issue 17 / volume 40

T-and-A the old-fashioned way!

» An interview with Lola Frost gives insight into Vancouver's Burlesque scene

Julia Siedlanowska
Staff Writer

 

f Vancouver's nightlife is

getting too boring for you,
you simply haven't checked
out the tantalizing burlesque
performances and classes
happening almost on the daily.
I was lucky enough to attend a
recent class with Vancouver's
gem, burlesque star Lola Frost
at the Vancouver Burlesque
Centre. The class was filled with
women of all shapes, sizes, and
occupations. After asking for
a few quotes from my fellow
dancers I found a few were
reluctant to comment because
of their occupations—but
instructor and burlesque babe
extraordinaire Lola Frost wasn’t
hiding anything.

At about 1 a.m. after her

usual Thursday performance
at the Keefer Bar in Chinatown
she was kind enough to return
my call. We began by discussing
her start as a burlesque dancer.
“I started doing burlesque in
the summer of 2006. I’ve always
wanted to do it since I was little.”
After attending a few shows,
she went up to the producer
and told him she was interested
in dancing. “He said ‘Oh yeah,
we'll put you on stage,” recalls
Lola. “I was like ‘Cool, is there
an audition?’ He’s like ‘Nope.
You just seem like you got what
it takes.” That’s not the way it
happens any more, let me tell
you!”

Vancouver's interest in

: burlesque has piqued in the

: last five or so years, and the

: city currently prides itself on

: having weekly shows, and

: classes almost every day. “Our

: community grows all the time

: and we actually have quite a big
: one fora city of our size. I just

: came back from New York and

: there are three or four shows a

: night there! But they’re a city of
: nine million people; we're a city
: of 600,000 so it’s a little bit of

: a different market there,” says

: Lola.

Although the stigma of

: an elementary school teacher

: baring all for an audience of

: 50 plus is still there, with such

: a wide-spread base of fans

: and participants this global

: phenomenon may be changing
: its image. “It’s hard to watch

: us on stage beaming with joy

: and be offended by it,” explains
: Lola. “Sex is one of the oldest

: conversations and one of the

: newest conversations that we're
: ever going to have.”

When I told my mother I

: was attending a class she said

: “Great, one step away from

: stripping.” Someone recently

: gave mea great analogy to do

: with this: people project their

: fantasies onto strippers, while

: in burlesque the audience

: isa vessel upon which to

: showcase your fantasies. Not

: that there’s anything wrong

: with stripping (mom), however
: I feel the general culture

: around burlesque is more

: empowering—at least in relation
: tomen and women (for now).

: Lola elaborates: “It’s primarily

: female-focussed, which not a

: lot of art forms are. [Not many

: art forms] show women in their
: mostly undressed form in public
: with it being celebrated. So

: that’s a really important thing.”

From my experience,

: burlesque is an art form that

: serves as a way to get past rigid

: social stigmas, and most of

: all itis a fantastic way to have

: fun. “I think it gives [people]

: an alternate view of dance and

: sensuality and performance and
: body-ownership that you can’t

: really find in a lot of different art
: forms. It’s very inclusive not only
: with body, but gender and style,”
: says Lola. “For instance in ballet,
: you do ballet steps [but] in

: burlesque you can be anything.

: You can be funny or you can be

: sassy and you really get to be

: yourself, so I think that’s very

: attractive.”

For those who are confident

: and curious enough to try it,

: the form is very accessible. “You
: really can take a couple classes

: and get up on stage to try it out,”
: says Lola.

As far as Lola’s journey, she

: has recently been to Las Vegas

: and was second runner-up at

: the Burlesque Hall of Fame

: Weekend. She's now steadily

: performing and teaching

: burlesque as a full-time artist.

: “What I thought would just be
: some fun dancing around and

: throwing my costumes off my

: body turned into a very deep

: self-exploration and a very deep
: connection with my femininity
: and with my artistic abilities.”

life & style // 11

 

Lola Frost // By David Denofreo/Black Opal Images

 

Fast fashion social problems: BOGO event on now

» And no end in sight

Sophie Isbister
Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

  

ast fashion really makes

my world go round. And
it’s not just me: many other
economically minded guys
or gals who also want to look
great flock to stores like
Forever 21, H&M, Zara, and
Urban Behaviour. These mall
destination stores are bursting
at the seams with ready-to-wear

are sometimes literally stolen
from high-end designers. Plus,
you can usually put together

a complete look for under a

: hundred bucks. What’s not to
: love?

Actually, there’s a whole lot

: not to love about fast fashion.

: The real cost of that $6-zipper

: skirt could be the workplace

: safety of people who work

: overseas in the garment industry
: making those clothes. And it

: seems like on some level we all

: know that. However conscious

: we are of it, we must suspect

: that foul play is involved when it
: comes to $2-tank tops.

So why the cognitive

clothes that are so on-trend they _: dissonance? Why don't we take

: astand and stop consuming fast
: fashion?

Because fast fashion, while

: creating problems in vulnerable
: developing nations, fixes a

: problem here that is uniquely
: faced by youth.

: Vancouver recently garnered :
: some media attention for

: being ranked second most

: unaffordable city to live in.

: Wealso have appalling rates

: of youth unemployment; New

: Democratic Party MLA and

: advanced education critic David
: Eby stated ina press release

: January 17 that “Statistics

; Canada says that one in 10 BC

: youth between the ages of 15 and
: 19 are not working or in school.”

The press release continues,

: “Shockingly, the rate of young
: people not working and not in
school between the ages of 25
: and 29 is double that, at one in
: five

”

Youth unemployment

remains high, at 13 per cent, and

Statistics Canada reports that

: the province lost 4,400 jobs in
: 2013. Additionally, according

: to Eby more youth are seeking
: social services to stay alive.

You might be wondering

how that translates to cheap
: tank tops made in overseas

: factories. When things get tough :
: for people, it’s difficult to look

; past our own problems and see

: other problems as more urgent.
: Youth in BC are burdened

: with debt, underemployed (if

: employed at all), and struggling
: to make it. Having a fresh outfit
at a job interview could be what :
: lands you that job (any job), And :
: investing ina six-pack of shiny:

: earrings for just shy of $3 could
: be the shining light ina day
: otherwise full of drudgery.

Fast fashion. Its cheapness

: and poor quality make it a guilty
: pleasure to begin with, but the

: knowledge of who is suffering

: behind the scenes makes it even
: more so. But people have come

: to expect their cheap togs—

and until youth have a higher

earning potential and society

: values locally and ethically made
: products, fast fashion isn’t going
: anywhere.

But maybe we should think

: twice next time we waltz into an
: everything-for-$5 sale.