Burlesque, uncovered

Miss Burlesque NZ, Busty la Belle, says burlesque is about self-acceptance, sexiness, and having a laugh. Photo: Luke Calder.

GRACE Hammersley-Myers is a PA at The New Zealand Treasury. But at night, she dons thigh-high fishnets, lace bustiers and frilly-bottomed knickers to become Busty la Belle – New Zealand’s reigning burlesque queen.
Modern/neo-burlesque performance usually entails stripping, but Miss la Belle says there’s a whole lot more to it than that.
“[Wellington burlesque performer] Eva Strangelove says, ‘At strip clubs it’s about your body, and what you’re doing with your body, it’s less about personality’. Burlesque is more about theatre and comedy, and about sensuality over sexuality.
“It’s about having a laugh about something sexy,” she says.
Miss la Belle’s routines include the one where she starts off as Batman (“A 60s, Adam West-type Batman”), and ends up as Wonder woman, and another where she pours a bag of sugar over her bare chest, sending it cascading onto the audience, and then, carrying a mixing bowl, leaves the stage wearing not much more than a chef’s hat.
“I really love the inventiveness. There’s always the change from clothed to unclothed, but I like to tell a story,” she says.
On the negative side, burlesque possibly reinforces that a woman’s body is the most important thing she has. On the positive, it contributes to widening the definition of what a ‘beautiful’ or ‘sexy’ woman is.
“Burlesque encompasses all sizes, shapes and ages of women and men. I’m a size 14-16, who’s 5”3’ tall, and 35 years old - I’m not classic supermodel material, but I like to think that by being brave, bold and confident I’m reaching out to all those women who don’t feel comfortable about their bodies. Burlesque is about accepting the way you are, and the way your body is, and being strong in that,” she says.
“If you said to me, ‘Ok you’re gonna take clothes off in room full of strangers’, I’d say ‘no way’. But if you tell me you want me to promote self-acceptance and self-belief to women, I’m there. That’s why I do it.”
As reigning Miss Burlesque NZ champion, she will open the competition this weekend.
“Then I get to enjoy the show, which is rare to be honest. Ill watch them go through the fear and the adrenaline buzz. It’s scarier than hell, but most thrilling ride you’ll ever have.”
Miss Burlesque NZ, Lambton Ballroom, Intercontinental Hotel, April 16.