the arts of burlesque. Under the tutelage of the incredibly lavish Lila Luxx, I, along with a group of sparkling novices, was taught the finer art of ‘shimmying’ along with a few other spicy little moves.
One of the girls… way more graceful than I was!
I have to say, that this was curiously fun. We were all a little self-conscious at first, but once you realise that you are all experiencing the same… um… lack of co-ordination, three left feet and baby elephant clunkiness, you quickly shed those inhibitions (along with the baby elephant clunk) and get on with having fun and getting the moves right! Admittedly, I did only participate in a single lesson – visiting the academy, purely as a guest – to get a sense of what burlesque actually is and meet some of the girls – it really is a lot more than just dress ups!
So, name decided, and a little ‘grace’ instilled, it was time for my photo shoot, which was to take place at Kahlia’s Bird Gallery.
Kahlia also enlisted a few helpers; the gorgeous Elisse Lancaster (The Beauty Case) to do make up and hair, and the fabulously dynamic Lady Cave, fresh back from the UK, to help with styling the shoot.
Throughout the coordination process I was quite excited, but once I got there nerves set in and stage fright easily ensued.
I have never enjoyed getting my photograph taken at the best of times… I am usually the person behind the camera, not in front of it and up until now I had managed to avoid being the focal point perfectly!
But, once Elisse arrived, nerves were temporarily set at ease. Wow! What a beautiful girl… The only way to describe Elisse is as this vivacious little bubble of happiness and cheer. I had met Elisse a couple of times in the lead up to the big day. We would share inspiration and ideas so that Elisse could form an idea in her own mind of the Chéri Blossom that I hoped to become.
Upon reflection, I realise what a difficult task that this was. Normally a hair and make up artist is enhancing something pre-existing, but in this situation, we were creating something new and what was in my mind was not necessarily what was in hers. But I actually enjoyed this part of the process… how others see you. How they see you now and what their vision is for you, so I was happy to just go with the flow.
Elisse was on task, prepping my hair, plying it with product and pinning it into place, and once the hair was sorted she set about sorting my face and then…
Photograph by Kahlia Litzow
Enter Lady Cave…
Another WOW! Lady Cave has what can only be described as an immense presence… and honesty, I was a little intimidated. Lady Cave has a rich history in burlesque and has spent recent years performing in the UK and Europe.
She is confident, exuberant, poised, sultry… total girl crush material! Having said that, intimidation just melted away, as while she was all of these things and more, she was also extraordinarily generous with advice and encouragement, kind and wickedly fun…
If I didn’t think about the photo element of what we were doing, I was having a great time… glass of champers… piece of birthday cake (it was Elisse’s birthday), great music… supposedly mood music to help get into character (wasn’t working).
And then viola… the Chéri Blossom.
It was weird first looking at myself. I didn’t feel like I even looked like myself, which I guess was the whole idea, after all, I was supposed to look like the Chéri Blossom. The girls had done a fantastic job of transforming me, but weirdly, I just couldn’t associate with myself.
I think this is where the difference comes in between a true burlesque performer and what I was doing, which was essentially just dressing up.
With a true burlesque performer, the transformation is gradual, so while it is their alter ego, or stage presence, it is still very much a part of them, whereas I just felt weird! Actually, if I am entirely honest, I felt like I was a fraud and I was disrespecting what these talented girls do so well for a living. They love it, they are part of it, and they feel the magic of it – it empowers them, and their audience.
What I did discover about ‘becoming Chéri Blossom’ is that I am actually more about the creative process. I know I am not the sultry burlesque goddess and while it was an absolute blast exploring the creative process and who I thought that I might like to be, I am not about to run off and join the burlesque circuit. Having said that, I have a new found appreciation for these exquisite creatures that cultivate their characters into existence until the lines are so blurred that they are barely visible.
As for me, Kahlia took some stunning images, and made me feel so comfortable throughout the shoot. Unfortunately my Chéri Blossom has abandoned me, and as myself, I am too much of a square to post them for the entire world to see, except for one…
But please check out Kahlia’s website for an insight into her inspiring world of all things beautiful. Kahlia is available for burlesque shoots and is also an incredible wedding photographer, so if you are looking for someone to capture your special moments or create some for you, check her out.
A big thank you also to Elisse, who can help you create your unique retro, vintage or burlesque look. These girls know how to make your day fun.
Visit:
www.kahlialitzow.4ormat.com
www.thebeautycase.com.au
www.ladycaveburlesque.com
www.bombshellacademy.com.au
Or their Facebook pages:
www.facebook.com/thebeautycase1
www.facebook.com/kahlialitzowphotography
www.facebook.com/LadyCaveBurlesque
www.facebook.com/bombshellburlesqueacademy
Read more about Dr.Sketchy’s
www.pebblesandpomegranateseeds.com.au/dr-sketchys-finding-your-inner-anti-artist/
This post was written by Petra Frieser – Pebbles + Pomegranate Seeds
