Burlesque is an art form which actively celebrates older performers and recognises how age can be a marker of experience, provenance and artistry. It seems deeply appropriate, then, that on October 1st, Fabulous Femininities team member Prof. Alice O’Grady will be speaking at the International Day of Older People event in Leeds. She will be joined by Medusa Has Been, one of the wonderful performers in our Fabulous Femininities documentary, who will be giving a performance on the day (which I am reliably told will be amazing).
Alice’s talk is going to be fascinating and I have a sneak peek here for you. She interviewed nine burlesque performers (aged over fifty) and asked them to tell the story of a piece of costume which was important to them. This is a process called “object-orientated storytelling” which was something developed in the early days of the Fabulous Femininities project. She’ll be using these interviews as the source of her talk which looks at how the costumes of burlesque performers support and celebrate the aging female body,
It sounds like it will be an excellent day – please save the date!