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Glasgow's Burlesque Festival

Experiences of a first timer

By Laura Scalco Published 4 years ago 3 min read
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The plan was to grab dinner and perhaps drink a bottle of cheap white wine in bed with a film playing in the background. Instead, we found ourselves sitting front row at the 'Riding Room'—sickeningly-sweet cocktails in hand—in the midst of Glasgow's annual Burlesque festival.

The atmosphere was quite hard to read. To my right sat a family of four and what looked like one of the daughters' boyfriend. On the left I was flanked by an extravagant couple, one dressed in sports clothes and the other covered in glitter and a matching red suit. From older women to young vibrant students, the place was a mix and match of ages and vibes.

The show begins with an extravagant host, bringing in a bit of an attitude onto the stage. She stays in character quite well, a melange of sassy badassery whilst dressed in a sexy tiger suit, and welcomes in the first act.

The first person to step onto the stage was dressed as Marie Antoinette—which immediately caught my attention. A combination of a well-curated costume, powerful music and a story to tell made the act one of the most impressive of the night by challenging sexual stereotypes and making the audience wonder what gender the perfomer identified as. It was brilliant.

As the night rolled on a series of stunning and powerful women took over the stage, all dressed and staying in character whilst oozing confidence and sex. Lots of sex. It being my first time in a show like this, I must admit I felt rather uncomfortable during certain acts—something which only made me challenge myself and made me love it the whole lot more.

The fact is, Burlesque is meant to make you uncomfortable to a certain extent; it challenges the socially acceptable with a performance bursting with extravaganza. The particular show I went to was a burlesque striptease, meaning the mainly female performers would resort to sexual references, erotic dancing and a whole lot of semi-nudity in their story-telling.

Although it might have made me feel out of place at times, the performances were, in retrospect, an act of empowerment. It was nice to see women up on stage, flaunting intimate outfits with fierce confidence. Women of all ages, shapes and sizes exposing themselves to a crowd of people which were nothing but accepting and embracing.

And so, I was left to ponder.

Had I just witnessed a striptease? Was this performance art? The costumes and personas made me think I had watched a more female dominated version of drag, but I still felt unsure. Why did people dance burlesque? Was it the empowering erotica—the fact that the performer has the control over the tease? I'm still left with a lot of questions, particularly after realising that although burlesque is a call to the female sex-appeal, it doesn't feel like it is something that would turn someone on. There's too much fantasy embedded into the acts, too many hints of utopian beauty for it to feel real.

But it was still hot.

I was so confused.

In a day and age where we are slowly learning to accept that skin-revealing outfits are not an excuse for inappropriate behaviour or commentary, Burlesque is a necessary art form. We need to sit ourselves through these performances, understand that these woman are screaming sex but not wanting it. We need to normalise conversations around erotica, about our bodies, about sex work, movement, dance, art. There are too many topics still hidden in the taboo, where they currently hold the power of hurting other humans and it's time to shine a light on them.

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About the Creator

Laura Scalco

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