She may end up in her rhinestone bra and panties, but for Nasine van Rensburg her burlesque shows are not about pleasing men, but about loving herself.
Van Rensburg, 28, a Graaff-Reinet farm girl turned vocal coach and burlesque queen, has started a burlesque troupe in East London and has already stunned audiences with one sold-out show in December.
“A lot of people think burlesque is about seducing men, but it’s about seducing yourself.
“It teaches you to fall in love with yourself, with your own body, even if you have a fat thigh, a wobbly stomach or stretch marks,” said the Gonubie resident. “Anyway, the audience is mostly female. I first saw burlesque in a Charlie’s Angels movie when I was 15. I thought it was sexy, not tacky and sleazy.
“Then when I studied musical theatre in Port Elizabeth I came across it again and fell in love with it.”
For Van Rensburg, an important consideration is that the dance style does not require a specific body type.
“I remember feeling bad about myself after dance classes, but when I discovered burlesque as an art form, I learnt to love every single curve on my body.”
After moving to East London, Van Rensburg started her own vocal academy in Stirling in 2014 before founding the East London Performing Arts Company (Elpac).
In December she choreographed and starred in Ooh La Lesque at the Arts Theatre. The extravaganza was such a hit that a “revamped” version will be staged this weekend.
Her cast includes women aged between 20 and 35 who have had various forms of dance training and who represent a gamut of female body shapes.
“A lot of the girls do it to prove they can. They do it to show they are bold, strong and confident”.
She points out that her choreography is neo-burlesque in style, meaning it is more focused on sensuality than the full-blown classic burlesque, which features G-string-wearing women in giant Martini glasses.
And, proving that sexism is not a feature of her production, she has included three all-male numbers in the “burly boys” segments of her show.
“There will be a cowboy number and a “Magic Mike” number with tearaway pants. One of the dancers is my husband, Dylan Boltt.
“He said it had always been a dream of his to perform on stage so I cast him. He is an Eskom electrician and the other guys are students and a salesman.
“Men also feel pressure to have six-packs but that is not what ‘burlyesque’ is about.”
Van Rensburg, who gives burlesque classes, also does private events and is especially popular at bachelorette parties.
“I teach them basic moves like bump, grind and shimmy in my full burlesque attire and then I do a proper striptease down to pasties . The women love it, but I don’t do bachelor parties.”
Ooh La Lesque Revamped Burlesque is on at the Arts Theatre on Friday and Saturday night at 7pm. Tickets cost R100 at Lee Gold. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
‘Burly’ for feeling good
Van Rensburg, 28, a Graaff-Reinet farm girl turned vocal coach and burlesque queen, has started a burlesque troupe in East London and has already stunned audiences with one sold-out show in December.
“A lot of people think burlesque is about seducing men, but it’s about seducing yourself.
“It teaches you to fall in love with yourself, with your own body, even if you have a fat thigh, a wobbly stomach or stretch marks,” said the Gonubie resident. “Anyway, the audience is mostly female. I first saw burlesque in a Charlie’s Angels movie when I was 15. I thought it was sexy, not tacky and sleazy.
“Then when I studied musical theatre in Port Elizabeth I came across it again and fell in love with it.”
For Van Rensburg, an important consideration is that the dance style does not require a specific body type.
“I remember feeling bad about myself after dance classes, but when I discovered burlesque as an art form, I learnt to love every single curve on my body.”
After moving to East London, Van Rensburg started her own vocal academy in Stirling in 2014 before founding the East London Performing Arts Company (Elpac).
In December she choreographed and starred in Ooh La Lesque at the Arts Theatre. The extravaganza was such a hit that a “revamped” version will be staged this weekend.
Her cast includes women aged between 20 and 35 who have had various forms of dance training and who represent a gamut of female body shapes.
“A lot of the girls do it to prove they can. They do it to show they are bold, strong and confident”.
She points out that her choreography is neo-burlesque in style, meaning it is more focused on sensuality than the full-blown classic burlesque, which features G-string-wearing women in giant Martini glasses.
And, proving that sexism is not a feature of her production, she has included three all-male numbers in the “burly boys” segments of her show.
“There will be a cowboy number and a “Magic Mike” number with tearaway pants. One of the dancers is my husband, Dylan Boltt.
“He said it had always been a dream of his to perform on stage so I cast him. He is an Eskom electrician and the other guys are students and a salesman.
“Men also feel pressure to have six-packs but that is not what ‘burlyesque’ is about.”
Van Rensburg, who gives burlesque classes, also does private events and is especially popular at bachelorette parties.
“I teach them basic moves like bump, grind and shimmy in my full burlesque attire and then I do a proper striptease down to pasties . The women love it, but I don’t do bachelor parties.”
Ooh La Lesque Revamped Burlesque is on at the Arts Theatre on Friday and Saturday night at 7pm. Tickets cost R100 at Lee Gold. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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