If I consider something my success in burlesque, it is that I have lasted so long in it. I still enjoy the contact with the audience and the socialization around the show; I am very extroverted, so I always enjoy chatting backstage with my colleagues, with the audience over a drink after the show, and also the international friendships I have made with great people from all over the world thanks to burlesque. Then you meet them repeatedly in different parts of the world, and with excitement, you wait to see what mix of people each show will bring. Currently, I enjoy hosting and teaching even more than performing, and I am focusing more on production, but I still love traveling for performances, especially abroad, or performing at corporate events. Traveling with burlesque is also fun for me; it’s just the packing and unpacking that is tiring.
Czech burlesque has certainly grown; when I started, there were only about 5 or 6 dancers in the Czech Republic. The audience has also changed, mainly in that it is now experienced and knows burlesque, recognizes quality, and expects it. Even though burlesque is still niche entertainment, more people know what it is, even if they haven’t been to a show yet. Burlesque is generally much better known in the Czech Republic than it used to be, thanks in part to us. And we have many great artistic talents here. Even in this year's collection of applications for my festival, there were many great new artists from the Czech Republic, which we connect with foreign ones, thus building the local scene.
When someone mentions burlesque, some think of beautiful costumes, while others simply think of stripping. But what does the audience not see on stage during those few minutes? How much work is actually hidden behind a single performance?
Each act is the result of months and years of work if we are talking about a professional level of performance. The design and production of a costume take a long time and financially involve thousands of crowns, and for many costumes, rather hundreds of thousands. Especially props like luxurious boas, fans, and glasses cost a lot of money. Selecting and tuning the music and its editing is also a long process, as is creating the concept of the performance and its choreography. Sometimes an act starts with a specific piece of music that inspires us, and then additional elements are added; other times, it’s more of a visual idea, colors and aesthetics, the style of the act, sometimes the concept and character lead, and everything else follows. For all these elements, we are mostly on our own, so we have to be multi-talented. And even if we find other creative people to help with some parts of this artistic process, the collaborative creation is still a unique creative process. Plus, of course, today a significant part of the work, which many people, including me, sometimes don’t love at all, consists of our personal marketing and presentation on social media and elsewhere, photography, texts, portfolios for producers, and complex administration. This part is then essential for production work.
Burlesque works with nudity, seduction, and female sexuality. Doesn’t that go against contemporary feminism? Do you also face criticism from women that burlesque performers "sell" the female body and in doing so support the stereotypes that feminism fights against?
I don’t encounter this much because the women who find us, both in the audience and in courses, intuitively or consciously feel that modern burlesque is very feminist. But it’s a different new feminism, my favorite fifth wave, which I call feminine feminism, female feminism. This wave clearly supports modern gender roles, in work, parenting, access to property, and rights that feminism has so far achieved, and there is still room for improvement.
But at the same time, it helps women reconnect with their femininity, gentleness, emotions, and sexuality, with their bodies because our biological givens remain unchanged. This is most evident in sexuality and relationships, where the fourth wave of feminism sometimes fails, and women burn out from constantly performing, which does not serve them, especially in romantic relationships and sex, where polarity is needed.
A modern woman should have firm boundaries and standards, but at the same time, she should be in touch with her vulnerability and heart, emotions that manifest, among other things, through her body and her relationship with it. And I dare say that even the men who come to us are those who have already moved into modern times, but at the same time, they are happy to be old-fashioned gentlemen and still know how to date and communicate with women. Many buy tickets to shows, courses, or pin-up photoshoots for their partners as gifts. These gifts are successful, and they feel that such an investment in her self-esteem pays off in strengthening their partnership. They often come to us for advice on how to help their partner feel better about herself.
Interestingly, a large part of the audience at burlesque shows is made up of women. Why do you think women enjoy watching other women strip on stage? Is it eroticism, admiration, inspiration, or perhaps a certain feeling of freedom?
Yes, this can sometimes surprise those unfamiliar with burlesque, but it is clear evidence that burlesque offers women something they lack elsewhere, which is why it is so popular. Women and audiences, in general, see themselves through the performer’s eyes and admiration, as they might feel towards themselves if they didn’t have long-term programs in their heads from their surroundings and society that limit, suppress, correct, and diminish them, whether in sexuality, courage, or self-esteem. And therein lies a tremendous freedom. This is the highest form of unblocking patriarchal patterns and, in our region, the legacy of communism, which wanted to unify everything and everyone, and in the case of patriarchy, clearly preferred the needs and desires of men over women. It is time to balance this back and there is no need to hate men or have a suspicious approach towards them. Many artistic forms, including film, have been created for the so-called male gaze, the male perspective of desire and objectification, but burlesque is for the female gaze, and that is very modern and contemporary, and therein lies its current popularity.
