marymari

Sometimes you can get by spending as little as $150 for a full costume with some thrifty ingenuity. Other times you can end up spending $400 or more for specific things like vintage pieces. It just depends. And everything is used many times for many performances so it should be worth its price in the long run.

It can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks if you’re working specifically on that piece for any amount of time. Sometimes you throw it on the back burner and only finish it after months. Again it just depends.

And at the risk of sounding like a broken record it just depends when you know it’s finished. Sometimes you just feel oh that’s ready to go. Sometimes you’re in something you’ve worn for a year and think I could add this and change this. There’s no correct answer.

You got a big part of it.

A burlesque show is a variety show with an emphasis on comedy and risqué or at least somewhat risqué performance styles. Basically various performers will come out and perform everything from songs to dances to comedy to magic to acrobatics and pretty much everything inbetween. It’s all presented in a very tongue-in-cheek manner and the humor is usually naughty by nature. It can be sort of more modern humor but there is also in a lot of burlesques a dedication to the tone and aesthetics of the 1920s and 1930s. And the most iconic image associated with burlesque is female performers, like myself, coming out in tiny outfits and dancing while gradually losing clothing. Again, all in a very tongue-in-cheek way. But it’s pretty much the most fun live show you can go see and an even more fun show to perform in.

Oh yeah

Well anytime I ever sang before was in like school musicals which were all supposed to be dramatic and it made me so unhappy because I always thought I was a terrible singer.

But then doing burlesque I got to sing songs that were supposed to be funny and it was great! Who cared if I was a little off key when they were supposed to be laughing? And then after doing that a fair bit I started to feel like I was actually getting better at signing so now I can stand to sing a serious song in front of people.

No, haha. Peggy is a hero!!

Very similar actually!! In burlesque there is just also a fair amount of focus given to risqué or suggestive performance styles as well. For example, many of the dances I perform often feature me in little more than a thong and some pasties. And our comedy is often scripted to be very lewd and obscene. So the audience gets to hoot and holler, all the while we’re making them laugh. It’s immensely fun to perform in and see performed!

I’ve heard of it of course. Sounds amazing. I’ve done sci-fi/space themed shows before but specifically Star Wars would be a lot of fun

Preciosa makes beautiful crystals. And it all depends on the show and the theme. If it’s appropriate to make the costume sparkle I’ll mark it shine haha.

More solo numbers these days but I do still love a good ensemble number.

I actually just love any chance I’ve gotten to sing. I’m primarily a dancer but over the years now I’ve gotten the chance to do pretty much everything and singing is my absolute favorite! Funny because I used to hate ever singing.

I’ve been doing burlesque for many many years now and have definitely been honing my stage persona for all that time.

Obviously Dita Von Teese is just ivonic and amazing and I got to see her show once and it was incredible! Didn’t get to meet her though sadly.

Haha, a bit of both honestly. I’m a little older now and that has become a little bit of the appeal for me I’m told. So my numbers are less acrobatic and energetic these days than they used to be. So burning fewer calories I guess. But I still try to keep a somewhat healthy diet and semi-consistent workout schedule. Looking good is still a part of the job

Stegosaurus

I’m not in it for the money that’s for sure. It pays okay but not enough to support yourself alone, much less a family. Definitely have to be willing to work other jobs if you want to do this

Well the big thing is that there are less and less people wanting to perform and therefore less people attending. So that’s a bummer. But new dance styles are getting incorporated. I myself like things that would have been performed in the 50s 60s and 70s just as easily as today. But when there is a younger dancer now they often come equipped with dance styles far more modern. It’s cool, honestly. But definitely different.