In The Spotlight: Belle De Beauvoir!
- Rubys Rebels
- 11 hours ago
- 8 min read
From dazzling stages across the UK with The Evening of Burlesque to hosting her own hit show, Blues and Burlesque. Belle De Beauvoir redefines what it means to own the spotlight. Here, Belle shares the stories behind the sparkle.
1. Belle, your stage name is a beautiful homage to both classic glamour and feminist intellect. Could you share more about how you chose "Belle De Beauvoir" and what it represents to you?
The first girl I ever fell in love with was called Bella. I was eleven and she wore a Punky-Fish black and pink sticky out tutu, with brown hair all down her back, and taught me to bend and snap at the school disco. She was the coolest person I’d ever met, she smelled amazing and had soft skin, and I desperately wanted to touch her, so I guess that was a bit of an awakening that stayed with me!! I also loved the book The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, where her alter-ego is named Belle de Jour after the French film about a housewife who starts working as a call girl in the sixties- it's beautiful and surreal and sexy and French. De Beauvoir is of course from the brilliant Simone De Beauvoir whom I wrote a dissertation on- De Beauvoir brought about second wave feminism, was an independent artist. All these influences are about freedom, about desire and fantasy, and about returning to your essence, which is what burlesque meant to me at the time. I was originally named ’The Despicable Bon Bon’ for a few weeks, thanks to an internet name generator, before I found Belle!
2. Belle, you've been touring with An Evening of Burlesque all around the UK. How has that experience been for you, and what have been some of the highlights?
I am genuinely just so pleased for this incredible opportunity to tour and, most importantly, for the arts, to be able to work consistently. Being able to perform 4 times a week on big stages has taken my craft to a new level- everything has to be bigger and sharper when you’re playing to audiences of that size in venues that big, so my acts have really levelled up over the last three years on tour. Getting to perform them so often means I constantly have the opportunity to review my acts and tweak them. I still film my acts every chance I get to try and get that extra percent better every show.
The biggest highlight for me has been being able to sing and do comedy on the show. In my own show, Blues and Burlesque, I host and sing, and following our sold-out Edinburgh run Ivy Paige, our head honcho at An Evening of Burlesque, asked me if I'd like to do one of the sing and fling numbers in the show. This for me was just absolutely life-changing, and gave me a whole new challenge and skill to work on and hone. I cannot emphasise quite how much it means to me to have the trust and support of my producers to push myself to a whole new level.
3. What has been one of the most memorable or impactful audience reactions you've experienced during a performance?
Gosh, there have been so many over the years:
There was the time that the lights and music cut out live on stage, and the audience got out their torches and sang the rest of “I am what I am' - I finished the act lit by 30 phone torches. That was hugely special.
Pete Saunders (my double act partner on Blues and Burlesque) wrote me an incredible arrangement of Heart of Glass after I’d just gotten out of a really emotionally abusive relationship. The first time I performed that with a live band and I looked out to see people crying. Whenever we perform that, we have people talking to us about it afterwards.
I used to perform an act about Consent to Baby It's Cold Outside. I performed it at a little show in Banbury, and a few women came to talk to me about their experiences of sexual violence and told me how much it meant to them to feel seen and represented.
Burlesque has the power to take our most vulnerable parts and lay them out for people to see, to connect with. Those are the moments that mean the world, when it really connects to someone.
4. What’s your favorite costume piece, and is there a story behind it?
I am so lucky that I have my costumes designed bespoke. I tend to have a mad dream, yes an actual dream, and then end up emailing one of my trusted costumiers and seeing what they can make happen!
I think my favourite piece is my boa feather skirt, which removes to become boa fans. I designed it myself based on the original Satine costume from Moulin Rouge, which is my guilty pleasure, my favourite film in the world, and makes me weep every time. It is just pure joy and delight to me- they are totally frivolous, over the top, and unashamedly glamorous in that old Ziegfeld Follie style, when I first got them I felt like a real showgirl, so it's very close to my heart!
5. Costumes and props are such an important part of burlesque. How do you recommend new performers approach costume creation on a budget while still ensuring quality and impact?
Ah the age old question! Honestly, there's far more importance placed on costuming now than there used to be when I first started. Rhinestoning is a cheap way to make ANYTHING look spectacular- it’s just time intensive. Don’t be afraid to get creative- organza boas are super easy and cheap to make and hugely impactful- focus on slick lines, a great silhouette, and don't overcomplicate, especially when it comes to props. Apart from my martini glass and my chaise (big prop acts), all of my acts are walk on to music, no props, no mess. Reach out to fellow burlesque performers, I’m often willing to sell old costumes to new performers (I couldn't bear to give them to anyone else!) and then you aren’t starting from zero. Fringe is your friend. Beaded fringe even better.