Is there an age when a woman "shouldn't" strip or want to be sexy anymore? In burlesque, women in their forties or fifties often perform. Is burlesque in this respect freer than the society around us?
Burlesque and its subcategory cabaret, both of which are old theatrical forms with at least a 100-year history, have always had a specific role in society, which is to push its boundaries, liberate it, provide a safe environment for variability and difference, uniqueness, and to break taboos. I believe that age restrictions do not exist, and our shows are proof of that; we regularly have performers over 50 years old, and there are more of them. And mainly, many people over 60 come to us regularly. For example, we have a fan in Brno, Mr. Jaroslav, who has not missed a festival for about 4 years and is over 80 years old. People often come with their older parents or grandparents, with adult grandchildren. This is our favorite group of audience members, a kind of intergenerational date. They give each other tickets to our shows as gifts. Even my grandmother, at 85 years old, attended our performance and enjoyed it very much. We are proof that it is never too late to have fun, discover new perspectives, or find a new hobby. We believe that age should never be a limitation, just like body shape.
You also lead burlesque courses for women who don’t necessarily have ambitions to perform publicly. What do they most often come to you with? And what would you say to a woman who would like to take a course but immediately thinks: "I don’t have the body, age, or enough self-confidence"?
If we have similar limits in our heads, sometimes it is enough to insert my favorite magic word YET at the end of those sentences to realize that how we feel now may not be the same tomorrow, next month, or in half a year. Change and development are possible, and burlesque helps with that, even though it is not therapy.
I myself initially led courses aimed at performing because I started teaching 10 years ago when it was more relevant to expand and build the scene. Many girls who are now professionally active on the scene learned from me, and their first performances were at my shows. I still believe that due to my international experience, I am the best instructor for those ladies or performers who feel the desire to perform, and I can best help them create internationally successful professional acts.
But I teach all women, and how they choose to proceed with burlesque is up to them. In any case, it gives them an experience of tuning into themselves and their bodies and changes their perspective on some limitations they may feel in their heads; it often unblocks them and gives them permission to feel as confident as we do on stage. And often, they find long-term new friends in the classes. It is a safe, supportive environment, so don’t be afraid to give it a try.
Can female confidence even be learned? Have you experienced a woman in your courses who underwent a significant transformation in how she perceived herself and her body?
It is beautiful that almost every woman experiences this in burlesque courses, and it is amazing to watch and actively be a helper and catalyst. Although it is true that many women who seek out or find a burlesque course already have a seed of wanting some change planted; they are looking for opportunities for self-development and feel the need to work on their self-esteem and improve their relationship with their body; they want to reconnect more with their femininity. That is why I would like to create courses on self-esteem that will not be burlesque courses for those who are perhaps less far along in that journey and might not dare to take the course yet, but any work of this kind would help them immensely.
Self-esteem is definitely a skill like many others and can be cultivated and learned. It is a superpower that protects you and brings many benefits to all areas of life. A healthy relationship with your body without hatred and excessive criticism is essential for this, and it doesn’t always have to be extreme body positivity, self-love; neutrality is completely sufficient. Experiences and connections with the body are especially crucial for women to feel their femininity and emotions, which are experienced in the body, so they are not hardened and burned out, disconnected from themselves and their deep experiences.
Burlesque also involves striking fashion and pin-up aesthetics. What do you love about this style, and where do you find inspiration for your costumes? Can anything from the pin-up style be transferred to the everyday wardrobe of a woman who isn’t planning to go to work in a corset and garters?
Pin-up fashion and style function in burlesque independently and are only slightly related in that they both fall into the same retro period from the 1920s to the 1960s, which was also the golden age of burlesque. Pin-up, named after the pictures of beauties that soldiers pinned up in planes during the war, is very transferable to everyday life; it is a style that is very feminine and suits really every body shape from XS to XXXL. In the Czech Republic and abroad, there is a large community of women who wear this fashion as their everyday look, even to offices and work, and combine real vintage pieces that have survived from the past with reproductions from modern companies that sew clothing according to old cuts and styles today from more modern materials and in a wide range of sizes that vintage pieces usually do not offer. It is a huge global fashion market and trend.
