What a simply wonderful evening we had last night, welcoming back the fabulous and inspiring Burlesque artiste The Botanical Bombshell aka Lucy.
Lucy gave us a rare peek into her world of sequins, rhinestones, stockings, corsets and feathers and told us how she had got into the business of taking her clothes off in public!
Lucy told us that she had always loved the 1950's era and has been collecting the memorabilia for years: the designs, fashions, music furniture and various kitsch objects can be found in her home and are very much a part of her personality. As the art of Burlesque was very popular during the 1950's it's hardly surprising that she had a hankering to have a go. However, life had other ideas and unfortunately Lucy lost her husband to cancer in 2016. Having become a widow obviously there were now other priorities in her life and the Burlesque idea didn't seem quite right, but it was always in the back of her mind. However it was precisely because Lucy lost her husband at such a young age that she decided that life was too short not to live her life the way she wanted to; and so as a tribute to her husband she decided to live her best life to honour his memory and in 2018 she started a beginners Burlesque course in Brighton.
At the end of her first course Lucy was able to perform what she had learned in a show open to the public. She loved the experience and instantly became addicted. Lucy has since gone on to do further courses and has appeared a string of Burlesque shows, most lately performing at the Brighton Fringe.
Lucy told us that she had made an amazing group of friends of all ages, shapes, sizes genders and sexual orientation, and one of the things that has kept her going back is this wonderful group of supportive and inspiring people. For Lucy, the art of Burlesque is not about sexual titillation or pleasing men, it is purely about her own empowerment and she has found her confidence soar as a result of her involvement in the art.
A quick but concise history of Burlesque followed where we found out that Burlesque performances were originally part of a wider variety show, with comedy and political satire and other forms of entertainment taking the stage alongside the scantily clad performers. It's popularity was at its height during Victorian times, so perhaps they weren't so prudish as we imagine! Over the years Burlesque has evolved from the variety type show, into sexy cabaret such as The Folies Begere and then to a certain degree went underground in the 1960's in the form of strip clubs. Now it enjoys a more mainstream position in the entertainment world with artist Ditta Von Teese being the most famous Burlesque performer, and Burlesque entertainment being performed in all sorts of venues including clubs and theatres.
Lucy then gave us our very own private Burlesque show, performing a routine with beautiful purple ostrich feather fans.
Then quite a lot of us got involved in a few masterclasses on how to remove your gloves sexily and drape a feather boa (scarves used instead of boas because of feather shedding issues) Take a look below and see if you're there. There are a few sad shots of me wearing nipple tassels on my T-shirt and then having a twirling lesson... and I hadn't even had a drink!
And here are a few extra pictures of Lucy performing. We hope to be able to go to one of Lucy's shows when she next performs, so watch this space!
A fascinating question and answer session finished off the evening with some great questions being posed about all things Burlesque, and we could have gone on but time got the better of us. We all went home smiling, it really was a feel good evening and I can understand completely why Lucy loves it so much.
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