Jo Weldon, Author, Performer, Instructor, and Speaker
This page is under construction but still functional!
It'll be prettier soon.
Jo Weldon is available for private one-on-one instruction, choreography, and consultation on an hourly basis, both in the studio and long distance. She is also available to travel to teach and lecture. For rates and availability email headmistress@schoolofburlesque.com.
Click here for current classes.
Scroll down for merch and past classes.
Jo Weldon
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Dressed Like A Whore Merch
When you purchase these items you're supporting Jo Weldon's ongoing research into the intersections of sex work, fashion, and culture.
Each purchase includes a handwritten thank you!
Self-Printed Booklet (Limited Edition of 40)
$9.99 plus $1.50 postage
Currently shippable in the US only.
On one side, this little 36-page booklet contains Jo Weldon's paper "Sex Worker Style: What Does It Mean To Be Dressed Like A Whore?", updated, expanded, and with new illustrations from when it was originally published in 2020. On the flip side is the key to her pinup.
Second edition. See a preview of the (somewhat shorter) first edition!
More images and videos of the booklet and stickers will be posted here in early August, but you can buy now.
The next shipping dates are August 5 and August 12.
THIS EDITION OF THE BOOKLET IS NOW SOLD OUT
MAILTO: schoolofburlesque@gmail.com Request to be added to the booklet waitlist.
3" Stickers $3.50 each or $6 for both
DONATE
to support my research project and my pursuit of image rights for independent presentations and publications.
CATHOUSE 5: JO'S BIRTHDAY SPECTACULAR!
August 10 2024 9 PM $25
At Sideshows by the Seashore
1208 Surf Avenue
Coney Island, USA
Featuring an All-Star Cast:
Aurora BoobRealis
Cheeky Lane
Dirty Martini
Fem Appeal
Gigi Holliday
Jonny Porkpie
Tiny D
Veronica Viper
And from Portland: Mystic O'Reilly
Hosted by Headmistress Jo Weldon
Stage Kitten: Miss Manhattan
Get ready for another edition of Jo Weldon's infamous birthday show Cathouse at Coney Island's legendary Burlesque at the Beach! Anything can happen, and usually does.
Details and Tickets
More of Jo's Current Classes and Events
PAST CLASSES:
Bubble Dance
July 9, 2017, 4-530 pm, $25 plus $5 cash in class for materials
Bubble dancing is fancy, fun, sexy, and hilarious!
In this workshop you’ll learn what kind of balloons to use in a bubble dance, how to inflate them quickly, and how you can reuse them. Then the fun begins, as you start handling them right away, discovering how to use every part of your body to move them around, how to conceal and reveal with them, and, most importantly, how to keep them from popping before you’re ready. The class will close with a brief group choreography. Plus, you get to keep your balloon! Inspired by Rand the Vampire’s bubble class at BurlyCon, and with his blessing and guidance, this class introduces bubbledancing to a brand new audience.
Jo Weldon's Bubble Dance students, known at the Titillations, have performed at The Slipper Room and the New York Burlesque Festival.
Above: Jo's students in class.
CORSET ESSENTIALS 4-5 pm
Corsets can enhance your costume and performance, but to make the most of them, you'll want to know what you're (literally) getting into! Headmistress Jo Weldon will discuss how purchase a corset, how to lace a corset, how to put on a corset, and how to artfully remove a corset. Feel free to bring any corsets you have!
IN YOUR IMAGE: HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR PRODUCERS, PRESS, AND FESTIVAL APPLICATIONS 5-6 pm
This class is invaluable for both new and established performers.
In this class you'll learn what to keep on hand so that you can respond quickly when you see a show in which you want to participate, a festival or pageant you want to apply to enter, a producer you want to approach, or a press opportunity you want to maximize.
We'll describe how to organize the information you'll need to store and in what formats.
Most importantly, we'll discuss how to frame your bio and photographs so that you get the gigs you want, and the producers get the performer they want. Learn how to evaluate which examples to follow and which to ignore. Understand how to present yourself as a developed performer.
An international headlining performer and instructor, Jo Weldon has frequently served as a judging coordinator, application processor, and/or pageant consultant for the Burlesque Hall of Fame. She has had the unique opportunity to observe how the bar has been raised in burlesque and what high-level producers are seeking.
