Whether you consider yourself a competitive person or not, participating in comps, pageants or events can be a great experience – here are Sugar du Joure‘s top reasons to try competing!

 

I discovered Burlesque back in 2011, around the same time I was discovering the person I wanted to be in life. However unlike many people my passion for burlesque didn’t start the moment I gazed upon the face of Dita Von Teese, or after I purchased my first steel boned corset. No ma’am. The moment I knew I loved Burlesque was after competing in my very first Burlesque competition.

I could prattle on for hours about why Burlesque competitions can make you a stronger performer,  and I most certainly will if you’ve booked a spot in the Burly Queens Competitive Burlesque course at Lady Velvet Cabaret! But I thought I would entice you all with a few of my own reasons why.

Disclaimer! This course is aimed at anyone (seasoned performer or not) willing to compete, and it is catered to any competition:

 

1. Your Burlesque personality will emerge

I absolutely LOVE watching burlesque! You really have to become a big fan in order to succeed in competitions. The more you watch, the more you will notice who stands out on stage and WHY. You will also discover how you want to present yourself on stage. I found the idea of doing a sexy striptease absolutely terrifying when I started performing, but I learned that the more I made my audience laugh, the more confident (and sexy) I became! Thus Sugar Du Joure was born. Comedy has and always will be my strong point. See SHEEP or TOOTHPASTE burlesque for reference! Where will your strengths lie?…

 

2. It will teach you Discipline

Let’s say you want to perform a Flamingo act – there is so much more to creating a new act then purchasing a cheap pink costume online, getting a $2 boa and hitting the big time. You are going to learn that your burlesque is only as good as the effort you put into it. The strong performers are those who thoughtfully plan their acts, work on their strength, dance technique, and the art of costuming; it is a long process. Some performers who choose to compete spend years working on ONE act alone. So if you decide to enter, remember: It’s not all sparkles and feathers. You are going to have to dedicate serious time to your craft.

 

3. You will make friends for life

This is my favourite reason. I think every important person in my life knows about my burlesque, or has met me through it. You are going to meet so many amazing people! Wonderful creative people who say YES every time you tell them about a burlesque idea! They will feed your creative soul and lift you up when you doubt yourself. You need people like this around you when you decide to compete. But more importantly, I hope you get to compete against them. There is nothing better than seeing your friends succeed, or to have them scream your name when you smash it on stage. I am lucky enough to be a teacher to many of my amazing burlesque friends and there’s always room for one more!

 

4. Don’t let it break you (It ain’t about winning)

I can’t tell you how many tears there are backstage. Happy and sad. When you choose to compete, you aren’t only bearing your soul in front of an audience to be judged, but you are performing against your mates. I can’t tell you that you won’t be hurt if you don’t succeed as you hoped the first time you enter a competition. But I will tell you this: I competed for two years without winning anything. But that did not make me a loser. I was so DAMN proud of every act I brought up there. Every time I made a new act I thought it was better than the last. The competition for me was a ladder. The more I tried, the harder I worked, and even if you don’t score as high as the other girl, you are IMPROVING. To me, that makes you a winner.

 

5. Valuable constructive feedback

Competition boils down to one thing. You are going to be judged. Luckily most competitions will have a panel of distinguished burlesque connoisseurs, who have seen the best of the best and will offer you some genuine feedback. Sometimes you may be judged by your audience, in which case you will get a glimpse into the eyes of that creature you so desperately want to impress! Not all feedback is going to be positive, but its damn well going to be truthful. Turn a blind eye to what your score sheet says, and you are losing out on a valuable opportunity to learn. But remember point number four. Don’t let it break you. Take a deep breath, come get a hug from Mama Sug and keep working on it!

 

One last bit..

This course preps you for the hard work, the emotional rollercoaster, and the obstacles you may be likely to encounter on the way. If one hour isn’t enough, I am more than happy to set aside an hour or two into the studio at Lady Velvet Cabaret – just email info@ladyvelvetcabaret.com.au to make a booking. Remember there are no stupid ideas…

 

xx Sugar du Joure