Part fiery femme-fatale, part 80s geek and a whole lotta Showgirl - Velma Vouloir the current Miss Burlesque Victoria, Miss Burlesque Australia 'Miss Classic' & resident Burly Flex & Showgirl Follies instructor here at Maison Burlesque! We had a little chat to her about her love of silver screen starlets, all things 80s & getting started in burlesque.
Tell us when and how you first discovered burlesque. What were your initial thoughts/feelings?
Ever since I was a little girl I've had an obsession with golden age cinema, and it was watching films like 'Cover Girl', 'Gypsy', 'Ziegfield Follies' & 'Gilda' that I first began my love affair with glamorous, powerful & seductive women on the stage and screen. You could also say that's where I got my thing for redheads, but maybe that's another story... I was just a kid so I had absolutely no concepts of sexuality, sex or what was risque or taboo. All i could see was uninhibited fun, playfulness & overwhelming confidence.
When I was 16 or 17 I heard from some of my older friends that there was a ‘cabaret show’ on in the city. I managed to get in and found myself at Red Door Burlesque featuring none other than Dolores Daiquiri & Hi Ball Burlesque! I sat there all night with my friends having the most incredible night. I remember thinking ‘It’s real! It really exists!’ and from then on I spent countless hours seeing all the burlesque I could soak up across Melbourne for years and years after. All my spare money went towards Red Door, The 86, The Butterfly Club & Red Bennies.
An entire decade later after wanting to explore a different side to my career as a performer I walked into my first fan-dance class with Poppy Cherry... The rest as they say, is feathers & champagne & nudity & stocking peels & eating burgers at 2am...
How would you describe your unique style? Has it always been like that?
I'm still a very new performer in the crazy world of burlesque, and I love that it's an art form where you absolutely CAN shape shift and play and present a multitude of different personas. At this stage I'm probably known as a very 'classic' performer and I have a passion for burlesque history and paying homage to our burly fore-sisters. I love playing & toying with the audience. I get off a little bit on the power s(trip) of burlesque. I'm also a massive fool though and I love playing dress-ups, exploring character and pop-culture. I'm also a part of a burlesque trio alongside Miss G Veous & Frenchi Holiday called 'Ladies In Waiting' and our style is very much satire & comedy.
I have no idea if I even answered that question properly...
How did you decide upon your burlesque/performer name?
I have always loved the name Velma - it's such an old school name and there aren't really any performers using it. Two of my favourite pop culture characters are Velma Dinklage from Scooby Doo & Velma Kelly from Fosse's 'Chicago' - and the juxtaposition of those two characters is such a great representation of opposing aspects of my personality. I'm constantly torn between being the geek and the vixen (Gemini rising sign here in case you couldn't already tell).
Vouloir ('vool-wahh') is the french word for 'Want' & 'Desire'... It's exotic, it's classic, & it's sexy as hell when a man is whispering it in your ear while he's unzipping your dress...
What advice do you have for someone wanting to start burlesque?
Nike style... JUST DO IT. It might be weird, it might be awkward, you might not get certain moves right away. But that's just like everything in life... Do it anyway! Find yourself a great community (Maison Burlesque is absolutely the perfect place to start!) and try a million different classes and styles and use what you learn to build your own individual style. The thing I try to constantly tell people is that burlesque is not actually about dancing... Yes you dance when you perform burlesque and in certain styles knowing some dance technique will absolutely add to your art form - but engaging an audience is SO much more than that. It's about connection, and heart, and vulnerability. Come and play, you absolutely won't regret it.
Image by 3 Fates Media
Tell us a bit more about your non-performer self! What do you do? What do you love doing/eating/watching?
My non-performer self is far less glamorous than Velma but also probably far less likely to marry a billionaire just to slowly poison him to death for his inheritance. So that's good I guess?
I'm a solo mama to a gorgeous 4yr old boy and two kitty cat's and I'm just staring longingly out a window in a ballgown singing a show-tune waiting to find someone that loves me like Indy loves Marion, like Marty loves Jen & like Johnny loves Baby.
Some things I love (in no particular order) are:
Laughing/Dancing/Hanging with my friends & fam Coffee Movies (in particular anything 'golden age' or from the 80s) Dirty Gin Martini's Making (sewing, knitting, baking - anything that would make your nana proud as punch) Leopard Print Cheese Dirty Magazine's/Prints from the 40's-80's - Hook me up with your Dad's old Playboy stash. Please. My Veggie Garden
Image by Alexis Desaulnier-Lea
Have you faced any challenges in starting burlesque or developing your burlesque career?
Honestly, the biggest struggle for me has been people not knowing how to pronounce my last name! It's pronounced 'vool-wahh', kinda like boudoir, or film noir, or voulez-vous couchez avec moi... And definitely not like Velour... I won't be offended if you get it wrong, but I am slowly developing a subtle eye-twitch. It's fine. Really, it's fine (she says as she pours a triple shot of whiskey neat).
Tell us a bit about your classes at Maison and what they're all about!
With PLEASURE! The first class I teach is called 'Showgirl Follies' and is a super fun performance class that combines burlesque with chorus-line, cabaret and jazz choreography. We focus on things like showgirl walks, turns & cannons and you get to unleash your inner Parisian/Las Vegas Showgirl. Think Follies Bergere, Jubilee Girls, Broadway Chorus Girls & Moulin Rouge!
The second class I teach is a technique based class called Burly Flex! It's a flexibility class that teaches you the fundamentals of improving your flexibility and mobility safely whilst increasing your core strength & body awareness... It's suitable for all levels and we do it ALL to a killer 80's soundtrack. Leotards and leg warmers DEFINITELY encouraged!
I also love working with students one on one! So if you'd like to work with me on your solo/act development or just on dance technique, choreography or character work please get in touch!
Email: velmavouloir@gmail.com
Instagram: @velmavouloir