PAST CLASSES LISTED BELOW
Not available for general registration at this time. Please stay on our email list to be notified when these classes are offered again. Please email headmistress@schoolofburlesque.com if you would like to hire Jo to teach these classes for your organization or for private lessons.
Create Your Own Burlesque Routine!
Sundays, January 8, 15, 22, 29, Feb 5, 12, 2016 330-530 pm.
440 Lafayette St, Studio 4C.
Showcase is TBA at The Slipper Room at 8 pm.
Preregistration required. Use button below to pay to register.
Create your own burlesque routine, from music selection, costume design and construction, makeup techniques, all the way through movement and choreography! You'll dig deep, laugh hard, feel incredibly sexy, and discover a fresh perspective for appreciating your personal genius!
Burlesque allows performers total authority to set the tone, style, and theme of each individual presentation. Each number has the potential to be a one-woman (or man) show, with absolute freedom of self-expression. It is a perfect medium for performers, whether they are interested specifically in burlesque, or looking to add new tools to their repertoires.
No prerequisites are required. Don't wait to register! The Essential Burlesque Series (see calendar) can be a companion for this class, but you will be able to create your fully developed fabulous routine with dance and theme using the techniques you'll learn in this series.
Finishing with a showcase at the fabulous Slipper Room!
By registering below, you confirm that you have read and agree to our policies on refunds, transfers, and class credits.
If this series sells out:
Please email us at headmistress@schoolofburlesque.com to be put on the waitlist, or register the February Series.
PAST CLASSES
These classes are not currently available for registration, but will be offered again. Please join our email list, available in the left sidebar of this webpage to be the first to be notified when they return! You may also request any of them as a private workshop or for a party or group, email headmistress@schoolofburlesque for rates and availability.
Boa Time! 4-5 pm
Learn to use a boa to conceal, reveal, frame, and tease! You'll master boa tricks and essential seduction techniques, as well as discovering how any costume piece can become a prop onstage. We'll go from sexy to silly and back again! Small feather boas provided to borrow, but please bring your own if you have them, especially if it's bigger!
In Your Image 5-6 pm
How to Be Prepared for Press, Producers, and Festival Applications
This class is invaluable for both new and established performers. You'll learn what to keep on hand so that you can respond quickly when you see a show in which you want to participate, a festival or pageant you want to apply to enter, a producer you want to approach, or a press opportunity you want to maximize. Methods to organize the information you'll need to store and in what formats, so you can keep it at your fingertips. Most importantly, learn how to frame your bio and photographs so that you get the gigs you want, and the producers get the performer they want. Learn how to evaluate which examples to follow and which to ignore. Understand how to present yourself as a developed performer.
Classes with Jo Weldon in July!
Register by using the dropdown menu below.Please review our payment policies before purchasing. Sorry! These classes are sold out! Stay on our email list to be notified when they are offered again.
Veil Fans!
Sunday, July 24, 330-5 pmLocation: 440 Lafayette St, Studio 4C, 10014
Price: $20 registration.
Learn to use silky, sensual, veil fans!
Please come directly to the studio; arrive at the door ten minutes before class starts.
The option to purchase this class and borrow our fans has sold out. If you want to take the class you must bring your own veil fans. We will not be addressing any other style of fans.
Fans can be purchased on Etsy or eBay. Do a search for "veil fans." Feel free to email us a picture at schoolofburlesque@gmail.com to ask if that is what you need to purchase for the class.
The Bubble Dance!
Sunday, July 31, 330-5 pm pmLocation: 440 Lafayette St, Studio 4C, 10014
ONLY TWO SLOTS REMAIN.
Price: $20 registration, plus $5 materials fee to be paid in cash IN EXACT CHANGE at the class.
Please come directly to the studio; arrive at the door ten minutes before class starts.
Based on Rand the Vampire's class at BurlyCon 2014, and with his guidance and assistance, the New York School of Burlesque is presenting a bubble dance work shop!
We will learn about the balloons and their history, then blow them up. Jo will share handling and choreography and then students will spend time playing with them and discovering what they can do with them!
Registration is strictly limited due to limited supplies.
