35 Years in Business: The Velvet Burlesque – Est. 1st September 1991

Thirty-Five Years. Today.

On 1st September 1991, I started a business.

Today, 1st September 2026, that business is 35 years old.

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS.

Three and a half decades of teaching, choreography, performing, producing, creating, mentoring, experimenting, learning, adapting, occasionally swearing profusely, and absolutely refusing to stand still.

It is a strange thing to write down.

When something has been such an enormous part of your life for so long, you don't necessarily stop to count the years.

You just keep going.

Another class.

Another routine.

Another student.

Another show.

Another performance.

Another idea scribbled down somewhere ridiculous.

Another problem to solve.

Another costume to repair.

Another person who walks through the door convinced they can't dance.

Another audience waiting for the lights to go down.

And then one day you look at the calendar and realise:

Bloody hell - I've been doing this for 35 years!

The Spark Came Much Earlier

The business officially dates from 1st September 1991.

But the spark behind it began many years before that.

I have already written about the childhood experience in Spain that changed everything for me: sitting in a cabaret venue at around five years old and being utterly mesmerised by one extraordinary performer standing alone beneath a blue spotlight.

I didn't know what burlesque was.

I didn't understand cabaret.

I certainly didn't have a business plan.

I just knew:

"THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO DO!"

That moment never left me.

If you haven't read that story yet, you can find it here: Where It All Began: The Spark Behind The Velvet Burlesque

35 Years of Reinvention

The Velvet Burlesque™ of 2026 is not the same business it was in 1991.

Nor should it be.

Thirty-five years in business does not happen because you discover one successful idea and repeat it forever.

It happens because you evolve.

You learn.

You make mistakes.

You listen.

You take risks. HUGE risks.

You recognise when something has run its course.

You protect the things that still matter.

And sometimes you tear the entire bloody thing apart and build something better.

Over the decades, my professional life has encompassed dance, fitness, choreography, performance, burlesque, cabaret, theatre, teaching, mentoring, show production, event entertainment, private tuition, creative direction, wedding choreography, workshops, and an increasingly ridiculous collection of costumes, props, feathers, fans, shoes, rhinestones, and mysterious boxes of things that apparently cannot ever be thrown away.

The work has changed.

The industry has changed.

Audiences have changed.

How we market businesses has changed beyond recognition.

Technology has changed.

Social attitudes have changed.

Burlesque itself has changed.

And I have changed.

But underneath all of that evolution are some things that have remained remarkably consistent:

• Creativity.
• Professionalism.
• Independence.
• Attention to detail.
• A refusal to treat people as numbers.

And the belief that performance and movement can genuinely make people feel something.

Thousands of People Have Become Part of the Story

One of the strangest things about reaching a milestone like this is trying to comprehend the sheer number of people who have passed through your life because of your work.

Thousands upon thousands of people.

Students who arrived nervous and gradually discovered what their bodies could do.

People who hadn't danced since childhood.

People who had never danced at all.

Experienced dancers looking for something completely different.

Performers developing acts and finding their stage presence.

Cast members standing in the wings waiting for their cue.

Audience members cheering from packed theatres.

People celebrating birthdays, hen parties, weddings, private events, and enormous life moments.

Couples trusting me to choreograph the first dance of their married lives.

Clients placing an entire event in my hands.

People who came for one class and stayed for years.

People I haven't seen for decades who still occasionally pop up and remind me of something we did together that I had completely forgotten.

Some came into my world briefly.

Others became friends.

Some became performers.

Some became teachers themselves.

Some simply discovered a version of themselves they hadn't met before.

Every single one became a tiny part of the history of this business.

Teaching Has Always Been About More Than Steps

Dance technique matters.

Choreography matters.

Musicality, lines, placement, timing, performance quality, safety, and detail matter enormously to me.

Anyone who has ever been taught by me will be painfully aware of that.

But teaching has never only been about getting somebody's right foot in the correct place on count eight.

Over 35 years, I have watched people discover confidence that they genuinely did not believe they possessed.

I have watched frightened beginners eventually walk into a room differently.

I have watched people learn to take up space.

Make eye contact.

Trust themselves.

Ask questions.

Laugh at themselves.

Stop apologising for not knowing something they have never previously been taught.

I've watched people discover strength after difficult periods in their lives.

I've seen movement provide distraction, connection, friendship, purpose, challenge, escapism, and occasionally the emotional release somebody desperately needed that week.

Those things matter.

Performance confidence is learned.

Stage presence is learned.

Movement skills are learned.

Self-belief can be learned too.

Watching those transformations is still one of the greatest privileges of doing this job.

From The Studio to The Stage

The Velvet Burlesque™ has never existed solely in a dance studio.

Performance has always been part of its heartbeat.

Over the years, I have performed, choreographed, curated, and produced alongside an extraordinary range of burlesque, cabaret, circus, comedy, drag, magic, variety, and speciality artists.