BUT Your costume should be enhancing your performance and personality, it is not a performance or a personality in itself. I’ve seen lots of people with great costumes and acts that are forgettable, the costumes you can build overtime, but if you want longevity, it can’t hide a lack of charisma.
6. When you're first starting out, building confidence is a huge part of performing. How did you find your stage persona?
My stage persona is so changeable based on what acts I'm doing! I have some super classic showgirl acts, that are super poised and polished, I have comedy acts that are purposefully more relatable and engaged, but the general rule for me is that its not a million miles away from who I am as a person- mostly upbeat, a little bit naughty and with tongue placed firmly in cheek.
Smashlyn Monroe once told me something I've never forgotten- your burlesque persona is who you would be on your very best day, who you would be without limitations of practicalities- of having to pay for food, work a job, kids, going to the gym etc. Start by thinking who you are on your very best days, what's the self you wish you could be all the time. For me, I'd be a fluffy showgirl floofing around in feathers, drinking champagne, with a sharp tongue that surprises people.
Confidence is a totally extra section- get on stage, as much as possible, even when you're not ready. Stage time is like going to the gym, not every day is a successful trip, sometimes you're tired or don't do a great job, but it lets you know and increase what you are capable of!
7. As both a performer and a producer, you’ve seen the industry from both sides. What are some common mistakes you see new performers making, and how can they avoid them?
Great question, and it comes up so often. Here are the most common reasons I’m booking you for an open mic or a newbie slot rather than an established slot:
1) Too many props- tables, chairs, mess. This tells me you aren't confident you can hold the room by yourself. It's also a nightmare to produce.
2) You’re not having fun on stage. Seriously. I would rather you have the best time and it’s messy than I can see you counting. If you're not having fun, we aren’t, and the audience wants to engage with you- we want to be won over by you, we want to know you and feel like you're sharing yourself with us.
3) Eyes down or serious ’sexy’ pout face. There's a strange idea that ’sexy’ means moody, you know, the French film noir type where your eyes are down and your mouth is in a permanent pout. This works on the silver screen but not on stage. Sexy doesn't come from outside- it’s not really something you can pretend to be, it has to come from inside. Confidence is always sexy. Feel the pleasure, enjoy the moment, and we will too!
4) Transitions and discards. Getting up from the floor, picking up or putting down fans, just after a discard- these little moments are so often skipped over, your brain is thinking about the next bit, so it's like your entire face and body has forgotten it's on stage.
5) Musicality. Stop dancing to the 8 count, stop dancing to the lyrics, listen to the music- listen for the big HITS, that's your moment. You can play with the other bits sure, but real musicality for me emphasises the off beat, it’s the swing in the hips-step, swing, step, swing. That 2 and 4, that’s where most songs sit in the body.
8. Burlesque is about constant growth and evolution. How do you keep pushing yourself creatively to develop new acts and refine your performances?
Do not let anyone dictate to you what burlesque is or isn’t. Blues and Burlesque is a two-hander live music burlesque show I perform and write with the incredibly talented pianist, and my best friend in the world, Pete Saunders. When we started building the show I didnt realise that my version of burlesque was becoming something bigger than just dancing: I was singing, I was doing comedy, I didn’t really realise until the first performance that singing, stand up, hosting, audience participation, these can all be built into what a burlesque act is. Honestly, before this, I’d spent four years in Burlesque entirely committed to never speaking on stage again after leaving acting.
It’s important to make space to dream- what's the logical extreme of the image you're dreaming of? Make a ‘for now’ version, sure, but what if that martini glass has a fountain, what if your fan dance goes en pointe. I’ve taken lessons in aerial hoop, stand up, voice, ballet, heels, latin, clowning, fire, just to make a vision realised. I film absolutely everything. I write notes after every show when I'm on tour. I am constantly collecting new costume pieces, so over time, full outfits come together. I rhinestone whenever I'm watching trash TV. I work out and eat, and sleep well to keep myself in good shape.
9. If your burlesque alter ego had a theme song, what would it be?
Soul Bossa-Nova for sure, it's cheeky, it's sexy, and it’s all about those hits.
10. What is one thing you wish more people understood about burlesque, whether as an art form, a community, or as a personal expression?
I wish people knew more about the variety involved in burlesque- there are so many different ways to make a burlesque act that aren’t a classic Dita Von Teese showgirl strip, beautiful though they are. Burlesque is a huge realm, and is expanding every day with every new performer and new act. Take the rules and break them, innovate, make something totally outside of the box. Something I love about newer performers is they often don't know the rules and conventions, and so they break them- that’s the truly brilliant art. Let’s mix it up!
Find Belle De Beauvoir :-
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