Vixen DeVille

5 Ways Burlesque Performance Can Positively Impact Every Area Of Your Life

“Burlesque is more than just flirtatious tease; it’s an attitude of confidence”

If you’re looking to improve your confidence and charisma, from the bedroom to the boardroom (and everywhere in between) look no further. Burlesque is more than just flirtatious tease; it’s an attitude of confidence that can positively impact every area of life.

1) ENHANCING YOUR “ENOUGHNESS”:

Working on your “enoughness” in the world of burlesque, trains this muscle for your everyday life.

There are several things my new Burlesque students worry about when they first come to me, but usually it boils down to TWO main points:

• BODY IMAGE
• SELF-DOUBT IN THEIR ABILITY

What I love about creating solo acts with my students is that…

…It’s all about pleasing YOU!

I’m not teaching group choreography where everyone compares themselves to everyone else. Instead, we create a solo act together which celebrates YOU in whichever way you see fit.

What do YOU want to express?

what fires YOU up?

YOU make the rules to suit YOUR needs and YOUR strengths!

YOU MAKE THE RULES about how much you show on stage. If there’s an area of your body you don’t feel comfortable with then feel free to keep that covered.

YOU MAKE THE RULES about the style of act, if you think you can’t dance, you don’t have to. There are so many styles of burlesque performance, together we will discover what it is that sets you apart.

Burlesque is about embracing your uniqueness, in life and onstage.

For anyone who experiences self-doubt throughout the day “I don’t belong here”, “I’m not good enough”, I would advise them to follow up that question with, “by whose standards?”.

By whose standards are you feeling that your body has flaws? Who says you shouldn’t proudly show off these areas of your body just because they haven’t been air brushed by Photoshop?

By whose standards are you judging your performance abilities? Your intelligence, your achievements..? Is the voice of judgment in your head created by a parent, a co-worker, a sibling, a supposed friend??? (Hint stop hanging out with these people wherever possible!!)

I advise all my students to AVOID the mentality of going on stage asking the audience,

“Is this doing it for you??…   

                                      … Is this sexy??

                                                       …Do you like what I’m doing??”

It’s not about asking the audience if you’re good enough and if you’re meeting their standards. It’s about saying, “look at me, I’m awesome – witness me in my height of glory!!”

Once you give yourself the permission to do this on stage you will find yourself instinctively walking into ALL rooms with the same confident attitude.

 

2) REMOVE ANY STIGMA ABOUT FLAUNTING YOUR SEXUALITY:

People feel so much guilt for wanting to look and feel sexy, especially in the world of business which can be so masculine orientated. Too often we shy away from embracing our feminine power and sexuality in order to be “taken seriously” (FTS!!)

Newcomers to Burlesque may worry about what everyone else will think of them. “Are my parents going to think less of me?”, “What if my co-workers find out?”. Again, these doubts are related to OTHER people’s standards! Remember – when people judge us or prevent us from doing something, it’s because it causes a fear in THEM. Your ACTION highlights their INACTION, their inability to do the very thing you have the confidence to be doing.

Burlesque is too often misinterpreted by those who have never experienced it. It is not solely about stripping and revealing flesh, in the voyeuristic sense.

Your act is about a peeling and revealing of layers and concepts. Rather than saying, ‘“I’m naked and vulnerable”, you’re actually rebelliously and joyously saying, ‘“I’m ripping off this mask that society has made me wear!”

You’re not doing this for anyone else! You’re not taking your clothes off to titillate ‘some guy’!

You’re celebrating yourself, peeling back the layers you’re wearing, in order to celebrate the beautiful human underneath.

 

3) FIND YOUR POLITICAL VOICE:

Yes, you can use your burlesque stage as a public soapbox.

If you feel you can’t voice your opinion at the dinner table or water cooler, whether that’s because other people shun your opinion or you don’t feel articulate enough to join the conversation, try the medium of Burlesque.

Be political! You’re making art. And for what other reason do people create art than to say something to the world? That is the essence of Burlesque. It’s therapeutic and cathartic for the performer, and the audience gets something out of it, as well.

4) RE-INVENT YOURSELF (IT’S NEVER TOO LATE):

You never have to settle for the ‘you’ that you are now. Just because you grew up a certain way, with specific experiences, doesn’t mean you have to keep that identity for the rest of your life.

If you’re stuck with something you don’t like, change it. Large or small, you can move, quit your job, break up with somebody, or just color your hair. Some changes may take longer than others but it’s better to slowly crawl in the direction you want, than to sprint the other way.