About the instructor:
Jo Weldon, aka Jo Boobs, is a pioneer in the neo-burlesque movement, and has been voted one of the Top 20 burlesque performers six years in a row in 21st Century Burlesque's annual international poll. She has been the Headmistress of the The New York School of Burlesque since 2004. She is a believer in burlesque as a means to introduce women who are shy about their bodies to enjoy the power of playful and/or confrontational exhibitionism, as well as creativity and self-expression through self-initiated theatrical performance. She has published numerous articles on burlesque, striptease, stripping, and sex work in general in magazines, newspapers, and anthologies since 1994. She is the author of "The Burlesque Handbook" (Harper Collins), the first book ever published on how to create burlesque routines, with a foreword by Margaret Cho, and has produced several acclaimed video programs for burlesque beginners with World Dance New York (http://worlddancenewyork.com/).
View Jo's Calendar Below. Scroll to the Bottom of the Page for the Full School of Burlesque Calendar.
Jo Weldon is also available for private lessons, choreography, and online coaching via Skype or other networking applications, telephone consultations, email consults, and can be brought to your town to teach, speak, and give presentations. Email headmistress@schoolofburlesque@gmail.com for more information about fees and scheduling.
Chair Dance Moves 330-430 pm
This multi-level (beginner to intermediate) chair dance class is based on mastery rather than choreography, although attendees will learn ten dazzling moves that can be used in chair routines. It’s a fun, sexy, and fit way to up your chair dance game! A series of progressively difficult chair dance moves will feature repetitions designed to build muscle memory, and will finish with a full chair dance routine based on the moves. Recommended for the curious, the ambitious, and those who are looking for a fun way to keep moving and perhaps even find a new way to add burlesque to your fitness routines!
As with any movement class, check with your doctor if you have any reservations about whether this class might be suitable for your fitness level.
Instructor Jo Weldon has been introducing new students to chair dance for ten years, and has produced two instructional chair dance programs, available on DVD and streaming, with World Dance New York (see worlddancenewyork.com). She is the Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque and the author of The Burlesque Handbook (available on Amazon.com for immediate download or purchase).
Pleasure and The Art of the Eyefuck 430-530 pm
Flirt. Seduce. Devastate. Talk dirty with your eyes. Learn hwo to convey deep sexual confidence through eye contact, body language, and breathing exercises. Discover the power of being motivated by your own pleasure and joy. This is a playful, erotic, and penetrating class. Not for the faint of heart! Not a dance class, but wear clothes that feel good and in which you can move.
Jo Weldon has travelled the world teaching this class, designed to help both performers and nonperformers access their innate knowledge of seduction and sensuality. Come prepared to break past your comfort zones into a challenging, intimate, and sometimes hilarious session of self-discovery and improved connections.
PAST CLASS:
How to Take Off Your Coat:
A Lesson in Everyday Seduction
In this workshop, Jo Weldon will distill essential principles from her burlesque teachings into a focussed class on seduction, featuring the actions you take and the items you wear every day. The class will do exercises to facilitate presence, charisma, and attraction, both erotic and casual.
Wear whatever you like! Bring three or all of the following:
Coat, gloves, scarf, hat, sunglasses, bottle of water.
This class is also available as a private class for you and your friends. Email headmistress@schoolofburlesque.com to enquire.
Jo Weldon is available for private one-on-one classes for learning about and choreographing public performance and/or privately studying playful and erotic seduction.
PAST CLASSES:
Jo Weldon is teaching Act Development in NYC for the first time in over a year! This is an opportunity to learn directly from the Headmistress herself.
January 11, 18, 25, Feb 1, 8, 2015 3-5 pm.
440 Lafayette St, Studio 4C.
Showcase is February 15 at The Slipper Room at 8 pm.
Preregistration required. See purchase button below for price options.
Create your own burlesque routine, from music selection, costume design and construction, makeup techniques, all the way through movement and choreography! You'll dig deep, laugh hard, feel incredibly sexy, and discover a fresh perspective for appreciating your personal genius!
Burlesque allows performers total authority to set the tone, style, and theme of each individual presentation. Each number has the potential to be a one-woman (or man) show, with absolute freedom of self-expression. It is a perfect medium for performers, whether they are interested specifically in burlesque, or looking to add new tools to their repertoires.
No prerequisites are required. Don't wait to register! The Essential Burlesque Series (see calendar) can be a companion for this class, but you will be able to create your fully developed fabulous routine with dance and theme using the techniques you'll learn in this series.
