Age and Burlesque.
Hello my lovelies!
Today I’m writing this blog to explore how age effects burlesque after receiving an email where I had a lovely lady asking if at 27 she was too old to start her burlesque career. I feel this is an important question where a lot of women out there would just assume they’re too old, which I believe is far from the truth.
Hilda the plus sized pinup.
One of the most amazing aspects of burlesque is that there is no discrimination; no matter what size, race, gender and even AGE burlesque will accept you. In the fabulous troupe I’m apart of, Lady Velvet Cabaret, there are performers of all ages, sizes, and races, none of these factors effect whether they’re brilliant performers, its rather their passions that make them good at what they do.
Skill wise as I mentioned in my previous blog, RE: How To Become A Burlesque Performer, I explored the appropriate channels one takes on their road to becoming a performer which are suitable for any age, the basics of burlesque are very simple and no matter what age you are they’ll be easy to learn, for some people it will take longer, we all learn at different speeds, but age has no bearing. The next step is having the commitment to become a performer, as it does take a lot of hard work, as long as you have this, age has no effect. As long as your passion is strong you have what it takes to become an amazing performer.
Tempest Storm
In burlesque we have a great appreciation of history, we celebrate burlesque’s origins and how it has come to be what it is today. People outside the burlesque scene may not be aware that a few artists who performed in burlesque’s hay-day, still perform on occasion today, including the ever beautiful Tempest Storm, these women are 70+ years old, and when they hit the stage they make the audience scream like you’ve never heard before! They are inspirational and challenge the conservative view on mature women. They prove there are not limits to burlesque.
There is no expiry date on your beauty, social media constantly tells us beauty is size 0 and young, but I feel they’ve got this all wrong, all women, all size, all ages, all races should be embraced for who they are! Never give up on your dreams due to any of these factors, as they don’t affect it in the least.
My first showgirl performance at 16, I’m the blond in the bottom right corner.
The only age restriction in burlesque that you need to be 18 year old, this is because burlesque is the art of the tease and traditionally includes a lady or man re-robing, while most burlesque performers do not get completed naked on stage, it is still not suited for someone under this age. My love of burlesque began at the age of 14, and it was a LONG wait until I was old enough, but it was worth the wait. If you’re in this same boat I recommend taking every vintage dance course available, from lindy hop to showgirl, learn as much as possible, as this will only aid you in the future.
Be sure to watch this space as I have a couple blogs to post up soon including one on vintage shopping!
Much love,
I really enjoyed this, too right!
Thank you, I’m so glad! I feel its something that a lot of people may not be aware of, I still find a lot of people think they need to lose weight to become a performer, when this is far from true. If you’re healthy and confident your true beauty will shine through.