Burlesque and stage shows

A different room, a different deal

Burlesque is a cousin of club dancing, not the same job. Shows happen in theatres, bars, cabarets and festivals; the audience sits and watches a programmed night; performers are usually paid a fee or a share of the door rather than earning from the floor. There is often no private dancing at all. The reveal is the point, built up through costume, character and comedy, and what is shown at the end varies by venue, by city law and by the show's own house rules. Check the current rules wherever you perform, especially on coverage requirements.

Many club dancers add burlesque for the creative outlet, the different audience and a second income that does not depend on who walks in on a Tuesday. Many burlesque performers never set foot in a club. Both are performers, and both belong on VestaModels.

Building an act

A burlesque act is a short piece, typically a few minutes, with a beginning, a middle and an end. Things that separate acts that get booked again from ones that do not:

• A clear idea. One character, one joke, one feeling, one song. Audiences remember the act with the giant fan or the striptease to a nursery rhyme, not the one that did a bit of everything.
• Costume built to come off. Every piece needs to go in the order the act needs, in time with the music, without a struggle. Rehearse with the real costume, not the idea of it.
• Music edited to length and sent in the format the venue asks for, with a backup copy.
• A tech sheet: your music cue, lighting notes, props you need on stage, what you need cleared afterwards. Producers love a performer who arrives with one.
• Reliability. Turning up on time, sober, with everything ready. Producers rebook the people who make their night easy.

Getting booked

Burlesque runs on producers and festivals. Go to shows, meet producers, perform at open stages and newcomer nights, and apply to festivals with a clean video of your act shot from the audience. Your name and your look travel further in this scene than in clubs, so a consistent stage persona matters, and a profile with photos, what you do and where you perform is often the first thing a producer looks at.

Fees vary widely by city and by show, from nothing but exposure at newcomer nights to proper rates at established venues. Ask other performers what is normal where you are, and ask a professional if you are offered contracts for festivals or tours.

List every show on your schedule by venue and date. A producer who sees you worked a dozen venues in a year is more confident booking you, and your audience knows where to find you. It helps the venue page too: a theatre that has hosted several performers starts to look like what it is, a place people go.