Fast confession – burlesque dancer Miss Cool Cat: This is what a show full of pleasure and luxury looks like

Tereza, let's go back to the very beginning, how did you become a burlesque dancer?

About nine years ago, I was dating a man who produced these burlesque shows. On the first date, however, he was ashamed to tell me what his job was. He was afraid that I would take it the wrong way. But I was absolutely fascinated. I started taking pictures of these shows as a photographer, which was my job at that time. And then one of the dancers dropped out and suddenly, I found myself standing on stage.

Wait, but you've got to have at least some experience to do that.

I was a side dancer who simply stood there, posing, which wasn’t a problem for me. The costumes were borrowed from Barrandov studios. It was a baptism of fire. But I fell in love with that feeling when you're standing on stage. From that moment on, my partner couldn’t get me to come off. He didn’t want me to dance, but he didn’t manage to persuade me. I felt like it was something I needed to do, I had to continue. (laughter)

How long did it take before you could make a living as a burlesque dancer?

At that time there were very few burlesque dancers, so it was quite quick. After about half a year I had my first performance. I had to do some training first, I sewed two costumes for myself. The first performances were extremely demanding for me. I don’t even remember them much, it was stressful.

Prodej luxusní vily, Praha 6 - Nebušice – 312, Praha 6

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People think it’s not very difficult, a lot of women write to me after performances asking how they can become burlesque dancers. I also thought at first that it would be a breeze, but it’s not. You understand once you’re standing on stage. I had to start lifting weights to have better stability, I started training on high heels, making up the whole storyline of the performance, sewing my costumes, choosing the right music. In addition, there is constant training.

I recently talked to the crowned queen of burlesque dancers, Medianoche, who performed here at the Prague Burlesque Festival that we organized. She moves so gracefully on stage, almost as if she’s levitating, and it’s about constantly improving, about continuous training.

I understand that five minutes on stage are demanding. But I have a question. The burlesque dancer has a beautiful costume from which she slowly undresses until she is wearing only panties and those pads covering her nipples (pasties) and then she starts swinging her breasts really fast. Doesn’t that hurt?

(laughs) Not really. People like it, it's a culmination of the performance, but it doesn’t hurt...you can learn it. I happen to teach this, because it is possible to swing the pasties in about six different ways. Of course, if you do it nonstop for an hour, it hurts, but for a few moments? No. In addition, you won’t be able to swing the first time around, you really have to train.

You can learn it, can you? I can’t imagine swinging my E cups. (laughter)

I think you would be great at it. It's about the movement of the shoulders and men are good at it too, so it's clear that size doesn’t play a role.

I'd be afraid that my breasts would start to sag faster.

Jesus, no! It doesn’t happen after such a short while, but you mustn’t do it nonstop. (laughter)

If I understood well, six years ago burlesque shows were just starting here. Is there a large interest in them today?

Huge. And the Czechs finally know what it means...although we still have to educate people, of course, not everyone knows. But foreigners want to see us a lot. Our show Prague Burleque has now somewhat established itself, it is no longer an unknown concept.

You mentioned that courses are also organized?

Yes, and there is a great interest in them. We organize them with my colleague Angelina mainly for women who want to bring this style into their lives. For women who want to have sexappeal and don’t have time for it. Let me explain – we all work hard, we have children, we tak care of our households, and so on...these women simply want to find time for themselves during which they feel irresistible. In addition, they meet new friends during the course. We often find ourselves being asked when an advanced course will be opened, because they want to meet again. We create a safe place where they feel comfortable, where they support each other. That's what the course is about. Of course, we teach them skills like, for example, how to walk properly, how carry your body in order to look beautiful, how to take off your gloves gracefully...however, I feel that it is more a form of therapy for women.

And don’t they feel shy?

Yes, of course. There are women who immediately bring it on and are not afraid to get confident on stage, but more often women come to us feeling nervous and insecure about what kind of things are going to happen. But we start slowly. We want them to feel good. After some time, we put them in a position where they themselves perform. We show them something, and they then have to put on a show...they may panic, but once they manage it, then they just flourish.

Do you get any feedback on your course having saved anyone’s marriage?

One woman even became pregnant thanks to the new skills acquired during the course. (laughs) Yes, we get feedback, but we also see it ourselves. At the end of the course, the women feel better, they maybe wear heels more often, red lipstick...

The show also includes very exquisite costumes. I noticed that a lot of the costumes used are from the 1930s...

The twenties and thirties of the 20th Century are inspirational, because at that time burlesque was in bloom. It was a very opulent time. But shows of burlesque dancers date back to the 19th Century. They started off as sketches in which poor people made fun of the rich. It was a sketch in which, for whatever reason, a woman stripped – either to entertain, to engage or to ridicule something. This evolved until the beginning of the 20th Century, when it became a huge show, where the star was one dancer around which there were several so-called chorus girls, mostly ballet dancers. And, of course, there was a comic and various acrobats on stage, which is why we draw a lot of inspiration from this time.

