On Thursday, 19 January, Olomouc will have its premiere - burlesque performed by the Blue Burlesque Show. We interviewed one of the performers, a burlesque artist and producer of the whole performance, who performs under the name Zorya Blue. How did she get into burlesque, what's the biggest embarrassment she's experienced while performing burlesque, and does she tend to get nervous when performing? She answered all that and more for us a week before her performance at the Telegraph.
ZORYA BLUE
Since burlesque will be premiering in the Telegraph, wouldn't you like to give us and our visitors a closer look at the genre? What is burlesque? And what is it as performed by the artist Zorya Blue?
I could talk for an hour about what burlesque is and what it isn't (laughs). In a nutshell, it's performance art that uses elements of striptease. Burlesque can simply be entertainment, but it can also be poetic, serious, comic or activist. My burlesque is full of charisma, energy and female empowerment. Interestingly, the overwhelming majority of people who come to burlesque shows are women, and I know from experience that this surprises people.
What's the show that's coming to the Telegraph on January 19 going to be about?
I've invited two great performers - Nonna Kareva from Brno, who is starting the Brno burlesque community, and Rocky Růž, who is coming to Olomouc from Bratislava. What we all have in common - we present strong female characters on stage and we are not afraid of the topic of feminism. There will be numbers that are more poetic and gentle, but also a protest feminist number.
Is burlesque more of a show, an art, or is it about something else as well? You yourself also organize seminars. With what motivation do the participants of your courses come to you?
It is everything you want it to be. I enjoy the freedom and creativity in burlesque. Coincidentally, yesterday I started another edition of a burlesque course for more advanced students. At the beginning, I asked what they liked about burlesque. And believe me, every answer was different. Some like the creativity, the spontaneity, the freedom of movement and for others it's stepping out of their comfort zone and challenging themselves. Someone else wants to connect with their own body or be part of a great burlesque community that is inclusive and non-judgmental. The most common feedback after workshops and courses is - I feel better in my own body, I feel confident. I love it, it makes me feel like my work is meaningful.
I do workshops in Olomouc too - even the day after the show - on January 20 at 6 pm there is an open class.
Burlesque for a living, how did you originally get into your current profession?
I have been doing burlesque for several years. First it was a hobby, then an after-work job, and since August I've been doing mostly that and enjoying it immensely. I used to work at Heroine for almost a year, and after the end of the project there was a moment when I said - now is the moment to pursue burlesque full time. I'm happy how well it's all taking off.
You also do a podcast, Coming Up! which focuses on sex and intimacy. How much do these topics relate to burlesque and how, for example, is burlesque different from stripping, if in any way?
I'm not sure if they are related to burlesque, although they certainly can be. I guess they're more related to my curiosity, because podcasts are conversations with candor. I'm convinced that the topic of sex and intimacy is of interest to a lot of people, but there are a lot of things we don't talk about at all or just whisper about.
When it comes to stripping - burlesque is and isn't stripping. It depends on how we define stripping. The etymology of the word striptease is strip meaning to undress, take off one's clothes and tease, then seduce. It's not about the fact that you're taking something off at all, but how you do it, so striptease is basically a synonym for burlesque. But when it comes to stripping in gogo clubs, burlesque is a little different from that.
Do you get nervous before a performance? And have you ever been embarrassed during a performance? How did you cope?
I used to be very nervous, because I had no previous experience of performing and performing. After dozens of shows, that nervousness is gone, or it is, but it's the healthy kind that motivates and energizes you. Sometimes I also get stressed before a show I'm producing - if something goes wrong. Embarrassment happens to everyone. Most of the time, if there's a problem, I make it up that it was meant to be, or I make a joke out of it. And people like that - they're going to a live show, after all. Probably the biggest embarrassment was once when the zipper on my dress got stuck and I couldn't get it off even with the help of the audience. So I had a corset from the waist up and a dress from the waist down. There was nothing I could do, so I took the fans and improvised. And the audience was incredibly supportive.
Is burlesque purely a women's thing, or do men perform in it as well?
Mostly women perform, but there are also men, trans women and non-binary people.
Is burlesque for feminists?
I am a feminist, so definitely. As I mentioned, it's mostly women who go to the show, so burlesque has some magic to it, something they need, something they like. Burlesque is very much about body positivity. I'm not a sex object on stage, but I'm the one who makes all the rules. Even female nudity doesn't always have to be sexualized, it can just be the body. Another thing - burlesque classes or workshops boost self-confidence, girls feel more comfortable in their bodies, they work with what they have, the body they have and not the one they "should" have in a society that has absurd demands on women's appearance and determines the quality of a woman mainly by her looks. And if a woman feels better, is more confident, can do more in her life. This is the empowering that I love.
What do you think women who want to change their perception of their bodies, and themselves in general, should start with?
Come to a workshop :)
What has burlesque given you and what has it taken away?
It gave me a lot. Confidence, great energy and feedback from the audience. Creativity. Lots of great creative and supportive friends. A little bit of stress. It definitely took away something of a work life balance, but cest la vie.
You're making your first appearance at the Telegraph as part of your trademark Blue Burlesque Show. Where do you plan to take the brand next?
I'm planning more regular bar shows in Prague and Pilsen, and then a bigger show that will travel around the country. 2023 is going to be awesome!
Tickets for the evening show can be purchased directly from our website here.
By Kvido Lotrek
