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From New York, where American Burlesque Striptease was born...
As seen on CBS Sunday Morning and in The New York Times
Scroll down this page for all of our currently available classes!
Unless otherwise stated, all our offerings are suitable for levels from curious beginner to intermediate.
We've still got fun and friendly classes online and in-person!
New classes are added every month.
We recommend you join the email list to be notified as new classes become available. It's easy to subscribe and unsubscribe and subscribe again if necessary! You'll get 2-4 emails a month, including class listing, performance and professional tips, and event news.
Above: Students in our Essential Burlesque studio class.
Join our email list (linked to the left) and follow us on Instagram (@nyschoolofburlesque)
for the earliest class and event announcements!
All currently available classes and events listed on this page, scroll down to see all:
Classes:
*Movement and Choreography with Gigi Holliday
(In-Person in NYC)
*Essential Burlesque (In-Person in NYC)
*Kitten Heels with Edie Nightcrawler (Online on Zoom)
*Act Development (In-Person in NYC)
*Student Showcase Live in NYC!
**COMING SOON: More online and in-person classes!
***Classes and Events Are Added Monthly!***
Join our email list, linked in the column to the left, or follow us on Instagram -- and follow all our instructors -- to be notified when new in-person and online classes are added.
Vaccines are recommended for all attendees.
Many of our classes sell out, so when in doubt, register at your earliest convenience.
STUDENT SHOWCASE!
December 15 at DROM
It's the freshest burlesque in town! Come see students of the New York School of Burlesque present all-new numbers in this titillating show!
Details and Tickets
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!
This series teaches you all the elements of what goes into a burlesque performance! You'll create a new act from beginning to end, including finding a stage name, discovering a concept, selecting music, assembling a costume, and developing choreography.
Details and Registration
BURLESQUE IMPROV AND CHOREOGRAPHY
In-Person in NYC!
Mondays, 7-8 pm
Get Moving with Gigi!
Gigi will teach you basic burlesque moves and get you into showgirl form in this introductory class! Designed for all levels, it's the perfect way to begin your journey into this sexy and playful performing art.
Dress for movement and comfort, heels optional.
Registration and Details for Gigi's classes
Kitten Heels: Beginner Burlesque Group Dance Class
Ready to give burlesque a try?
This class makes burlesque easy, with accessible moves for beginners with no dance experience. You'll learn burlesque style and movement, and you'll learn a full routine with the opportunity (but not the requirement) of performing in a live student showcase in NYC!
Details and Registration.
ESSENTIAL BURLESQUE
Registration is open for January 2025!
In-Person in NYC.
This is it!
In this month-long series you'll discover the distinctive props and techniques of burlesque! Learn how to do an unforgettable striptease, a seductive chair dance, a fabulous fan dance, and a titillating tassel-twirl.
You'll do a full routine the very first day, using your own clothing! All in a supportive and playful environment.
Details and Registration
ELEMENTAL BURLESQUE
Online in February 2025
Details and Registration
Previously recorded class:
If You Must Make a Mess
Let's discuss the pros and cons of making a mess onstage! Jo will give tips on how to prepare the stage and backstage for various pours, how to talk to producers and venues about them, and various approaches to cleaning up after them. We'll talk about the logistics of using confetti, fake blood, bath shows, and more; as well as how to use tarps, towels, and kiddie pools. Learn from Jo Weldon, who spent decades making huge messes on strip joint stages and never left a drop behind -- because she would have gotten her ass kicked if she did.
Watch online!
Burlesque-Curious?
Check out our free articles!
WHAT I WORE TO WORK
Jo Weldon's long-anticipated one-woman show -- part memoir, part fashion history -- continues in 2025!
More Information
JO WELDON'S BURLESQUE BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA!
Details and Tickets
PAST CLASSES AND EVENTS
Join our email list to be notified when any of these are offered again!
TRAPLESQUE WITH ZYRA LEE VANITY
One time only, September 17 2023!
Zyra will teach you how to own all of that as well as do the burlesque basics (such as bumping and grinding), but to trap music! This class is choreography based and is designed to help you bring out your inner bad and bougie traplesque goddess.
Details and Registration
BURLESQUE FOR POLE
SOLD OUT
August 27, 6.30 - 8 pm $40
At Everybody's Nimble
Burlesque and pole dance make great partners!
Learn how to use techniques of audience connection, mindful body presentation, and tease to make your pole performances even more memorable.
Dress for pole, and bring a robe or button-down shirt.
This class works for all levels, as you will begin by doing your favorite moves and Jo will help you add a layer of burlesque style and movement to what you already know how to do.
