Dear Constant Reader,
As you know, if you’ve been a Constant Reader for a while, we have a long-standing relationship with Deacon Giles Distillery and Speakeasy Lab in Salem. In fact, our next show is February 14th! After our shows I often get asked if I teach anywhere on the North Shore. So, we decided to give it a try!
I created a new routine, something I could teach in two hours to complete beginners. This, as always, was a challenge. Choreography is not something that comes quickly or easily to me. I wanted to give the students something fun, yet easy to learn. Something that would let them sample a variety of moves and still make sense with the music.
Because it’s January and Valentine’s Day is not far off, I picked “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”. Then I needed to pick a version. That’s the nice thing about standards — there are a lot to choose from. After listening for tempo, musical interest, song length, &c, Ella Fitzgerald was the winner!
I had the basic outline and was filling in the specifics, but got stumped during the instrumental section. I wanted to use the boas there (we were wearing boas like scarves with winter coats), but the music was very jazzy (no surprise) and I couldn’t come up with something that wasn’t too complicated to learn in the short time we had. Scratch suggested I let the students improvise. Brilliant! It’s jazz, after all. So, I picked a bunch of moves to teach and let the students use them as they chose or just flirt shamelessly with their audience.
I love teaching in general, sharing my knowledge about things I am passionate about. Teaching experienced burlesque performers is its own kind of joy. We have a shared vocabulary and experience, so I can use some shorthand and also get pretty granular.
However, there is nothing like a group of eager novices. I adore welcoming them into the world of burlesque and watching their excitement as they see what they can do. Everyone who came to the workshop was enthusiastic and engaged. Two hours absolutely flew by!
The fabulous students!
One of my mottos is “no choreography survives contact with reality”. I’m prepared to change things on the fly if something doesn’t work when students are actually doing it. That’s my error, not theirs. So I was delighted that everything went as writ. *pats self on back*
All in all, I was very pleased with how the workshop went and hope to do some more in the coming months. Big thanks to everyone at Deacon Giles who made it possible!
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Oh, The Glamourous Life! 