\u201cBeing a post-partum mum, I didn\u2019t want to strip, but wanted to wear the empowering, sexy, confident costumes. We might remove an accessory like a glove or a dressing gown, but that is the maximum and that is 100% why Burlesque Beauties is so popular as it\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because it omits the stripping side, Priddle was forced to dance \u2013 something the 39-year-old with a background in theatre had never tried.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a diploma in performing arts and there are elements of movement you need to pass the diploma. Otherwise, I\u2019m not trained in any form of dance \u2013 I would get down in the clubs but that\u2019s it,\u201d laughs the former teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would refer to myself as a double-threat as I absolutely will not sing. In performing arts, if you can sing, dance and act, you\u2019re a triple-threat but no one wants to hear me sing.\u201d <\/p>\n
The idea for Burlesque Beauties derived from the movie Burlesque, of which Priddle was a huge fan. Having attended other shows, she decided to adapt her own theatrical version.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had my son Jay and took a year\u2019s maternity leave and felt quite isolated at home. I tried to think up something where I could get moving and where Jay could come along with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carly Priddle created Burlesque Beauties after the birth of her son.<\/p>\n
Along with a friend who was also a new mum, they began dancing in the garage as a hobby before they were joined by several more ladies. It soon gained traction as word spread and spiralled.<\/p>\n
What began as lonely new mums wanting to regain their confidence has become a sisterhood union where soul-fulfilling friendships have formed.<\/p>\n
The women, who travel from the likes of Dargaville, Kerikeri and one even from Auckland, partake in five-week workshops at a hall in Morningside where they learn a dance routine. <\/p>\n
Included in the workshop might be a music video or photo shoot with the majority kept behind closed doors, although there is an optional annual show.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they want to add to their bucket list \u2018performing in Whang\u0101rei\u2019s biggest theatre, then they do and 90% do. By that time, they\u2019re part of the sisterhood and they\u2019re going to have wraparound support,\u201d says Priddle, who has a fulltime job in marketing and cites Burlesque Beauties as a hobby.<\/p>\n
The Burlesque Beauties.<\/p>\n
With ages ranging from 18 (16 if accompanied by their mum) to 66, Priddle finds that the older women aren\u2019t ready to \u201cpick up the knitting needles\u201d. Her own mother even gave it a go, although it took some convincing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mum is extremely timid and quiet, and it was on my bucket list for her to try burlesque. One year she said, \u2018Right, I\u2019ll do it\u2019 and, honestly, it was a high point in my life. She\u2019s never done it again, but I\u2019ll treasure it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adds Priddle: \u201cI don\u2019t think that women harness their feminine energy enough. They\u2019re scared to because of those stigma reasons. I\u2019m saying, come harness your energy and learn how to wield it and it will change your life\u201d.<\/p>\n
Because of the stigma, Priddle, who goes by stage name CarlyKahlua, finds many women are extremely intimidated by the notion of burlesque dancing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a stigma and the common response is: \u2018Oh, so you\u2019re a stripper\u2019. Very interestingly, a lot of stigma comes from women. It\u2019s the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand. <\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of seeing it as embracing themselves, people see it as showing off. I know people think I\u2019m a show-off but I\u2019m really not.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen there\u2019s men, I will never dance at a stag\u2019s do as they just see someone moving, like that\u2019s an invitation. We perform at regular events, but we are very selective as we\u2019re mostly just doing it for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carly Priddle goes by the stage name CarlyKahlua.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, Priddle often has husbands and partners approach her after a show to thank her. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey say, \u2018It\u2019s the best, she\u2019s changed so much\u2019. Because they\u2019ve stepped into their power and that filters home and that\u2019s flippin\u2019 cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Son Jay, 13, has always been her sidekick at classes and Priddle believes it has ingrained a respect for women.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the best things for me is to show Jay a healthy representation of women. I\u2019m really excited for him to become a man and be really respectful of women. <\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I\u2019m not just a mum with rose-coloured glasses, he is special because he\u2019s been raised in that environment. He will tell a 60-plus woman she looks beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sass Squad are currently working on a cowgirl hoedown routine, stemming from former non-dancer Priddle attending hoedown events at Poroti Tavern.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find them so much fun, so what we\u2019re working on is an infusion of burlesque and line dancing. I once infused belly dancing too. I absolutely love dancing now and cannot imagine my life without it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel incredibly honoured to be a part of so many incredible women\u2019s journeys towards self-love, confidence and sass. I create the platform, but my dancers definitely make the magic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toyah, aka, Madame Satine.<\/p>\n
A reluctant Toyah Olson was dragged along to watch a burlesque class by her sister in 2018 and was blown away.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister was the dancer in the family, and I went along with the intention of bonding with my sister. I went along to watch two classes at first and I was thinking, \u2018Oh my gosh, I could never do this\u2019, but I was also so impressed with everyone. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure what I was expecting but I was not expecting there to be so many different women of all ages and sizes and watching them all moving in unison was just stunning to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her sister eventually wore her down and Olson signed up to her first workshop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a big girl and I was very, very self-conscious of my size and when I observed, I thought, \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t think I can get this big body to move like that but, to my surprise, I could and then there was this eureka moment and that was ground-breaking for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After that workshop, the single mum to a now 15-year-old son set herself a goal for 2019 to partake in all the workshops, followed by the end-of-year show. <\/p>\n
Since then, the 37-year-old nurse has only missed one workshop due to illness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat first show I did, I was so, so nervous and so focused on doing the right moves and getting the timing right but I\u2019m not nervous now, I\u2019m excited and I have this massive grin on my face because you just transform into your stage persona I guess,\u201d says Olson, who goes by the stage name \u201cMadame Satine\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found a community that was incredibly supportive. It helps you change the narrative about yourself, and I found a confidence that I didn\u2019t know I had.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been the chubby girl, and I had never felt comfortable in my own skin, but I actually felt good in my body for the first time ever and a lot of that comes from the girls. It\u2019s definitely been a massive confidence booster for me but the biggest thing I take away is the friendships.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarly has created this beautiful community where I\u2019ve never heard a negative word spoken. It\u2019s very much that we straighten each other\u2019s crowns and that is just a wonderful feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cBeing a post-partum mum, I didn\u2019t want to strip, but wanted to wear the empowering, sexy, confident costumes.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1443,141840,31467,171990,171991,171994,5972,6435,171995,171993,156,221,24176,7575,1019,31466,111,139,1067,69,171992,17213,1961,102,2248,2834,4576],"class_list":{"0":"post-317481","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-about","9":"tag-beauties","10":"tag-bryant","11":"tag-burlesque","12":"tag-carly","13":"tag-carlykahlua","14":"tag-day","15":"tag-does","16":"tag-empowering","17":"tag-empowers","18":"tag-entertainment","19":"tag-how","20":"tag-hundreds","21":"tag-inspirational","22":"tag-international","23":"tag-jodi","24":"tag-new-zealand","25":"tag-newzealand","26":"tag-northland","27":"tag-nz","28":"tag-priddle","29":"tag-speaks","30":"tag-this","31":"tag-with","32":"tag-women","33":"tag-womens","34":"tag-work"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}