With this in mind – a huge life change and self-reinvention may seem overly daunting, so start with the Burlesque stage…

…allow this to be the arena for your new persona to come out to play.

Embrace your brazen alter-ego, give them a name, let THEM take the blame for your new found style and behavioural choices. Allow THEM the freedom of not having to ‘fit in’ or meet other’s expectations of you. You can gradually allow your new persona to filter into your everyday life and realise that…

…the people who matter will fall in love with the quirkiness and weirdness that truly is you.

 

5) DRAW ATTENTION TO YOUR ‘FLAWS’ AND MAKE THEM YOUR ‘USP’ (UNIQUE SELLING POINT):

Rather than hiding the areas of yourself you’ve been made to feel bad about in your everyday life, your burlesque act is the perfect opportunity to draw attention to, and CELEBRATE those qualities. Maybe these qualities aren’t accepted or celebrated at your place of work or around your family members, but those rules and regulations don’t exist when your burlesque persona hits the stage.

In the burlesque world, these qualities are no longer tainted as negative flaws, they are just a quality that makes you different from the person standing next to you,

These qualities are what make you uniquely YOU and you can start to embrace them as your USP.

As you gradually get used to confidently flaunting those areas you once learnt to consider flaws, you’ll find yourself allowing this to filter into your everyday life. The more confidence you have in EVERY element that is you, then the more you can start to surround yourself with those who value you for the person you truly are, rather than feeling the need to change for others.

For anyone craving more tips on self-confidence and celebrating yourself both on and off the stage check out my Intro to Burlesque class “Unleash Your Inner Vixen” with me in Los Angeles or for anyone out of town sign up for a free consultation with me online. 

6 Steps To Choosing Your Burlesque name

We’ve all done the generic…

“Take the name of your first pet,
…add the street you grew up on,
…plus the colour of the underwear you’re currently wearing…
…minus the number you first thought of…..”

BUT…

Picking your burlesque name should be more than just a fun party game.

It’s your rite of passage as a burlesque performer, the rebirth of YOU, on YOUR terms!

What an amazing opportunity!! 

To shed any labels or past connotations of the name you’ve had your entire life.

The name that SOMEONE ELSE gave you, before you had any specific personality traits or defining behavioral characteristics.

The name that other kids maybe made fun of at school, or no-one could ever pronounce correctly.

The name that connects you to a parent you’ve never met, a name that ties you to identities of who you used to be years ago…
…a geek,
…a prima donna,
…a wallflower,
…a control freak,
…a total fuck up…..

…or a name that just… generally… never felt quite right.

If you’re just starting out in burlesque, you may be wondering when’s the best time to start choosing your burlesque name?

I’d say START NOW! 

The sooner you start thinking about it, to let it marinate, the better. The longer you’ll have to try it on and see if it fits!

Some may suggest to leave it until you’ve fully worked out your first act, so you know that your name truly fits your vibe, but you don’t want your name to be an afterthought, hurriedly selected the week leading up to your first show. Equally, I suggest you may not want to FINALISE the decision right away, buying your website domain name and having business cards printed up before you’ve even started developing your act…

…but start the PROCESS now. 

Allow your name choice to develop as you gradually mould your first act, so the two can develop together in alignment, each informing the other.

CLAIM YOUR NAME!!!

A student recently sent me this article https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-indian-names on Native American Indian names. I love how a baby name would change with adulthood, a person could have several names during their lifetime and how names were often chosen to mark major events in life and could change with new achievements, life experiences and accomplishments.

As a burlesque performer, your name is not only used to describe your persona on stage, it’s your branding, your logo. It’s the last thing the audience will hear announced before you enter the stage. It’s one of the reasons people will (or will not) remember you (or, indeed, remember to HIRE you).

I’ve talked before on how costume contributes to creating your character persona and attitude on stage – as you put on your costume, you immediately begin to feel more cutesy, more powerful, more feminine, more … whatever it is that your chosen costume does to you.

In the same way you need to LOVE how your chosen name makes you feel, and yes, you may need to try a few on before making your final decision.

You need to love saying your name out loud,
Love introducing yourself as that name AND love hearing others use it to introduce YOU. 

 

STEP ONE – YOUR ESSENCE

Just as I advise to start developing your acts by having an idea of how you want to feel on stage and what you want to express, these starting points are also a great place to jump off from when developing your name. In fact, for anyone feeling lost and overwhelmed at developing an act, you may find the process of your name selection helpful in giving you inspiration and clarity with regards to your act development.

