Hi there,

I'm sorry, I'm sure you must all be sick of people asking the same questions all the time, but I couldn't find anything that seemed to answer this one.

I am desperately trying to help my friend, who so badly wants to be a burlesque performer. She has just finished a run of four dates for a drinks promotion in Edinburgh, which was great experience and good for her confidence but now I'm stuck.

I'm trying to sign her up to loads of classes to boost her confidence, give her ideas and maybe help her network. It's expensive, but worth it. However, it's where to get her more performances where I'm stuck.

We're based in Stirling but can travel to Edinburgh, Glasgow or anywhere in the surrounding area. I would deeply appreciate any help, because I know virtually nothing about this and don't know how to support her.

Thanks

Capswitch

Well,

I can't recommend the Academy of Burlesque highly enough for classes. They run calsses in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Then, to perfect her skills, move on to RwP's Performance Workshops.

And once she's ready to hit the stage she can apply for the Dr Sketchy Open Stage.

There's loads of stuff going on! If you can get the numbers; I'm sure it could even be arranged to run a class in Stirling!!

Good luck!

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RwP

Gypsy Charms and Viva Misadventure are indeed the established experts in Scotland. I beleive they are running classes in Edinburgh and possibly Glasgow too.

There is even a DVD which give the basics - here

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Kittie Klaw - The Ministry Of Burlesque
"Together We CanCan".

Find out more at.
www.kittieklaw.com
www.ministryofburlesque.com

Hey, she should come along to Cheesecake. It's at Capitol in Glasgow and it's a burlesque night thats featuring a lot of newcomers to the Scottish burlesque scene. I'm sure any number of performers there would be able to point her in the right direction and she'll meet some lovely people. It's on the 25th of July.

MySpace.com - Cheesecake - 25 - Female - Glasgow, UK - www.myspace.com/glasgowcheesecake

xx

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the hottest thing from the North to come out of the South
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Rufus & Kittie are right, not only are Gypsy & Vivas classes excellent for boosting confidence and honing performance skills they are ideal networking opportunities. They've been working professionals for many years so would be able to offer good advice on the who's who and where to's.

In addition to that you meet other people in the same boat, find out about other events and who's looking for performers.

I believe that's how Cheesecake came about, in a roundabout way. The promoters are graduates of The Academy of Burlesque so they've come together and created their own work, not bad!

Another good idea, if the scene in Stirling isn't so great, is to take a wee trip to Glasgow or Edinburgh and attend some of the events, get your face out there and start chatting up the people that can help.

It's all about the schmooze, baby

Wish your friend all the best from me and tell her not to be shy if she sees me at the bar, a few gins and I'm anybodys!

xxx Lucille B xxx

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Performance Artist - Writer - Creative Director - RwP

That'd be funny if it wasn't true!

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RwP

Thank you so much for all your help. It's nice to know I'm heading along the right lines. I've already booked a fan dancing course, hopefully (I've only just sent the email) the fire events at Dr Sketchy's and (if they still have places at the end of the month when I get paid) through Club Noir. I'm also hoping to book her up for the Academy of Burlesque if my bank balance can hold out.

I really do appreciate the help. Sadly she'll be in Austria modelling at the World Body Painting Championships on the 25th, so we'll have to miss Cheesecake. Hopefully another time though.

Hopefully I'll get to meet you all at some point, though I'm not really glamourous enough to be in the burlesque world, I'm sure I'll be dragged along.

Again, thank you.

Brightest Blessings

xxxx