If you don’t have the upper body strength for pole-dancing and would rather leave the twerk out of your work out, rest-assured you’re not alone and you can still get gorgeous with glamour. Burlesque dance teacher, Sapphira, tried just about every dance style to unlock her booty with beauty until she finally found herself through the art form of burlesque. Sharing her top tips on why you should try burlesque from her success launching her business Sapphira’s Showgirls in 3 cities to help other women experience the great benefits, too.
Shimmy Shape
Be athletic with aesthetic. Burlesque has plenty of opportunities to shed calories and the basis of a good burlesque routine is the shimmy. You can practise the shimmy whilst doing the dishes or photocopying, simply stand with your feet hip width apart, your legs straight but with soft knees and rotate your knees back and forth until you can speed up like a motor to create a tremor. Shimmies look sexy and will help you increase your heart rate in no time (not to mention any onlookers) It’s a win-win situation.
Bump N Grind
It’s great to accentuate your most sensual assets and learning to bump and grind your hips will increase rotation in important muscles like glutes that normally get left unexercised in our daily activities of walking or driving however, apart from that obvious health benefit, the bump n grind is contagiously outrageous. Get hip to that fact and your hips will thank you!
Wiggle Your Jiggle
There are few places in life it is not only encouraged but it is essential to wiggle one’s jiggle and burlesque is one such place. Women of curves and voluptuous creatures are applauded for using bawdy accents in music accompanied with equally as defiant snapping of suspender straps and devilishly discarding gloves with glee. There is something deliciously naughty about prancing around with all the pomp of a royal whilst disrobing with flagrant flair. Try it, we dare you!
Moment of Truth
To discover your inner-sensual self and perhaps, to honour that different part of your character by giving it a new stage name is a profoundly personal journey. There is something vulnerable yet conversely powerful about discovering yourself in the art form of burlesque and it takes strength to express yourself with fearless abandon. You might never choose to do a burlesque striptease and that is your choice but you will be more naked to yourself than ever before by dipping your toe in the water with this fabulous dance because it will ignite and inspire you in ways you have never imagined.
Unleash Your Alter-Ego
If you could bottle the essence of the wild dancer at midnight on the dance floor when the DJ plays her favourite song and she throws her head back with glee and give that essence a name, what would it be? For many burlesque dancers choosing a stage name and creating an alter ego is a highlight of the craft and it is a rite of passage to find that name and let that person slowly come to life adding layers of costume and music into the mix. Of course, men are included in this ritual and more Boylesque and Bearlesque performers and even festivals are springing up all around the world making it an incredibly entertaining performance, too.
Crushing It in A Corset
You haven’t lived until you’ve owned a corset. Corsets come in a range of styles and types to suit all budgets, from steel to plastic boning, under bust to over bust, leather to satin and all that’s in between. Corsets have a way of enhancing any physique and the more dedicated will wear them all day and even partake in waist-training to reduce their measurements but you need not take it to that extreme if you just want to wear one for your occasional burlesque wardrobe, it’s perfectly fine to have them simply as a fashion garment and you will most certainly feel fabulous in one, if nothing else.
Bio
Sapphira is a heart-centred Australian burlesque author, entrepreneur, singer/songwriter and teacher who believes in positivity. Following her recovery from a severe mental illness twenty years ago she founded Sapphira’s Showgirls, an academy that empowers women through self-expression and supports several charities with her fundraiser #BurlesqueAPeel. Sapphira released her debut book ‘Burlesque or Bust’ (Trigger Publishing) in late 2018 and also her much-awaited EP ‘Mindtalk’, featuring her songs ‘Mindtalk’ and ‘Chasing My Demons’. Additionally, she is the founder of the Ibiza Burlesque Festival and offers sound healing sessions as a certified Soul Voice® practitioner. For more information visit www.sapphiramusic.com