Start by writing a list of the essences and qualities you envisage your character to have.

When I was naming, ‘Vixen DeVille’, the characteristics that were coming through in my rehearsal were, ‘domineering’, ‘mischievous’, ‘powerful’, ‘magical’ etc.

Write down all of these words and then throw them into www.thesaurus.com (or dare to use a physical hard copy thesaurus!) and see what other words come up to describe those words and add them to your list.

To further explore your character’s essence, you can also ask the question, “What’s important to me?”. What does your character care about most? – Money, freedom, happiness, power? You can also put these into the thesaurus and see which words pop out.

STEP TWO – FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Now you have your list of various essence words, try looking up these words in different languages to discover other interesting words and phrases with the same meanings for inspiration.

For example, the French word for ‘mischievous’ is ‘Malicieux’ – this could inspire you to add the English word ‘Malice’ and maybe think that “Malice in Wonderland” is a good name. Maybe break down the French word into two so your name could be “Mally Cieux” or “Allie Cieux”. Maybe the word brings your attention to the English word “Malicious” and you can throw these words back into the thesaurus for more inspiration around this theme. What other words do they remind you off, what do these words rhyme with?.. maybe, “Malicious Delicious” becomes an option?

NOTE: If a name in a foreign language feels like it’s working for you DO MAKE SURE to check with a native speaker if the name makes sense to them!!! 

It’s ok to use these words and phrases as inspiration, and then go ahead and play with spelling, grammar etc, to make it work for you, but make sure to do the research and KNOW that you’re straying from the original form. A horror film called “Silence of The Lambs” doesn’t have quite the same effect when inadvertently translated into “Sheep Can’t Talk” 

STEP THREE  – IF I WERE A…. 
Once you’ve exhausted the thesaurus and research into foreign languages, start looking up your essence words in relation to animals and inanimate objects.

ANIMAL: I would start with animals as they are directly related to movement and can easily be imagined in a personified form.

If your character were an animal what would you be? For me – the essence of ‘mischievous’ provided a word in the thesaurus ‘sly’ which related to the animal ‘Fox’ another word for ‘Fox’ is ‘Vixen’. Maybe you want a feeling of freedom on stage, so you start looking at bird names which will provide you a whole ton of research into how these relate to folk lore and superstition.

Once you come up with one animal name, explore all variations of the animal to get specific and find the one which suits you best. A connection to a Cat-like persona comes up with, ‘kitty’, ‘pussy’, ‘kitten’, ‘panther’, ‘lion’ etc. which all conjure up completely different images and vibes (and puns, which we’ll get on to later).

Continue this with:

IF I WERE A…. COCKTAIL, PLANT, FLOWER, GEMSTONE.. 
These are the more typical arenas but feel free to take this into your own area of interest, what car would you be, what greek goddess would you be, what piece of clothing, what sport, what kitchen appliance..? Take this wherever you want to go in order to get your inspiration.

STEP FOUR – FAMOUS NAMES AND PUNS

Write down the names of anyone real or fictional that has similar traits to your character. You can use these in two ways, by taking either their first or last name and adding it to one of your words above.

For Example: You like the vibe of ‘Marilyn Monroe’, and we have the word ‘Malicious’ from earlier so maybe we consider ‘Marilyn Malicious’, ‘Malicious Marilyn’, ‘Malicious Monroe’. Anything that feels good, add it to the list. “DeVille” for me was a blatant steal from “Cruella De Vil” with just a different version of spelling.

A second way of using famous names is to use them as the basis of a pun  – maybe Marilyn Monroe becomes Marilyn Death-Row.

A large number of burlesque names sit in the world of puns so spend some time looking at your list of words and see if any phonetic puns come to mind. Double check that they work both visually, (written down), since your visual name will be your branding and logo,  as well as aurally,  (said out loud) so that when the host announces you, the name makes sense.

STEP FIVE – PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Now you have your exhaustive list of words, try them out in all combinations of first names and second names. Keep in mind the use of alliteration, puns, and use of rhyme. Say them out loud, write them down, decide how they make you feel and what they look like written down in text. Collate a list of your favourite 5 to 10 names and connect with your fellow burlesque community either in person, or on social media to get feedback on which ones are the favourites and which really describe the persona you are expressing on stage.

STEP SIX – DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE 

Before you 100% decide on a name make sure to do as much research into that name as possible. Throw it into a search engine and see what comes up, check social media profiles. You want to remove as much competition as possible, so that if anyone searches your name online it’s YOU that comes up, not some random film on IMDB or a clothing boutique in another city.

