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Frequently hailed as ‘the Queen of British Burlesque’, 25-year-old Kittie Klaw is at the forefront of the international burlesque renaissance. She is a founder of the Ministry of Burlesque which this month presents High Tease in Glasgow. She tells her story
he Kittie Klaw story is rather strange.
While studying at Glasgow and Iidinburgh
Universities as a psychologist specialising in parapsychology I accidentally becatne one of the highest—earning and tnost sought after burlesque attistes in the world.
My career has taken me from the sun baked beaches of Jamaica through to the ice-cold. vodka—fuelled clubs of Moscow. As the public demand for burlesque has increased in the last few years. the media interest has soared. I‘ve just finished filming with ITV on the reality show WAGS Boutique and work with a diverse range of clients frotn the BBC and Channel 4 to drinks companies and fashion events. I‘ve shared stages with the likes of Ms Dynamite. Embrace and Texas and performed for Bryan Ferry. Tracey
14 THE LIST i? Q“) Apt 2007
Iimin. Callum Best and Stephen Webster as well as the aristocracy and a host of foreign dignitaries.
Burlesque started out as a student hobby and took over my life. Disappointed in what pop
culture had to offer I set tip the Ministry of
Burlesque (MoB) six years ago in Glasgow. In 200-1. my academic mentor died and I decided then to completely quit my life in the lab. I moved to London to embark on global domination in a pair of seven inch heels and a l9 inch corset. Now MoB is firmly established in London too. operating as a full time event production and talent management business.
In Scotland there are plenty of reminders of
burlesque history. Glaswegians should be especially proud of their burlesque heritage — the city still has the glorious Britannia Panopticon
Music Hall which. at l5() years young. is the UK‘s oldest surviving Victorian music hall. It hosted many burlesquers in its time but is now sadly in need of restoration. which is a project we at MoB are heavily involved in. ()n 22 April. MoB are putting on a specially inspired High Tease revue to raise funds for the restoration. The night features a host of acts based on the Victorian and Edwardian music hall spanning the 1850s to the l‘)3()s.
The recent surge of interest in all things burlesque has seen every club promoter. artist. fashion designer and performer jumping on the burlesque bandwagon giving rise to a variety of misconceptions. But the real sex appeal of burlesque theatre lies in its juxtaposition of bawdiness and subtlety.
Burlesque plays on the fact that clever people are sexy. The skill of a title burlesque performer lies in wit and suggestion. the saucy wink and knowing smile — not in the actual removal of clothes.
There are many reasons why the burlesque scene has become so popular. People are more affluent today than ever before and are opting for live entertainment over the predictable and over- priced culture of bars and discos. Burlesque entertainment has an intimate. interactive feel and it allows audiences to feel theatrical and sexy themselves.
THE SKILL OF A BURLESOUE PERFORMER LIES IN WIT AND SUGGESTION - NOT IN THE ACTUAL REMOVAL OF CLOTHES