“It was always unexpected, because everyone else that competes is such high quality,” de Jac speaks of the award. “I didn’t really believe it until they definitely called out my name, and then I still didn’t really believe it.”
The alluring glamour of burlesque has captivated many an audience. Bella De Jac lives for its electrifying presence. From its bawdy roots in the United Kingdom to its theatrical rebirth into the art of striptease in the United States, she has treasured observing its centuries-old evolution and refinement.
“I love that classic burlesque is this snapshot of a performance style from so long ago,” she explains. “I love that things like ‘bump ‘n’ grind’ don’t exist, really, in any other dance forms, except for ironically. There are very particular moves, like certain hand movements and certain hair flicks. But then in a modern sense, my personal interests in terms of art is the body and human sexuality.
“I love that it’s this fearless display of female sexuality – but on our terms. It’s not ‘music video’ sex. It’s exactly what we want to express, and it can be very political. I love the idea of being the un-ladylike woman on stage – sometimes being glamorous and sometimes messing with people’s heads, because you can be glamorous and sexy, but you can also be funny and making a statement, or shocking people.”
With a freedom installed by the traditional expectation of representing the unexpected, burlesque is a powerful medium with which to creatively explore. However, the urge to challenge ideals takes great courage and dedication. For Bella de Jac, the passion to create her entrancing worlds comes from a place deep within.
“Liberation and empowerment get used a little bit too much when it comes to burlesque,” she warns. “I can see how that is empowering and liberating, but I feel like in order to be any kind of artist you already need to sort of be empowered already. Getting up on stage and taking your clothes off in front of a room of people isn’t going to make you feel better about yourself if you don’t already have that innate empowerment within you.”
This isn’t to take away from the celebration of the human body and sexuality, however. For so many audiences, the alluring draw of the sparkle and charm of burlesque is that it represents an avenue of freedom from the judgement and pressure that can so often restrict us in society.
“I think it’s exciting for people to see people that look just like them doing weird things on stage and looking so confident,” she says. “I feel particularly women are made to feel like they should be apologising to themselves all the time.
“If someone doesn’t like the way your body looks, that’s not your problem. I think maybe that’s the thing I like the most about it, making other people feel that it’s okay to be themselves or it’s okay to look however they want to look. I suppose in the empowerment and liberation sense, I get more of a kick out of making other people feel good, because I feel good, so I feel that everyone else should be allowed to feel good.”
By Jacob Colliver