Productions have evolved from traditional stage shows into increasingly ambitious theatrical experiences, with audiences coming from across the UK and beyond.

There have been beautiful moments.

Chaotic moments.

Last-minute disasters.

Costume malfunctions.

Technical problems.

Acts that made an entire room fall silent.

Acts that made audiences roar.

Performances I will never forget.

And backstage incidents I probably shouldn't put in writing.

Every production has added another layer to the story.

And after 35 years, I'm still interested in what else a live show can become.

Perhaps more so than ever.

Still Fiercely Independent

One thing I am particularly proud of is that The Velvet Burlesque™ remains independent.

There has never been some enormous corporate machine quietly sitting behind it.

There isn't a mysterious billionaire benefactor funding my creative whims.

There is me.

A laptop.

A phone.

A frightening number of spreadsheets.

Thirty-five years of experience.

A spectacular collection of contacts.

A brain that does not appear to understand the concept of switching off.

And, when required, an exceptional team of performers, creatives, technicians, venues, photographers, filmmakers, and other professionals who help turn the ideas in my head into something real.

Our public shows have always been independently produced, with income reinvested into creating the work.

That independence isn't always the easiest route.

But it has allowed me to make decisions based on what I believe is right for the business, the work, the people involved, and the audience.

It has allowed The Velvet Burlesque™ to remain unmistakably itself.

The Awards Are Lovely. The Longevity Means More.

Over the years, my work and The Velvet Burlesque™ have received recognition, including awards for burlesque performance, troupe work, dance tuition, business, entertainment, and fitness.

And yes - I'm incredibly proud of them. Recognition from your industry is wonderful. But there is something about reaching 35 years that feels different.

You cannot manufacture longevity.

You cannot fake 35 years of showing up.

Thirty-five years means surviving recessions, shutdowns (Covid!), changing industries, changing trends, personal upheaval, business challenges, difficult decisions, spectacular mistakes, wonderful opportunities, disappointments, successes, and all the completely ordinary Tuesdays when you still have to open the door and do the work.

The awards represent individual moments.

Thirty-five years represents endurance.

I Have Never Wanted To Stand Still

Longevity should never mean becoming a museum piece.

I don't want The Velvet Burlesque™ preserved in amber as something people remember fondly from years ago.

I want it alive.

Relevant.

Interesting.

Creative.

Occasionally surprising.

And still capable of making me think: "Can I actually pull that off?"

There are still things I want to create.

Things I want to change.

Ideas I haven't developed yet.

People I haven't met.

Music I haven't choreographed.

Performers I haven't discovered.

Students who haven't yet walked through the door.

Audiences who haven't yet experienced one of our shows.

That is what makes 35 years exciting rather than nostalgic.

To Everyone Who Has Been Part of These 35 Years

There is absolutely no way to name everybody.

But I do want to say this.

To every student, dancer, performer, audience member, client, couple, colleague, venue, photographer, filmmaker, technician, collaborator, friend, supporter, and wonderfully peculiar human who has been part of The Velvet Burlesque™ at any point since 1991:

Thank you.

Thank you for booking.

For turning up.

For learning.

For performing.

For applauding.

For recommending me.

For trusting me.

For coming back.

For bringing your friends.

For buying a ticket.

For taking a chance on a class.

For placing an event in my hands.

For standing on my stage.

For helping backstage.

For laughing when everything went slightly feral.

For allowing me to do a job that still excites me after three and a half decades.

You are part of this history too.

1st September 1991 - 1st September 2026

Thirty-five years.

I still love music.

I still love movement.

I still love theatre.

I still love watching somebody suddenly understand a piece of choreography.

I still love watching an audience react.

I still love that strange few seconds before a performance starts.

I still love creating something that didn't exist before.

I still get ridiculously excited (and overly obsessed!) by a new idea.

I am still learning.

Still teaching.

Still choreographing.

Still producing.

Still performing.

Still mentoring.

Still evolving.

Still independent.

Still pushing.

Still here.

And very definitely not finished.

So, What Happens Next?

That's an excellent question.

I have ideas.

Obviously.

Some are sensible.

Some are ambitious.

Some are probably completely ridiculous.

And historically, those are often the interesting ones.

The Velvet Burlesque™ began officially on 1st September 1991. Thirty-five years later, I am enormously proud of everything it has become. But I am far more interested in what it becomes next.

So here's to the first 35 years.

And to whatever the hell I decide to do next.

STAY TUNED!

Discover The Velvet Burlesque today - classes, workshops, shows, private events, choreography, and more!

Boss Lady – Lara Gothique

Founder, Curator, Choreographer, Performer, Teacher, Mentor, Swamp-Witch, and Slightly Feral Producer of The Velvet Burlesque™

Est. 1st September 1991

© Lara Gothique – The Velvet Burlesque™

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