“It kicked off the most magical journey of my life

Saddest Showgirl

I was one of those theater nerds in high school. I wanted to be an actress …and then I got distracted, lost, and really disconnected from my creativity and from my purpose.

There was so much empty space in my life. I knew I wanted to get back to creativity. And I just didn’t know how to get back into it. It felt intimidating – it had been so many years, i just didn’t even know where to begin.

A dear friend of mine, Val Vermouth, had done the Burlesque 101 program at The Academy of Burlesque. She absolutely loved it, and it really lit a spark in her.  She said, “you should do this! You’ve got to do it! It’s going to be amazing! I wasn’t sure…it didn’t seem like it was going to be my thing.

But I started going to see burlesque shows around town, started warming up to it.  I actually ended up seeing a performer that really inspired me, and I thought my sister would be amazing at burlesque.  Back in 2017 my new year’s resolution was to get onto a stage and perform – I had to challenge myself to do it because I was really missing it.

So I ended up signing up with my sister to take Burlesque 101. It was taught at that time by Miss Indigo Blue and Ruby Mimosa, two incredible people that i just adore

I still wasn’t sure if this was my thing – but I knew that I needed to get back onto a stage doing something so i just went for it!

Champagne Splitz
Pizza Splitz

I learned so much in that program. I started learning about the history of Burlesque, which is something that really inspired me – just women taking up space and expressing themselves publicly with their bodies.  That was something that really spoke to me. The whole program opened my eyes to what burlesque could be, and that I could express myself any way that I wanted.  It completely blew my mind – that wasn’t what i was expecting at all.

I had an incredible experience at the recital, and I was so embraced by the burlesque community after that. Their response to me was completely overwhelming. I just felt so accepted, celebrated, and so seen. That’s something that I didn’t even realize how deeply was missing from my life at that time.

What I learned through burlesque is that what’s even more rewarding to me than performing, is creating something myself – from the concept, completely bringing it to life, figuring out the costume, figuring out the staging, the music and my own performance. All of it! And then, forming a connection to the audience.  This has completely changed my life

When I started going out to more shows I started seeing a lot of different bodies and body types on stage. That helped me feel comfortable in my own body. The more I gave myself opportunities to get dressed up, put on lipstick, and put on a cute outfit to go out out with friends, to see amazing art being done by bodies of all kinds of different shapes and sizes just expressing themselves however they wanted, the more it helped me come back to life

That experience has continued to unfold in my life in the most magical ways. The 101 experience really does give you a level of self-confidence that I don’t know if I could have gotten any other way.  Having that support to be able to be yourself, to reveal what you need to reveal (physically but also emotionally and with your soul, if you like) is such a magical experience. It really gave me the juice that I needed at that time to start figuring out the next steps of my life.

I never thought burlesque was going to be my thing. I’ve now been performing burlesque for over three years and I’ve had some truly incredible experiences. I’ve traveled to multiple festivals that have been amazing. I’ve met some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met in my entire life.  I’ve felt so accepted, celebrated, and loved by this community, and I’ve had the opportunity to celebrate and to love so many incredible performers as well.

Last year I ended up attending the San Francisco Clown Conservatory! I would never have had the confidence or the knowledge to even look for that program without my experience at The Academy of Burlesque.

I definitely would not be on this path at all if it hadn’t been for going to the Academy of Burlesque and doing the Burlesque 101 program.  It was completely life-changing: it completely changed my views of myself, my self-confidence, and really helped transform me into the person that you see today.

I cannot recommend it enough. I just think if you have even the tiniest bit of inkling that you think this might be something that you’re interested in go for it.

It is just so incredibly worth it. You are in such good hands in under Indigo’s Headmistress-ship! She’s absolutely amazing, and she’s done a lot for me personally on my path. I cannot even express how grateful I am for that. It’s just such a huge gift to have her in my life

I just started as a depressed, confused gal trying to figure some stuff out, wanting to try something new. Burlesque 101 kicked off the most magical journey of my life.

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