Classes, Workshops, & Hiring Ada
Bring Ada to your event, organization, or institution! Promoting inclusion of all body types, gender expressions, and ages, my workshops and performances are perfect for celebrations (hello, birthday party!), but also for institutions like gender studies departments, body-awareness organizations, and other entities promoting positive body image. I am currently based in the Bay Area of California, but am available for travel.
Whether for a performance of burlesque, samba, or body-positive solo theatre, or for teaching a Body Revel burlesque workshop, contact me for a free quote at: ada@adalavender.com.
About my “Body Revel” body-awareness burlesque workshops:
What is burlesque? Burlesque has long, storied history in the U.S., dating back to the 1860s. When contemporary or “neo” burlesque surfaced in the 1990s, it began transforming into what it is today. Burlesque is a place where the performer is in control of communicating her or his sensuality or comedy or political statement or message to the audience. Burlesque is a powerful – and empowering – conversation between the performer and the audience.
Is burlesque stripping? In a word, yes. While traditional burlesque and contemporary stripping may be cousins, they are different experiences with different goals in mind. Burlesque is about the tease, not necessarily about showing skin. In traditional burlesque, the performer strips down to pasties (which cover the nipples) and panties. But a burlesque routine doesn’t necessarily show that much skin; I’ve both performed and seen numbers where the performer strips down only to a bra and panties, or even just removed a pair of gloves! So do performers take off clothing? Yes. But who gets to decide how much? The performer. Period.
Do I have to strip in class? No; there is no nudity in my group workshops. Wear regular workout clothes (form-fitting is best). Anything we remove in the workshop will be worn over your street clothes. I will bring some items to play with; you’ll be instructed if you need to bring anything else.
Why should I do this? View this as you might view any other dance class: We’ll be isolating movements and learning choreography. You’ll work on style and grace in your movements. In my experience, a benefit to burlesque is that it’s great at boosting body self-confidence. Burlesque embraces the beauty in all sizes and ages. I’ve seen people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and gender expressions perform burlesque…whatever your body type, it’s perfect for burlesque. Trust me!
What else? Body Revel classes (can) also include the all-important step of self-reflection through light journaling. What good is spending time loving your body if it doesn’t stick? In this safe space, we’ll share some of these revelations in class, but participants are never pressured to share their reflections.
