Recent Developments...

Went to see "Burlesque Undressed" at The Phoenix recently. It is the latest to join the growing collection of documentaries on Burlesque out there. I think it was definitely worth seeing, though I am slightly critical of it's approach and the message of utter glamour it gives off. Come on, inscence sticks and champagne before a show?....Last thing I remembered, the lead up to a show involves running around in a mad frenzy trying to find that damn double sided sticky tape for sticking your tassels on with, while trying to rip the velcro rollers out of your hair!

I found also, that the interview clips with Immodesty Blaize were a little too rehearsed and lost that "documentary" feel of honesty and gut reaction answers.


The film is now available on Amazon too:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Immodesty-Blaize-Presents-Burlesque-Undressed/dp/B002YT7W2E

Not long after this I shot some photographs at Redeemer, the local metal nightclub, which was hosting a show put together by some "collegues" of mine. I wasn't taking part this time, but I thought it would be a nice opportunity to start gathering some images together.

The nature of these shows often leaves the girls changing in corridoors or stairwells and this event was no exception. It's this one factor really that provoked my reaction to Burlesque Undressed because unless you have Immodesty or Dita's money, there's no pre show champagne, it's the odd free Rum and Coke if you're lucky!

Anyway, I tried to get this across through these photos, which yes... possibly challenge people's assumptions of what burlesque is about.

This last image is one of my favourites, maybe because it is so ambiguous... but for me, it really captures one of the feelings of the backstage experience, of the cold gritty floor under your feet.. which at that point really doesn't matter because the sheer adrenaline you get before a show is the only thing you can feel.

The final thing I have to blog about is about where I'm taking this whole thing. On one of my many recent visits to the Phoenix Square, I went to see Tom Ford's A Single Man, which was the most visually stunning film I've seen for a long time. Beautiful use of colour, sound, close ups... really an amazing film.