Features / Festivals
‘Bristol’s burlesque scene is booming’
The Bristol Burlesque Festival returns next month with a whole host of international stars set to take the city by storm with three nights of impressive performances from the weird to the totally outrageous.
The event, which kicks off at the Queenshilling on September 3, was founded by Tuesday Laveau. Her love affair with burlesque started after moving to New Orleans at 21.
“It was an amazing time to be in New Orleans, the standard of the shows were incredible,” she tells Bristol24/7.
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The professional dancer later came back to Bristol where she helped to establish the city’s now flourishing burlesque scene after being inspired by her stint working on The Big Easy’s main strip.
Tuesday, who specialises in ‘Bump N Grind’ dancing, talks enthusiastically about her life on the stage and her commitment in bringing the tradition to Bristol.
“I’m very proud to be a part of it and I think I’ve definitely pushed parts of it. I’ve been consistently working in Bristol for ten years now,” she explains.
The Voodoo Queen of Burlesque, as she’s also known, says that the scene in Bristol is booming and has continued to increase in popularity since its early beginnings in the mid-noughties.
“The Bristol scene has gone from strength to strength. We’re known for being pretty weird, we’re kind of offbeat.”
Backing up those claims is Tuesday’s partner in crime and the Bristol Burlesque Festival co-producer Dis Charge, who describes the city’s unique interpretation as: “Queer, weird, wild and wired!”
“There’s a number of different shows that co-exist and work together to promote each other harmoniously,” he says.
“We work together to make sure our shows don’t clash and we book each other, not just because we’re friends but because we like what our fellow performers do.”
Talking about the early days of the festival, which is now in its third year, Tuesday says: “We did not feel we had the resources to do it, we were not prepared to do it but we had to do it.”
Outside of her work with the festival Tuesday teaches at the Pink Kitten Dance School in Old Market. Burlesque has become a full-time occupation, with Tuesday even quitting her office job to pursue her passion.
“I get asked about it at Christmas, generally when my family asks about it they ask about it they focus on the business side of things, I don’t think I’ve scandalised anyone.”
The Bristol Burlesque Festival takes place from September 3-5. For more information and tickets, visit www.bristolburlesquefestival.co.uk.
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