Burlesque is more than glitter, feathers and scantily clad ladies. Much more. Nackabon Freja Futch knows that, who runs the Burleskakademien in Sickla and is helping organize a large, international burlesque festival this weekend, where she herself will perform.
– In burlesque you can let go of everything and just be yourself, she says.
Freja Futch is 37 years old and lives in Jarlaberg. Actually, her name is neither Freja nor Futch, but in this article she wants to be called by her stage name. For pretty much all of her free time, when she’s not sitting with Excelark at work at an insurance company, she devotes herself to burlesque – the mix between dance, comedy, variety show and striptease that she fell in love with almost 20 years ago.
– I have always danced, everything from modern to flamenco and ballet. I went to the Academy of Dance in Stockholm, but often felt that I didn’t quite fit in. I was told from my early teens that I was too short and too big for ballet. But I persevered, and one day a friend took me to a burlesque show. And then I realized that this was exactly what I should be doing, Freja says and continues:
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– I saw lots of fantastic artists, who didn’t apologize, who stood on stage on their own terms. I have to try, I thought.
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Soon after, Freja was part of The Amazing Knicker Kittens Burlesque Revue, the country’s first burlesque troupe. And after that, everything in her life has been about burlesque. She helped start the Burleskacadem, which is located at Konstjord in Sickla, and is both an organizer and performer at The International Stockholm Burlesque Festival, which this year takes place on October 11-12. We will return to the festival later; it is appropriate to drill a little deeper into the concept of burlesque first.
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Image: Calle Elf
The word itself originates from the Italian I jokemeaning joke or prank. From the very beginning, in the 17th century, the burlesque was a comic literary genre. But at the end of the 19th century, it instead became a name for a variety show in the United States, which often included striptease and various glamorous attributes, such as glitter, corsets and feathers.
Over the past 30 years, neo-burlesque has emerged, an art form that accommodates a great variety of expressions.
– Neoburlesque often picks up the satirical and comic, and reflects what happens in society, questions norms and broadens all the time. On stage it can be expressed in singing, dancing, acrobatics, juggling… Everything is allowed, explains Freja Futch.
Burleskademien calls itself Sweden’s first and foremost burlesque school and has on its website the subtitle “Revealing training since 2006”. Because there is a lot of focus on the undressed in burlesque. But, Freja underlines, it’s always on the artist’s terms.
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– For me, burlesque is about daring to take a seat, knowing your own worth and not apologizing for who you are or how you look. It’s a sensual art form that accommodates all body types, and it’s never someone else who decides what to do on stage, she says.
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– It is you who set the limits yourself, while it is truly an interactive art form, where the audience and the artist give each other energy. But you don’t have to fulfill everything you insinuate on stage – no one in the audience thinks you’re flirting with them. In this way, it is a safe room, there is a consensus, Freja continues.
At the Burleska Academy in Sickla, she and her colleagues want to convey this to the participants. They hold basic courses and courses in how to do solo numbers. They organize workshops in costume making – and sometimes they show at hen parties.
– Or we go to a group in maybe Dalarna and hold an intensive course over a weekend. It is very varied. But we do it to strengthen the community, and we always end the semesters with a show for the students.
During the festival, which is held at Södra teatern and Nalen, one of the goals is to showcase the breadth of today’s international burlesque scene.
– It’s really a diversified scene, and we want to show everything that burlesque can be. Then the audience gets the chance to discover something new, and the artists, who put in so much time, money, blood, sweat and tears, get a platform to show off to a large audience.
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Image: Burleskakademien
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Many of the performers have connections to drag shows.
– In a way, the art forms are similar. Both come from an underground culture that breaks the norms, and both stand up for who they are deep down. Many drag artists are also burlesque artists, says Freja Futch.
The burlesque scene is generally on the rise in Sweden, she states.
– It is definitely bigger than ten, fifteen years ago, and there is a greater geographical spread as well. There are now burlesque scenes in, for example, Gothenburg, Nyköping and Malmö. It’s absolutely fantastic.
Why do you think interest is growing?
– I think many people enjoy the environment. It’s so freeing to try things without being judged for it. And it’s super important to be able to do that, in contrast to all the “perfect” lives shown on social media and the competition that exists in working life. In burlesque, you can let go of everything and just be yourself.
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The International Stockholm Burlesque Festival
• The festival is organized for the twelfth time and takes place at Södra teatern on 11 October and Nalen on 12 October.
• On Saturday, “Octbooberfest” is also organized, with the subtitle “Tassel Twirling Championship”, i.e. a competition in shaking tasseled breasts, with collection for the Cancer Foundation under the slogan “boobs against cancer”.
• Performers include Australian burlesque star Bettie Bombshell and Portuguese gay icon Mau Oh. The presenter is Drag Queen Lilly SnatchDragon from London.
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