Dance Workshops Sheffield | The Velvet Burlesque

Why Try a Burlesque or Dance Workshop?

Sometimes you don't want to sign up for something every week.

You don't necessarily want a new hobby.

You don't need a long-term plan.

You just see something and think: "That looks fabulous!"

And sometimes that is all the reason you need.

A one-off burlesque or dance workshop gives you the opportunity to step into something different for a few hours, try a particular style or skill, learn some choreography, meet new people, and enjoy an experience that is completely removed from the usual routine of everyday life.

What Is a Dance Workshop?

A dance workshop is usually a self-contained session built around a particular style, theme, technique, prop, routine, or performance skill.

Rather than following an ongoing weekly programme, you book that individual experience.

Depending upon the workshop, you might spend a few hours exploring:

• burlesque choreography
• cabaret dance
• heels dance
• chair dance
• feather fan dance
• silk fan dance
• striptease technique
• sensual movement
• floorwork
• musicality
• stage presence
• character and performance
• prop work
• a complete themed routine

Some workshops concentrate heavily on technique.

Others are about learning choreography.

Some allow you to explore a particular performance style.

Others are simply an opportunity to dance, play, experiment, and enjoy yourself.

That variety is precisely why workshops can be so much fun.

You Can Try Something Without Making a Huge Commitment

One of the greatest things about a one-off workshop is its simplicity.

You see the workshop.

You like the sound of it.

You book your place.

You turn up.

That's it.

You don't have to reorganise your life around a weekly timetable.

You don't have to decide whether you're still going to be doing this hobby six months from now.

You don't have to buy an entirely new wardrobe and announce to everybody you know that dance has become your new identity.

You are simply giving yourself a few hours to try something.

For adults with busy lives, irregular working patterns, family commitments, existing hobbies, or very full calendars, that flexibility can be enormously appealing.

And sometimes it is much easier to say: "I'll try this one workshop" than: "I'm joining a weekly dance class".

You Do Not Need Dance Experience to Enjoy a Workshop

If a workshop is advertised as suitable for beginners, that is exactly what it should mean.

You are not expected to arrive already knowing the choreography. That would rather defeat the purpose of attending.

You are there to learn.

Movements can be introduced, explained, broken down, repeated, and gradually put together.

Some people attending may have danced before.

Others may be doing something like this for the first time in their lives.

Some people pick choreography up quickly.

Others need several repetitions before their limbs begin negotiating with each other successfully.

That is normal.

Learning is the workshop.

You don't need to become fitter, more flexible, more coordinated, or more confident before allowing yourself to begin.

Doing the thing is how those qualities start developing.

Workshops Are Not Only for Beginners

Of course, being experienced doesn't mean workshops stop being useful. Quite the opposite.

If you already dance, a workshop gives you the opportunity to explore something outside your normal training.

Perhaps you have never worked with fans.

Perhaps you usually dance in one style and want to experience another.

Perhaps you want to concentrate on musicality, performance, character, heels, floorwork, sensual movement, or a particular prop.

Perhaps the choreography simply looks like tremendous fun.

Experienced dancers do not need every session to be part of some serious training objective either.

Sometimes, you just dance because you enjoy dancing.

Radical, I know.

A Workshop Gives You Permission to Try Something Different

Adults can become extremely good at staying inside the things they already know they can do.

We know our jobs.

Our responsibilities.

Our routines.

Our familiar hobbies.

Our usual environments.

Trying something new means briefly becoming a beginner again, and that can feel surprisingly vulnerable.

But it can also be exhilarating.

There is something very freeing about walking into a room where nobody expects you to be an expert.

You are allowed to experiment.

You are allowed to get things wrong.

You are allowed to laugh when your feet do something completely different from what your brain requested.

You are allowed to surprise yourself.

That last one is particularly good.

Dance Workshops Can Be a Proper Break From Everyday Life

Sometimes the best thing about a workshop is not even the choreography.

It is having a few hours in which you are concentrating on something completely different.

The emails can wait.

The housework can wait.

The endless collection of jobs that apparently regenerate every time you complete one can wait.

For a while, your attention is on music.

Movement.

Timing.

Your body.

The choreography.

The people around you.

And trying to remember what happens after that bit you were absolutely certain you had remembered thirty seconds ago.

You become absorbed.

Adults don't always give themselves enough opportunities to play.

We are terribly fond of believing that everything must be sensible, productive, measurable, useful, or attached to a long-term goal.

It doesn't.

Enjoying simply being in the moment, and doing something you really want to do, is priceless!

You Might Discover You Are Capable of More Than You Expected

People often arrive at workshops carrying assumptions about themselves.

"I'm not coordinated."

"I'm too old."

"I have no rhythm."

"I won't be able to remember it."

"Everyone else will be better than me."

"I'll look ridiculous."

Then they begin.

Perhaps everything feels unfamiliar at first.

Perhaps there is a moment of complete confusion. Perhaps there are several.

Then one movement starts to make sense.

