Burlesque And The Performance Of Gender By Claire Nally: Article Analysis

The article Grrrly hurly burly: neo-burlesque and the performance of gender written by Claire Nally is an interesting an indepth look at the world of burlesque dancing and it’s commentary on gender by looking at the history, inspirations, and the purpose of the performances and how dancers use it to defy against tradition and create an interesting form of dance and artist expression, and how these concepts can be seen in media like the movie Burlesque ( Antin, 2010.)

An interesting part of the article is the writing that mentions the wedding industry and the idea and “promises” it sells (Nally 635), and how problematic these ideas can be especially when it comes with individual expression and freedom of women.

‘It is, in many ways, harder

This is a very theatrical and dramatic dance that mixes playful and innocent movements with sexy and innporate moves that make her skirt puff up and reveal her bottom. A part of the dance involves Ali using and moving around a pole, which one might most likely associate with strip dancing, but she doesn't use it this way. She somewhat teases as if she might but when she actually pulls herself off the ground with the pole and spins around it, the movement is more on the playful side of and quite the opposite of the type of moves usually used on a strip pole. Her legs kick in small but fast movements almost as if she’s playing an act of being scary or not that graceful and coordinated, highly contrasting her moves right before hand that were more fluid and confident. The small leg kicks could be pictured and compared to the frantic flaps of baby bird wings. For the rest of the dance though Ali is confident in herself and her ability and uses sexuality to control the stage by appealing to the viewers gaze with sexy and alluring movements, but also in a theatrical way that shows her having fun and almost not taking anything too seriously. This style of burlesque and dance challenges a traditional idea of sexuality involved in female performance that would have once been catered to the pleasure of the male gaze and its ideal of the women performing. This dance and most