Burlesque is similar in that it loves extreme, very elegant retro styling, extravagant and glamorous, which was more common in everyday fashion in the past than it is today. I believe that it is good to cultivate dressing back to the standards of the past and not to support the decline of taste and elegance by thinking it’s okay to wear jeans to the theater or go to school and work in sweatpants and other sportswear.
Every woman can easily buy a dress with a wide skirt in beautiful patterns and colors and thus emphasize her femininity. If she buys a truly functional suspender belt and stockings, they are very wearable. A corset is a bit more special, but seeing women in a corset and other glam and retro pieces for the first time is magical.
I have loved pin-up for a long time and wear it occasionally to events and evening occasions almost always. I have a huge fashion collection at home of many unique pieces from all over the world, both vintage and reproductions. At burlesque events for hosting and for thank-yous and at evening shows where I might not perform, I use many large evening dresses and have striking sparkling accessories, boas, fur stoles, and hats.
On my Instagram profile Angelica G. L’Amour, I will soon start video blogs about this style, and my company Bohemian Burlesque is also taking over the Miss Pinup Czech Republic competition. So next year, you can look forward to a separate event connected with this style and many styling tips, inspiration, and beautiful pin-up photos from me.
My personal costume style for performances is always maximally glam, and I draw inspiration from films, which have been my long-time love (I studied film science), visual art, and other artistic forms such as drag and dance. I also love history and its fashion, which continues to inspire me.
A part of the Bohemian Burlesque Festival is also the Pin-up Market. What can women discover there? Is it a place just for pin-up and burlesque lovers, or can a woman who is completely unacquainted with this world also find something for herself?
The market is an ideal opportunity to try out the pin-up style, and you can have your hair and makeup done appropriately and acquire various interesting pieces. We also have a smaller pin-up contest and several shows. At the market, you will also experience many burlesque performances from newer dancers from all over the world, making it a great opportunity to see burlesque perhaps for the first time for a smaller entry fee as part of a daytime event. There will also be traditional discussions about body image and self-esteem and a debate with our guests from foreign burlesque stars. And maybe a magician will come...
This year, you are hosting the 10th anniversary edition of the Bohemian Burlesque Festival, which attracts artists from various corners of the world. When you think back to the first year and look at the festival today, did you ever think about how far it could go? And what are you personally looking forward to the most this year?
Yes, the event has grown to unexpected dimensions; this year, for this anniversary, we have a record number of over 100 performers from 20 countries. However, the structure of the event has remained the same since the beginning; we only added a very successful Ostrava event on Wednesday three years ago, then there is the traditional Thursday in my hometown Brno, and Friday and Saturday in Prague, with two events on Saturday: the daytime Bohemian Market and the evening Bohemian Queen Night, the competitive conclusion of the festival.
We are currently preparing retrospective videos about the history of the festival for our audience, so follow us and see what we have behind and ahead of us this year. When I see this long history, I am truly proud of the event, and it moves me to see the videos; it is my child and pride, a love project.
As far as I know, no other festival in Europe, besides the Australian one, has such a touring structure in up to three cities and five events; in terms of the number of events and performers, we are one of the largest festivals in Europe. And we have a prestigious reputation for high-quality venues, technical support, headliners, and the selection of performers. This year, I am personally looking forward to the anniversary celebration, to our European guests from France, and also to the main star Medianoche, who is from the USA but originally from Spain. We are a very proud European festival and primarily support European burlesque and its connections with the best Czech talents.
After fifteen years of performing, you have certainly experienced moments when everything on stage did not go according to plan. Will you share your biggest burlesque blunder or accident that perhaps wasn’t funny at the time but is now?
Beautiful question; there are countless such moments, and the experiences of things going wrong could fill a book. It always becomes a funny story afterward; there’s no need to take live shows too seriously; unexpected moments and improvisation are part of it. Once, for example, I got blood on my costume from a brooch that fell into my corset and scratched me, and I couldn’t even find out where it was from. At a private event, instead of my music, they played a completely random electronic track that was about 7 minutes long, and I just had to improvise with fans.
It also often happens that someone forgets something, which is easy because each costume has about 15 to 20 parts, and all are important. I once forced a Flixbus driver to stop on the outskirts of Prague so I could go back for my famous fully sequined bra while traveling to Munich for a festival. The next year, a bee stung me in the park before my performance, and I had to manage the show with large fans even with a completely swollen hand. Or my suitcase was lost in Chicago, and then they found it, but it was broken, and my things, including my white angel costume, were returned to me dirty in a trash bag. To this day, I consider it a miracle that I managed to wash those black stains out in a small motel sink.
