Note: This workshop occurred during August of 2007. The date for the next one has not yet been set; please check back on this site and the Coney Island sites listed below if you are interested, no other details are currently available. Dates should be made available by the end of March 2008. The next series will not be exactly the same, as the same performers are not always available to guest lecture.

For information about upcoming classes, go here and view the various classes offered before contacting me with questions.
When you email me to reserve a spot, you must tell me the date of the class in which you're interested.

Coney Island USA Presents a new addition to Sideshow School…

The Burlesque Master Class!

 

Coney Island USA is proud to announce the addition of a Burlesque Master Class to its World Renowned Sideshow School!

 

Benefit from the experience of a host of veteran burlesque performers, including two Miss Exotic Worlds, two Miss Coney Islands, and the producers of New York’s most popular burlesque show!

 

A Once-In-A-Lifetime Cavalcade of Burlesque Stars Take You Beyond Burlesque 101...

 

This Burlesque Master Class offers a uniquely educational burlesque experience. You can take it for entertainment, editification, or both!  Produced by noted burlesque teacher, performer, photographer, and web archivist Jo “Boobs” Weldon, classes will be a mix of theory and practice, perfect for both performers and fans of burlesque, fun for beginners and experts alike. The classes will focus on burlesque history, influences and resources, as well as on classic moves, routines, and skits.  Students will watch fabulous film clips, discuss burlesque resources,  and construct their own pasties. Each class begins and ends with Q&A sessions, enabling students to optimize their class experience.  All students will receive Jo’s illustrated burlesque handbook, her signature pastie-making kit, and two marabou fans, and will have the opportunity to participate in the Friday, August 25 performance of the production of Jo's “Follies Fromage” at Burlesque at the Beach.  Students will learn two complete group numbers, plus a third if they choose to participate the the Follies Fromage closing number. Attendees will leave the class knowledgeable about burlesque past and present, and in possession of a repertoire of moves suitable for performance at the “graduate level”!
All teachers and lecturers are donating their time and efforts to benefit Coney Island USA, which produces the Mermaid Parade every June.

 

Veteran Burlesque Stars will abound during the Burlesque Master Class.  Jo was named 2005’s Best Bump and Grinder at the New York Burlesque Festival, and in the month of August alone, more than two dozen of her former students will be performing in several of New York's most popular burlesque venues. Exotic World 2005 First Runner Up Torchy Taboo of Torchy's Travelling Charm School will discuss burlesque history and the finer points of costuming--and if you've ever seen her costumes, you know she's the one to listen to! Dirty Martini, Miss Exotic World 2004, will also participate, discussing and demonstrating the finer points of the arts of tassel twirling and fan dancing. Little Brooklyn and Creamy Stevens, the producers of Starshine Burlesque, will discuss the ideation and construction of creative acts. Bambi the Mermaid, Miss Coney Island 2003, and Julie Atlas Muz, Miss Coney Island 2005 and Miss Exotic World 2006, will take part in a Q and A Session of Jo’s August 27th session of Ask the Experts in the Coney Island Museum.

 

All classes will be taught in the 1917 Childs Restaurant Building on the corner of Surf Avenue and West 12th Street, home of Coney Island USA, producers of Burlesque at the Beach, the ten year old burlesque series at the forefront of the neo-Burlesque Movement.  Coney Island’s role in the history of Burlesque makes this a superb and magical atmosphere for students to hone their burlesque skills and contemplate their future in the burlesque arts

Jo “Boobs” Weldon has been working on her burlesque chops since 1978, when she first stripped as an underaged lass at the Rocky Horror Picture Show, flinging her boa about with a passion that persists to this day.  Over time, she became a commercial strip joint dancer, a headlining feature performer, and finally, a neo-burlesque star creating and producing her own events.  Now at the center of the neo-Burlesque universe, she currently writes, photographs and teaches about burlesque throughout the United States.  Her students are some of the foremost new burlesque performers in New York City.

Schedule

Coney Island USA Sideshow School Burlesque Master Class is taught in three sessions on August 8, 15 and 22 and an Ask the Experts on August 27.  Students from the Master Class will be invited to take part in the closing number at The Follies Fromage on August 25th, the world’s only cheese-themed burlesque show.

 

Session One (4 hours), August 8th, 6 to 10 PM:
History and Transformation; Striptease Expertise, including Basic Moves and Costuming, with Torchy Taboo
 
Session Two (4 hours), August 15th, 6 to 10 PM, with Dirty Martini:
Making Pasties and Twirling Tassels; The Fan Dance

Pastie-Making Kits and Marabou Fans Included

Session Three: (4 hours), August 22nd, 6 to 10 PM, with Little Brooklyn and Creamy Stevens:
Themes and Characters; Music and Props; Staging; Self-Promotion
 

Burlesque at the Beach: (two hours +) August 25, 10 PM

Jo Boobs Presents “Follies Fromage”, the World’s Only Cheese-Themed Burlesque show, presenting New York Burlesque at its Dairy Best. This year is the first time Jo is presenting an all-student version of the show. One lucky performer will be named Cheese Queen and will go on to perform in the Miss Coney Island Pageant on September 8th!


Ask the Experts (2 hours), August 27, 4 to 6 PM:
Burlesque in Coney Island, Multimedia Presentation plus Q&A with Bambi the Mermaid and Julie Atlas Muz

 

Tuition is $225. If you are applying after the series has begun, please contact info@coneyisland.com to see if prorated slots are still available. Proceeds will benefit Coney Island USA.
Click to purchase

Coney Island USA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation based in the amusement park area of the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn New York. In existence since 1983, Coney Island USA has developed and produces a number of different programs over the course of the year including some of New York City’s best loved summer programming, including the Mermaid Parade and the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. Coney Island USA also operates the Coney Island Museum and produces Ask the Experts, Burlesque at the Beach, the Coney Island Tattoo and Motorcycle Festival, Creepshow at the Freakshow, and Coney Island Sideshow School. Coney Island USA also produces the Coney Island Saturday Night Film Series and the Coney Island Film Festival in association with indiefilmpage.com.

http://www.coneyislandusa.com/about.shtml

 

Location

Coney Island USA

1208 Surf Avenue

Brooklyn, NY  11224

For more information, contact
David Gratt, Managing Director: 718 372 5159 / info@coneyisland.com

Coney Island USA website: http://www.coneyisland.com

Jo “Boobs” Weldon’s website:  http://www.gstringsforever.com

HOW TO GET TO CONEY ISLAND
Coney Island is located in the southernmost part of Brooklyn. If you are mapquesting, you can use the address 1000 Surf Avenue.
By Train:
Take the D, Q N or F train to Stillwell Avenue (last stop). This takes about 45 minutes from midtown Manhattan
By Car:
Take the Belt Parkway to exit 6. Head south on Cropsey Avenue to West 17th Street. Keyspan Park and the Parachute Jump will be in front of you on Surf Avenue. Parking is available along most streets. There are commercial parking lots on West 17th Street and West 12th Street between Mermaid and Surf, West 15th Street between the Boardwalk and Surf and on Neptune Avenue between West 12th and Stillwell Avenue.