Posted on June 3, 2010 - by Emma Stone

The Glitter Kittens: Burlesque

Glitter Kittens © Emma Stone

The Glitter Kittens
The Circle Club
Manchester, UK
Thursday 20th May 2010

Tonight, we’re shying away from the music for a moment, and instead take a trip into the world of burlesque with a show from The Glitter Kittens.  Without the stigma that’s usually attached to female performers, burlesque is seen as more of an art form than a woman simply undressing on a stage.  In recent months, classes have been popping up all over the UK, housewives have started spicing up their marriages with nipple tassels and feather boas and students indulging in burlesque themed nights out, along with becoming an increasingly popular opening act at festivals and gigs, the show tonight, hosted by Manchester’s Circle Club, is my first proper foray into the world of burlesque shows, and promises to be divine.

In the dimly lit rooms of the Circle Club, the wallpaper adorned with naked women covered by brightly coloured flowers, red lights making the atmosphere even more intense and intimate, we sit and wait for our performers to appear through the velvet curtains to start the entertainment.  With doors billed at half past seven in the evening, we’re left waiting until about half past eight before the ladies take to the floor, but it’s certainly worth the wait.

Glitter Kittens © Emma Stone

Five ladies in knee length socks, ballet pumps and tutus shimmy to their positions.  Despite a false start due to the music not starting in time, they don’t let it faze them, and begin with some ballet style moves to Muse, which seems a little tame if I’m honest.  However, the second the music reaches its peak, so do the dancers.  The tutus and vests are removed to reveal brightly coloured corsets and underwear, and the girls stay admirably in time with one another despite a few first night nerves coming through in some of the performance.  Switching from dancing solo to dancing in pairs or all at once, we see each of the girls in turn in all their glory.

Throughout the course of the evening, we’re introduced to a naughty nun, an army sergeant and soldiers, a teacher, the Phantom of the Opera, a gangster, a ringleader and her performers, and bear witness to a full blown fight on the floor.  Our Kittens switch from being dominated by one dancer, to dominating the same girl the next, from pussycats to tigers writhing on the floor, making sure they include members of the audience to keep them feeling involved.

Songs range from Marilyn Manson and Queens Of The Stone Age to Kylie Minogue and Lady Gaga, along with a few instrumental 50‘s style numbers thrown in for good measure.  Along with the naughty little striptease’s and swinging of nipple tassels, main dancer Zelda belts out the likes of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’. Though the girls don’t fit the ‘typical’ stereotype of

Glitter Kittens © Emma Stone

burlesque dancers (these days it seems all about tattoos, piercings and 50‘s hair styles), it doesn’t make them any less alluring and suited to what they’re doing.  What makes the girls so appealing (along with the lack of clothes and array of wonderful dancing), is that they’re very normal (but beautiful natural) girls.

They look amazing in their corsets and fishnets, and yet they still have very natural shapes; boobs and bums wiggle enticingly when they dance, which as far as I’m concerned is one of the most endearing things about burlesque, it’s about showing off what God gave you.  If you ever hear the words “The Glitter Kittens are doing a show tonight”, I’d recommend butting in and finding out where.  It makes a great night out for hen parties, a night out with your partner or even just a laugh with the girls.