SOLD OUT
Details and Registration
SPECIAL WORKSHOPS WITH MISS POISON IVORY
JULY 22, 2023
Miss Exotic World 2016, Miss Poison Ivory, will be presenting TWO special workshops in July!
Finesse That Floor Show is designed to equip participants with the skills and finesse needed to dazzle audiences in a mesmerizing floor show performance.
In Dare To Be Sexy will you'll learn how to captivate your audience in ways that have nothing to do with fancy costumes or clever themes.
Details and Registration
A HISTORY OF LEOPARD PRINT
July 28, 5.30 pm, Online
The leopard is an apex predator: powerful, adaptable, and impossible to domesticate. Leopard print is an apex fashion statement: powerful, fluid in meaning, and impossible to ignore. From being the most prized insignia of kings and warriors, to a pop culture fashion staple that is so common we now take it for granted, this is the story of leopard print, and how a pattern adapted by nature has never lost its bite.
Details and Tickets
CORSET DISCOVERY
July 29 2023, 1:45-2:45
Curious about corsets but don't know where to start?
Tried corsets and found them intimidating?
Just love corsets and want to know more?
This is for you! With three decades of experience wearing and performing in and out of corsets, Jo Weldon has the expert knowledge you need to successfully navigate the confusing world of lacing up.
Covers: Shopping for corsets, Sizing, Busk vs Zipper front, Laces, Embellishing, Getting into Corsets, Getting out of Corsets, and more!
You will learn how to make removing a corset onstage a glamourous event instead of an awkward struggle.
All bodies welcome!
Bring your own corsets if you like!
Registration and Details
MASTER CLASS IN BURLESQUE AT CONEY ISLAND
There's no burlesque class in the world like the Coney Island Master Class Series! Spend six weeks with the author of The Burlesque Handbook, Headmistress Jo Weldon of the New York School of Burlesque, while she teaches you how to create a themed burlesque number the Coney Island way. This unique class is taught in the Museum at CIUSA. You'll learn how to come up with ideas on a theme, pick the best possible music, bring together a costume on a budget, how to make pasties, and how to twirl tassels -- taught in front of funhouse mirrors!
You'll develop your number and your choreography with an ace team of guest speakers, featuring some of the best burlesque performers in the world. Speakers TBA, but regular participants have included Dirty Martini, Angie Pontani, Gal Friday, Bambi the Mermaid, Fem Appeal, Tigger!, Miss Coney Island, and many others at the top of the burly game. Best of all, you'll get to finish the series with a performance at the legendary Sideshows by the Seashore! There will be homework and video assignments to watch for discussion, related to class material. All styles of burlesque welcome, from disturbing performance art to sultry glamour. Open to all genders, ages, and bodies.
Culminates in a student showcase performance on July 31 on Coney Island's famous Sideshow stage!
Details and Registration
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!
IN NYC
April/May 2023
3.05-5 pm EST Five Sundays beginning April 23
Showcase in NYC at DROM, May 28, 8 pm.
SOLD OUT
440 Lafayette St, 4th floor, Studio 4A, Manhattan
Join Jo Weldon, author of The Burlesque Handbook, as she takes you through every element as you create your own unique solo burlesque routine, from choosing music to putting together a costume to interacting with a live audience. Each participant will also receive individual attention and guidance. You will have the option of performing your routine live in a student showcase!
Jo has been performing burlesque since 1992, and has traveled the world as a headliner at burlesque festivals. She has been a member of the team at BurlyCon since it was founded and has worked at The Burlesque Hall of Fame since 2004. She has performed at Coney Island USA and The New York Burlesque Festival every year since 2003. You'll be in the hands of someone who's more than a dancer -- she's an experienced performer who really knows what it takes!
Details and Registration for in-person series described above.
JO WELDON RECEIVES A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
March 6 2023 at Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center
"The GANYC Apple Awards celebrate those who make New York City great! Over a dozen awards are given out each year to individuals & organizations from across our five boroughs. In addition to these main nominated categories below, we also award a Lifetime Achievement Award to Jo Weldon, a NYC burlesque legend, and our Guiding Spirit Award, which will go to Susan Birnbaum!"
Details
The NY School of Burlesque combines direct training from the most glamourous performers of the 1940s-1960s with the freshness, mischief and creativity of the most prolific neo-burlesque scene in the world! All of our instructors are working, internationally-known professional performers, and our environment is warm, supportive, and inclusive. We offer a wide range of classes for entertainment, exercise, or training to perform, depending on your level of interest. Plus, you can request a private class for you and your friends at any time!