I’d had the name, ‘Vixen DeVille’ for a year or so and then randomly found out that she was a character in a very low profile porno graphic novel, which luckily, now, must have been buried in the depths of google search.

I was exiting stage after two years of performance when the host announced “if you liked that act you can catch VD at next week’s show…” oops!! (but still hilarious)

Even after I’d been learning German for 4 years and toured Germany for 4 months, it took an audience member over in Santa Monica, California (about 8 years into performing as ‘Vixen DeVille’) to tell me that ‘Vixen’ is the same phonetic sound as the German verb ‘Wichsen’ – I’ll let you guys go trawl the internet to find out THAT meaning!

You’ll never know EVERYTHING about your name, but DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE!!

WORST CASE SCENARIO – Another burlesque performer already has that name!!

DO NOT USE IT!!!

Doesn’t matter if they just started out or are no longer working, that burlesque name has already been taken, end of story. It doesn’t do anyone any favours. Not only is it disrespectful to that already established performer, but it doesn’t help you out to be attempting to launch your career in someone else’s shadow. Much better to be unique and memorable than just a mediocre copy.

Remember this should be a fun time in your burlesque career, and if you start now you’ll give yourself the time to play, to try things out, do your due diligence and not have a stress-filled panic attack at the last minute.

For those of you signed up for class both in-person and online, remember to share your choices on the private Facebook group for some constructive criticism from both myself and fellow students.

Not in Class? Find out the best training for you whether it’s online in your own home town or with me in-person in Los Angeles. 

Learn 5 ways to INSTANTLY increase your sex appeal and stage presence.

“Super-Sexy” is not solely for the “Super-Fit”. You don’t have to “Work-Out” in order to “Work It”. There’s all these articles these days about embracing ‘sexy’, how ‘sexy’ can improve your self-esteem, your love life and in fact, life in general. Most recently Adryenne Ashley of Thrive Global wrote:

“Remember Teri Hatcher doing those impossible splits right on the studio floor on ‘Oprah’? Or Carmen Electra positively gushing about what exotic dance has done for her body and bedroom tactics? A large number of celebrities have recently taken to a sexy alternative to working out”
See full article here

That’s great! and also totally true, but what if you CAN’T do the splits like Teri Hatcher? What if you don’t have the body of Carmen Electra? And what if you don’t have the upper body strength to open a jar of peanut butter, let alone climb onto a pole?

If you’re out there screaming .. “well it’s OK for those girls to embrace their ‘sexy’ – they’re all flexible, toned, skinny bitches!”, don’t worry – “getting your sexy on”, is available to you too!

“SEXY” IS FOR ANY BODY…
The good news is that we ALL have a ‘sexy’ to embrace, and it’s not about pole dancing your way to that perfect bod, or getting flexible enough to achieve some twisted-pretzel sex position.

It’s NOT an ‘outside-in’ approach:

“I get the perfect body, I therefore feel sexy”.

Work from the ‘inside-out’! It’s about getting down to how YOU FEEL about how you look. Rather than getting hung up about ‘embracing the sexy’, start EMBRACING THE POSITIVE, and ACCEPTING THE (supposed) NEGATIVE, this leads to self-confidence because CONFIDENCE IS YOUR ‘SEXY’!!

How can anyone ‘embrace their sexy’, when what they think and feel is screaming the opposite? “Im too old, too tall, too short, too boney, too fat, too WHATEVER!!!

All this bullshit we tell ourselves (or have allowed others to convince us) about all these things that are ‘wrong’ with us. ALL THIS JUDGEMENT!  Of course we shy aware from being naked and vulnerable, since these days it seems none of us can get it right… “Oh god that women is wearing a bikini she looks anorexic” vs “oh god that woman is wearing a bikini – she’s spilling out of it”.

You don’t have to be the illusive ‘perfect’ to be sexy, you don’t have to be in lingerie, or be naked to be sexy. You don’t even have to be explicitly SEXUAL to be sexy. What you DO need to embrace is…

CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF
ENJOYMENT OF YOURSELF
ALLOWING OTHERS TO JOIN YOU!

5 Ways to Increase Your Sexy on stage and in everyday life…  

Burlesque performers come in all shapes and sizes and are some of the sexiest people I’ve had the privilege to encounter. Burlesque technique lies less in the technical aspects of dance and lies very much in the ‘charisma’ of the performer on stage. The quality of their movement, the manipulation of the audience’s attention, the exposure of a persona and their sense of play.