Then another.

Suddenly you complete a section of choreography.

You find the musical accent.

You hit the pose.

You remember the sequence without watching somebody else.

And there is a wonderfully satisfying moment of: "Oh! I can actually do this!"

Those little victories matter.

Those little victories are joyful.

You Do Not Have to Look Like Anybody Else

Dance is not reserved for one age, gender, shape, size, background, or type of person.

And neither is burlesque.

A room full of adults learning the same choreography will never look identical.

Nor should it.

Bodies move differently.

People interpret movement differently.

Some dancers are naturally powerful.

Some are elegant.

Some are playful.

Some have extraordinary musicality.

Some discover that their strength lies in expression or character.

Part of learning dance is beginning to understand how movement works on your body rather than trying to become a carbon copy of somebody else's.

You are not auditioning for permission to take part.

You have already taken part by walking through the door.

A Workshop Can Be Social Without Being Terrifyingly Social

Trying something new with other people can also create an unusual kind of connection.

You already have something in common.

You're all there to learn the same thing.

People laugh at the same confusing bits.

Celebrate when something finally works.

Exchange the occasional look of mutual bewilderment.

And, generally, you realise quite quickly that everyone else is far too busy remembering their own choreography to scrutinise yours.

You don't have to arrive with somebody else either. Plenty of people attend dance workshops (or classes) alone.

You may leave having spoken to people you would never otherwise have met. Or, you may simply have enjoyed dancing alongside them for a few hours.

Both are fine.

You Can Dress for Movement, Not for a Performance

Another unnecessary worry people sometimes have is: "What am I supposed to wear?"

Unless a particular workshop requires something specific, you are usually coming to learn, not to arrive looking stage-ready.

Comfortable clothing that allows you to move is normally far more useful than elaborate costuming:

Leggings.

Sportswear.

Fitted tops.

Dancewear.

Shorts.

T-shirts.

Whatever is appropriate for that particular workshop, allows you to move comfortably, and allows the teacher to see your movement clearly enough to teach safely.

Footwear may also vary according to the subject. Some people may wear suitable dance heels. Others may use dance shoes, trainers, or flats where appropriate.

Always follow the individual workshop information rather than assuming you need to look like a finished burlesque performer before you've even learned the first eight counts.

You Might Find Something You Didn't Know You Loved

This is perhaps the most interesting thing about trying something new. You don't actually know how you feel about it until you've done it.

You might discover that you love fan dancing.

Or heels.

Or chair work.

Or classic burlesque.

Or slower sensual choreography.

Or something theatrical and completely ridiculous.

You might discover that you enjoy learning choreography far more than you expected.

You might find that you enjoy performing the movement, even if you have absolutely no desire ever to perform publicly.

Or you might discover that a particular workshop simply wasn't your thing.

That is useful information too.

Trying something does not obligate you to love it.

And Then, Occasionally, You Get the Bug

There is always this possibility ...

You book one workshop.

Just one.

You are only trying it.

You enjoy yourself considerably more than expected.

You spend the journey home replaying the music in your head.

At some point later, you find yourself practising the movements while waiting for the kettle to boil.

Then you wonder what the next workshop is.

You look.

Purely out of curiosity.

Obviously.

And somehow another workshop appears in your diary.

That is how the bug gets you.

Quietly.

Joyfully.

Expert-Led Burlesque, Heels and Dance Workshops in Sheffield

At The Velvet Burlesque in Sheffield, workshops are created and taught by multi-award-winning choreographer, teacher, performer, mentor, and producer Lara Gothique, drawing upon more than three decades of professional teaching, choreography, dance, burlesque, cabaret, performance, and mentoring experience.

Workshop subjects vary throughout the year, allowing participants to explore different styles, skills, props, choreography, and aspects of performance.

Some are designed specifically with beginners in mind.

Others offer something different for people who already dance.

Many welcome a mixture of experience levels.

The individual workshop information will always tell you what to expect, whether previous experience is required, what to wear, what to bring, and anything else you need to know before attending.

So, Should You Try a Burlesque or Dance Workshop?

If you keep looking at one and thinking: "I'd really like to do that ..."

Probably, YES!

You don't need to know where it will lead.

It may lead nowhere at all.

You might simply have a fabulous afternoon, learn something new, and go home pleased that you tried it.

That is enough.

Or you might discover something you absolutely love.

There is only one particularly reliable way to find out ...

BOOK THE WORKSHOP, and see what happens!

Ready to Try a Burlesque or Dance Workshop?

Fancy giving it a go?

Explore the latest burlesque and dance workshops in Sheffield with The Velvet Burlesque, and choose the one that catches your attention.

Or, of course ...

Choose them all!

🔗 View Upcoming Workshops & Book Your Place

BOSS LADY - Lara Gothique
Founder, Curator, Choreographer, Swamp-Witch, and Slightly Feral Producer of The Velvet Burlesque™
 

© Lara Gothique - The Velvet Burlesque™
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