In addition, there is a big difference between doing it in the bedroom or in courses, where it is mainly about gaining self-esteem, and between working professionally. Once people are paying for your performance, fancy and expensive costumes are desirable. I personally draw a lot of inspiration from this time, but in the end I always include something current, too. I like the combination of the present and the old times.

Where have you traveled for work?

All over Europe. I am now flying to Geneva, Stockholm, Finland, Italy and Vienna. I will also let you in on some fresh news, this year I am even traveling to another continent, and I'm also preparing to perform at the National Theater in Brno.

Prodej slunného bytu 3+kk, Praha 2 - 104, Praha 2

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Are your travel expenses also reimbursed or are you paid only for the performance itself?

I'll be honest. Some dancers want to be just famous, which somewhat destroys the burlesque scene, reduces credit…sometimes they pay their own travel expenses, they go below the price. We, the higher-level professionals, are bothered by this because it destroys the scene. I, of course, let myself get invited – I work on myself a lot, I am constantly improving and inventing new things. My price therefore includes travel expenses as well – the ticket, the hotel and, of course, the reward for the show.

Where is the farthest you have performed?

In New York and Philadelphia.

In New York?

I originally traveled there privately. However, I couldn’t help myself, so I visited a few clubs and theaters, I had a total of four or five performances within 10 days. It was an amazing experience. New York is such an amazing place, one can find the greatest number of top performers there. The competition is huge. You have to work a lot on yourself to make a breakthrough.

So do you earn a decent living? What if something happens to you? If you can’t perform, you must have some financial reserves...

I once got burned, which forced me to give up performing for a couple of weeks, it was really hard. You really feel the difference. My boyfriend and I don’t even go skiing because we're afraid that something will happen to us. We cannot afford to break a leg, we are booked for half a year in advance.

I only have basic insurance – no one wants to insure me for more because I do acrobatics and I work with fire. I must take care of myself and adhere to certain principles. In terms of earnings...a lot of people think we live a luxury life, a great life...that’s not really the case, you invest a lot, and it is a tremendous amount of work. Aside from my performances I also teach, produce shows, such as our festival, and I do marketing for Soffa Magazine.

I work as a freelancer, I organize my own time, sometimes there is less work, sometimes more, but I am always doing something. We perform at the weekend long into the night. You can make a living but it really doesn’t come easily, and as I said, I have several activities.

Can it be combined with private life? Family, children?

I have the advantage of living with a partner who works in the same industry. He's a singer and host, a sort of guide throughout the entire evening. The advantage is that we spend time together, the disadvantage is that we take work home and that causes arguments.

But the benefits are greater – we travel together for work, we are not separated from each other. Children? I keep postponing that...I know the dancers who have kids and I see how hard it is. They must have support at home, someone who takes care of the baby when they are traveling. It's tough, we're a little bit like a circus...constantly on the move and performing at night.

What do you like doing when you’re not dancing?

Someone recently asked me what my hobby was and I wondered if I even have one. I prefer doing nothing, of course, when I finally get time off, but that would not be me...I like to travel, even when it’s not for work, and I go back to photography. Then acrobatics, I train flexibility. And I like movies, I go to the movies a lot and never miss the Karlovy Vary festival.

You are from Slovakia. What do your parents think about your career?

At first, of course, they were shocked. They didn’t know what it was, they couldn’t imagine it. I had to explain a lot and they had to come to the first show to understand. Now they are fans. They collect newspaper articles and are happy to travel a lot. It was always my dream to travel. Thez see that I am happy.

Let's talk about the Prague Burlesque Festival that was held in Prague. This was the second year. How did you think of organizing something like that?

These kinds of festivals exist all over the world. My boyfriend David (Sonny Vargas) and I waited a long time before we dared to organize it. Since we produce our own shows, we actually bet on our audience. We could have done it five years ago, but we were afraid. It was risky. We waited for the right time. There are also many festivals in Europe that are not so good. We focused on the best scene, the best performers from all over the world. We wanted to present a good festival and put Prague back on the burlesque map of Europe. This type of art has always been popular here, even under Communism, though discreetly. We wanted to follow up on that, and it worked.

You had the biggest stars here.

Last year's crowned queen and king of burlesque, Medianoche and Mr. Georgeous, who are Americans and were here for the first time. They liked it very much, we took them to Kutná Hora, for example. Medianoche said that this was one of the best festivals she has ever performed at.

Will there be another festival?

I hope it will work out, the date will be close to International Women's Day again.

Tereza, thank you very much for the interview.