Quick Fire Questions:

Sweet or salty?
I have the sweetest tooth there ever was. Bring me cake. All of it.

Paint the town…
PINK! Pink all day, every day.
I was married in a pink wedding dress at a pink location so I think it’s safe to say pink is my favourite colour.

What can’t you live without?
Boring, but my to-do list app: Nothing else would happen without it!

What brought burlesque into your world and what do you love most about it?
I just adore burlesque and it was my other true love of vintage pinup modelling and fashion which brought burlesque into my life. After winning a pinup competition in 2014, I was gifted a term at the Bombshell Burlesque Academy here in Brisbane and that’s where it all began. If you’d told me years ago I’d have the confidence to seduce a room with sultry striptease, I’d have laughed in your face. And yet, here I am! Perhaps my fascination with Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge at age 11 should have been a giveaway as to what was to come?

How did burlesque impact your self-confidence?
Despite the fact I’m often confused as being an extrovert, I’m very much an introvert at heart who has always battled many a moment of self-doubt along the way. Before burlesque, I’d very rarely felt sexy in my own skin and focused so much on hang ups with my physical appearance. Burlesque is a wonderful creative outlet which helps me to drown out the sound of those lingering inner voices and replace them with a wailing saxophone I can sparkle and strip to.

Challenging myself to step out of my comfort zone and onto the stage showed me I was sexy and could inspire others to challenge themselves in this way too.

As well as changing the way I see myself, burlesque has really changed my perception of what constitutes beautiful and sexy in others too. I see beauty in all shapes, colours, and sizes when at one point in my life, this view was so governed by what I saw predominantly shown in various media. Burlesque really opened my eyes wide to this and it’s been life changing.

Feeling confident doesn’t always come easy! What’s one simple thing we can do each day to boost our confidence?
How you talk about yourself in your own head plays such a pivotal role in how you then perceive yourself. So instead of feeding yourself negative talk, spin that inner chatter around to be positive and powerful. Tell yourself what you CAN do, not what’ you can’t. What you ARE instead of what you’re not. This positive perception on the inside shines out as confidence on the outside. Assuming a pose which makes you feel powerful in front of the mirror each morning can also really put some pep in your step for the rest of the day.

What about those days where you’re just not feeling it or yourself? What are your tips for a motivated mindset?
It’s all in the plan: A prior plan prevents poor performance! I’m a real lover of routine (think of me as Monica from Friends) and I find both physical and mental habits really helpful on those down days.

With prior planning, you take the guesswork out of your day so you know what your goals are when you get up. These then give you a reason to get up even if you’re not really feeling like it.

I recommend using a productivity or list app to help organise your to-do’s and plan your day, week and month. With absolutely anything you want to do, a plan is the first step to make all the rest of the steps actually happen. If you do this, you’re already on the right track!

Do you have any advice for anyone considering trying burlesque?
My advice? JUST DO IT! No, this isn't a Nike commercial. But if you're thinking about it and feeling a little unsure, I'd recommend taking the leap. A creative outlet like burlesque is such a wonderful opportunity to express yourself. The best things I've gained from participating in burlesque are meeting incredible and inspirational people, challenging myself and seeing others surprise themselves with what they are capable of.

Nothing compares to watching a performer come off stage, completely elated and exclaiming "I can't believe I did that!", "That felt amazing", or "I was so nervous but now I just want to do it again!"