Finishing with a showcase at the fabulous Slipper Room!
By registering below, you confirm that you have read and agree to our policies on refunds, transfers, and class credits.
$195 Paid In Full, $225 with Split Payment Deposit Option
Paying a deposit ensures you will get in (this series is selling out FAST); an administrative charge of $30 is added to the regular price of $195 due to extra fees and handling that occur on our end. The balance must be paid by December 1 and if you do not pay the balance you forfeit 50% of the deposit.
SOLD OUT.
Please email us at headmistress@schoolofburlesque.com to be put on the waitlist, or register the February Series.
Jo Weldon
PAST EVENTS
How To Choose Music For a Burlesque Routine
This is the first run of this class, which is being developed for BurlyCon. Come dressed to move and bring shoes you want to dance in!
We will discuss what burlesque standards are and how to use them, as well as how to use other kinds of music, from classical to top 40.
We will discuss theme, tone, timing, musicality, and identification. You'll learn how to make it seem as if you are making the music with your body, how to exploit the choreography of events, and how to break tradition without sacrificing connection to the audience.
Perfecting The Twirl
This class is a wild party of skill-building!
Tassel-twirling is one of the most unique elements of burlesque. Are you making the most of it? Avoiding it because you're afraid you can't do it, or because it seems trite? Trying to figure out how to put your own twist on it? Wondering why it seems so easy for some and not for others?
We will refresh your understanding of basic tassel-twirling techniques in class, so if you're a brand new twirler, you can still get a lot from this. If you're an experienced twirler who still has a few issues, you'll get even more benefits! Come in and learn how to do your best twirl, how to choose and make pasties that make twirling easier, which shoes can make a difference, how to incorporate tassel twirling into musicality, and why sometimes your twirl just won't go.
Be prepared to put tassels on your bare chest and behind.
Bring tassels if you've got 'em! Pasties will be available to borrow and to purchase (bring cash for those! in class, but if you already have pasties, definitely bring them, and if you can, bring more than one pair.
Striptease Expertise
The woman who wrote the book on burlesque is coming to DC Bier Baron to teach her signature class!
You'll learn how to make everything from slipping out of a button-down shirt to removing your earrings into a devastating act of theater. We'll start with what you already know (and you may not even know you know it) and incorporate it into innovative and effective ways to handle any article of clothing. Though not a dance class, there are walking and movement components, so wear shoes in which you would like to perform. We recommend you bring a hoodie that unzips all the way down the front, or if you do not have a hoodie bring a cardigan or button-down shirt to class.
Classes are open to men and women, beginners and professionals. Learn a whole new skill or hone the ones you've got. Class size is limited so follow this page for updates so you can register as soon as possible.
March 9, 3.30-4 pm, New York City, 440 Lafayette, Studio 4C
Community Class:
No registration or class fee,
$5 cash-in-hand materials fee, to cover operating costs
Includes handout
Bring a notebook
In Your Own Image
How to Be Prepared for Press, Producers, and Festival Applications
This class is invaluable for both new and established performers.
In this class you'll learn what to keep on hand so that you can respond quickly when you see a show in which you want to participate, a festival or pageant you want to apply to enter, a producer you want to approach, or a press opportunity you want to maximize.
We'll describe how to organize the information you'll need to store and in what formats.
Most importantly, we'll discuss how to frame your bio and photographs so that you get the gigs you want, and the producers get the performer they want. Learn how to evaluate which examples to follow and which to ignore. Understand how to present yourself as a developed performer.
An international headlining performer and instructor, Jo Weldon has frequently served as a class coordinator, judging coordinator, and consultant for the Burlesque Hall of Fame and as a judge at The New Orleans Burlesque Festival. She has had a unique opportunity to observe how the bar has been raised in burlesque and what high-level producers are seeking.
Email schoolofburlesqueatgmaildotcom with any questions. When we are at capacity, we CANNOT allow other registrants, as it will affect the quality of the class. Please register as soon as you are sure you want to attend. Our payment policies permit cancellations and refunds up to February 25th for this class.No refunds or transfers after February 25th.
Jo Weldon
See Jo teaching in Milan in the video below!
More School of Burlesque Classes
The calendar below is constantly being updated.