You can bring all these qualities into your daily life, not just in the bedroom, not just on the stage. To quote Shakespeare, ‘All the world’s a stage’. So start bringing these secrets of the stage into your world and your life today.

1) OWN YOUR STAGE:

This is an exercise I use with all my burlesque students early on. Walk around the room as if you own the space. Take up your space! Remember, we’re trying to get to HOW YOU FEEL about yourself, not changing what you look like, we’re working from the inside out!

Imagine this place is yours – everyone and everything around you is only there to please you. Walk down the street imagining yourself as the center of the universe. When you do this, you will be! Remember, you ARE the center of everything. You only have your point of view, so everything you see is an invention of your perspective. So, to feel more confident: walk through the grocery store as if you own it. Cross the street like everyone is there to see YOU. Pretend you own the place, and soon you will do.

2) ENJOYING YOUR MOVEMENT:

As you move through this brave new world of yours, start to ENJOY your movement. You don’t have to be dancing! Enjoy walking down the stairs, opening the door, really connect and be present with which parts of your body are moving at any given time and how it FEELS to do so.

Just as when you see someone really enjoying eating a delicious meal, we immediately want to get in on it, similarly, when we see someone enjoying their movement, enjoying just being themselves, we want to get in on that too! To take this analogy further – it’s the equivalent of eating for fuel and function vs eating and tasting every mouthful and savouring the pleasure it brings.

3) SELF-LOVE: 

I talk about the importance of self love in many forms but this is the most instantly applicable. Following on from your ‘enjoyment of movement’ is what I call in class ‘adding some self-love’. Making physical contact with yourself – NO I don’t mean in a sexual way, I mean just making physical contact with yourself in a day-to-day situation, brushing the hair from your face, grazing your fingers along your neck, again, this idea of CONNECTING WITH YOURSELF, the curves, the texture. Find as many opportunities to make physical contact with yourself as you go through your day. As an audience the more we see you touching and enjoying the feeling of yourself, the more we want to get in on it!

4) ROTATE YOUR USE OF EYE CONTACT: 

This is a great one for drawing in an audience and keeping their attention. Remember I’m referring to ‘audience’ as ‘everyone you meet’ – grocery store, job interview, dance floor!

First you want to MAKE DIRECT EYE contact. This immediately shows confidence and, as we all know now.. CONFIDENCE BRINGS SEXY. If this is something you shy away from, it comes with practice – the more you do it, the more confident you will become. BUT…. you want to AVOID constant direct eye contact! This becomes intimidating and challenging and will shut down an audience member and make them feel uncomfortable.

Once you grab their attention with direct eye contact, direct THEIR gaze by looking at the part of yourself you want to bring their attention to. Swap between these, confidently grabbing their attention and directing their attention.

Finally, add in NO EYE CONTACT. Remember that element of “ALLOWING OTHERS TO JOIN YOU”? Allow your audience that brief moment of being able to take you in without their being challenged or judged. For a brief moment they are being voyeurs of your magnificence and you have the confidence to allow them to do so. Allow them that moment….. then BOOM, direct eye contact again… smile – “I know you were watching, I see you, and I’m ok with it… I’m glad that you were”.

5) TRY ON A NEW PERSONA:

It’s really easy to fall into the pattern of wearing the same types of outfit, your day-to-day lifestyle really dictates what you wear; restrictive business suit, comfortable shoes, old shirts your baby is allowed to throw up on!

Give yourself permission to step out of that routine. Coming from an actor’s point of view, clothing has a lot to do with how a character feels. I can try on one outfit and feel awesome, then change my clothes and I’m suddenly frumpy. If you feel self-conscious about your body, maybe it’s just the clothing your body is in!

I challenge you to try EVERYTHING.

Go to goodwill for a couple of hours and play dress-up! Play!! Don’t second guess. Just for shits and giggles – try something you would normally be too afraid to wear or always assumed just wouldn’t suit you. People do this on Halloween, why save it for just one day a year? Wear that vibrant colored dress, wear those leather pants, wear that pair of impractical shoes. Then walk around like you own the place! Rinse and Repeat.

For anyone craving more tips on self-confidence and embracing your sexy check out an intro to burlesque class with me in Los Angeles or for anyone out of town sign up for a free consultation with me online. I guarantee you this is more than just a dance class which leaves you feeling inadequate, this is YOUR time to celebrate YOU.

Hope you’re having a fantastic week and I look forward to working with you soon.