I've attended a full day of 3 workshops back to back with Lady Wildflower. I'm also just coming to the end of the 8 week Beginner Burlesque course with Lady Wildflower. I also saw the Velvet Cabaret show back in May 2016. You could say I'm a bit of a fan of these ladies and what they do! Everything I've attended has been very well organised, with lots of communication and information beforehand.
The workshops are fantastic, with an emphasis on body positivity and building your confidence. There's the chance to let your teacher know if you have any issues that may cause you physical pain/discomfort and they can either show you alternative moves or, if you're really not physically comfortable, you don't have to do those particular things at all. We've got a great set of women in our group (of varying ages and sizes!) and we usually end up giggling at ourselves at some point during the workshop - and I've made friends I will keep in contact with once the course is over. I've looked forward to the workshop each week and intend to keep an eye out for the Intermediate when it's announced, as I want to do more. This started out as a bit of a fun thing to do for myself (as I recently became newly single and have a landmark birthday coming up) but it's made me feel so good, I'm thinking I'd love to put a routine together and perform, even if it's just once!
You can either buy/supply your own props (gloves, feather boa, etc) or it's often possible to borrow them. For the course of classes, I also invested in a pair of dance shoes and it's made things so much better than trying to move in a normal pair of heels. Otherwise it's just a case of wearing what you can move comfortably in - which for many of us has become shorts and strappy tops as our course has been held over summer and we get very hot!
So if you get the chance, just do it....and, like me, you may find yourself naturally adopting the 'showgirl' pose whilst hailing your bus! read more