It's not Burlesque if...
It’s not Burlesque if you don’t use the two basic accessories – feather boa and long satin gloves.
BOAS
Feather boas are essential features that all performers use in their classic acts and that, along with the music, make you understand that what you are seeing is Burlesque.
One can easily find feather boas, available in almost all colors, online or in any shop of costumes and accessories for Carnival or Halloween.
These usually are cheap but most of the time of poor quality, so they will start losing feathers everywhere and you will soon find yourselves with a very skinny boa… But they are ok for beginners students and for performers to rehearse. And the advantage of these low-cost products is that one can buy a new one when needed, or can unite two of them together to make them thicker, also combining different colors.
Professional performers, instead, for their acts use high quality boas which of course are very expensive. There are many options available online, with prices starting from 80-100€ and up to 300-400 €, but you can never be sure of the quality and if you have to pay any import duty, so it is advisable to buy from one of the several tailors and artists who hand-craft such boas, and who are well-known in the business.
During the beginners’ classes students will be taught many routines and ways to work a boa. It is a very seductive part of the act and, more than a very useful tool, one of the stars of the performance!
GLOVES
Satin gloves are a must, too. Sometimes they can also be of lace.
They may be short gloves, if the act requires so, but the long ones are the most classical and the most used.
They are available in many different colors, and usually are chosen to match with the boa. Often they are decorated with sequins, rhinestones and glitters. Performers sometimes like to customize (or get customized by their tailors) their gloves to combine them with the rest of the outfit.
Gloves as well make the performance very sensual and seductive, and can be removed in different ways. Beginner students will be surprised by the number of routines that they will be taught, and students from the advanced levels will enjoy in discovering and –who knows?- maybe creating new ones!
