Black Orchid Burlesque & The Art Of Tease

Burlesque is built on a wink and a smile. It’s the art of theatrical tease, a vintage form of erotic and ironic cabaret, where the emphasis is not on revealing but on concealing skin, while still feeding the audience titbits of fantasy-invoking bare curves. It’s the rare space where a woman can be sexy and funny at the same time, because the most beautiful curve on a woman’s body is her smile. 

I'm at the Obs Theatre in Cape Town. It’s 8pm and the show is about to start. I sit in the second row. Audience participation is expected at this type of thing, and I’m shy. Diva-Disa Star, one of the sexy geniuses behind Black Orchid Burlesque, takes to the stage. She takes off one pair of gloves and there’s another pair underneath. She keeps going and going and it’s spectacular. Her moves are fluid, sensual and effortlessly undulating, and we’re all in suspense.

           
HURLY BURLY: Star, a glamorous and petite Burlesque dancer. What is this lady  like this like at home? She told us she has 5 cats. Sounds very homely. And she says they love nestling in her wardrobes amongst all the soft fabrics of all her beautiful burlesque outfits.

Diva-Disa Star and her ex business partner Scar-Lit Hearts began teasing the city of Cape Town nearly four years ago when they started Black Orchid Burlesque, at a time when noone else in the country was doing Burlesque. The troupe follow the neo Burlesque genre: the vintage glamour of the femme fatales of the past mixed with a little bit of rockabilly cool. Boylesque, a movement big in the UK, is now done by Black Orchid as well. It’s an amalgamation of body-building poses and cabaret dance mixed into the art of Burlesque, and it’s gaining popularity in South Africa. 
The show ends on an amazing high with Boylesque queen Jessy  Jester. With his dark magnetism and otherworldly grace he’s like some kind of sexy space alien come to earth. Fluttering his impossibly long eyelashes, like giant butterflies resting on his cheeks, he slowly unzips his corset. Midway through he changes his mind, sliding the zip back up teasingly. The audience shivers with antici...pation. 

Standing by the bar after the show I ask Star about the Black Orchid creative process. “How do we conceptualise a show? It’s about the characters. Each artiste is different, and each character is distinctive and unique.” She pauses to take a sip of her drink, leaving a little bit of burlesque behind on the glass. “These are developed over time and are very personal to each of the performers who are influenced by various aspects of their own lives too. One of Jessy’s alter egos, for example, is a Japanese anime type person and one of the costumes he wears for that is covered entirely in toys...We try to always keep our audiences amazed and interested, so we tend to push the boundaries wherever we can.” 

                       
CLOWNING AROUND: Jessy (left) and Star (right), from the Black Orchid Burlesque troupe, photographed at one of Cape Town’s great entertainment venues, Vaudeville. The pair run workshops on Saturdays at the venue teaching wannabe Burlesquers.

Jessy stresses that the art form of Burlesque “comes from the ladies.” I ask him how he got involved. “When I met Star, who had her company already up and running, she said to me
she was starting up a Boylesque troupe. Having a love of all things out-of-the-ordinary (not forgetting the glitter - what is a performer without sparkle?!), I jumped at the opportunity and haven’t looked back since. Also, having the title of the first Boylesque performer in South Africa gives me some bragging rights!”        

                 

Aside from creating and executing their own performances, The Black Orchid Burlesque Academy aims to teach more women out there that it’s okay to enjoy their sensuality and celebrate their femininity. “The women who join my workshops are self-empowered and confident, and not all of them started out that way,” Star says with passion. “All sorts of people join my classes: school teachers,  secretaries, charity workers, students. We even have a 72-year-old tannie in the mix,” she exclaims, smiling, as she uses the word descriptively in Afrikaans. “Not one of these women would ever be ashamed to call themselves a Burlesque artiste,” she continues, “because what we do is classic and tasteful. It’s not all about gyrating hips and bare breasts. It’s up to the performer how much they want  to reveal. Some of my shyer students never perform live – they just do it for their own selfgratification, though we do organise a photo shoot of final performances so that they can hold on to the memories.”

STRIKE A POSE: Jessy in fool regalia

The people who join Black Orchid Burlesque do so because they love the art form, not to make a quick buck. “We all spend far more on dazzling costumes than we ever make from shows, but every now and then we’re lucky enough to get a big gig,” says Star. They do have several sponsors on board though, like Sailor Jerry Rum, Affinage Hair Products and Wildfire Tattoos. “The best thing is being able to perform around the country at several festivals and events. The greatest feeling is walking off stage after a big show and knowing you thoroughly entertained your audience for those few minutes.”

She offers advice to aspiring Burlesquers: “Burlesque is more focused on costumes and personas than the actual people themselves, so I believe that if you have a natural attraction to the more dramatic arts it will help you to be a better performer. Some of my performers have no dance background, but make fantastic Burlesquers. Just remember to keep it classy and you can’t go wrong!” 
With a wink and a smile I’ll end with a quote from Burlesque great Dita Von Teese: “Burlesque stars are made, not born.” In other words, you can dance Burlesque too. 
For more information on upcoming shows, workshops or to book Black Orchid for an event contact Fox on: info@blackorchidburlesque.com
Photos courtesy of Karl Lilje
Published on Hy-Se-Sy-Se