Burlesque For Belonging
Creative Empowerment in Yorkshire
Building on over eight years of delivering Burlesque With Paris across Yorkshire, Burlesque for Belonging is a participatory contemporary performance arts programme that brings women together to explore creativity through burlesque.
Rooted in storytelling, character creation, movement, stagecraft and costume-making, the programme offers a structured creative journey where participants develop performance skills, artistic confidence and their own creative voice. Through guided workshops, they are encouraged to experiment, make creative choices, and discover new ways of expressing themselves through performance.
Designed for beginners, sessions are delivered in a supportive "Brave Space" where everyone is welcomed, respected, and encouraged to participate at their own pace. All creative resources are provided, helping to remove financial barriers and ensuring every participant can fully engage in the artistic experience.
Delivered within local communities across Yorkshire, Burlesque for Belonging expands access to high-quality participatory arts while creating opportunities for women to connect, create and celebrate their creativity through contemporary performance.
See Burlesque for Belonging in Action
This film captures the creative approach at the heart of Burlesque With Paris, demonstrating how participants explore burlesque as a contemporary performance art form through movement, storytelling, character creation and stagecraft.
It shows workshops delivered within a supportive "Brave Space", where beginners are encouraged to experiment, develop performance skills, and express their creativity at their own pace. Through guided artistic exploration, participants build confidence, develop their creative voice, and experience the enjoyment of creating and performing together.
Reaching Our Communities
Our recruitment approach is designed to reach women within their local communities across Hull, Selby, Doncaster, and Featherstone. Working in partnership with Selby Community Centre, Featherstone Community Centre, D'Angelos Dance Academy and Dunsville Community Centre, we combine printed flyers, targeted social media advertising and community networks to raise awareness of the programme and encourage participation.
Our promotional materials highlight the opportunity to explore burlesque as a contemporary performance art form through movement, storytelling, character creation, stagecraft, and costume-making. Designed to be welcoming, inclusive and accessible, they emphasise that no previous experience is needed and that all creative resources are provided.
By promoting the project through trusted community partners and familiar local venues, we aim to reach women who may experience barriers to arts participation, creating welcoming opportunities to explore creativity, develop performance skills and connect with others through participatory arts.