Oxford High alumna Tempest Rose stars in an Evening of Burlesque at Oxford's New Theatre

Sitting in the small room above Bar Baby, facing the hastily erected stage, the atmosphere was intangible, an air of excitement, mystery and eroticism pervading as we waited for Tempest Rose.

It was 2009 and Oxford’s first taste of burlesque as her collection of fascinating and titillating performers arrived on stage and captivated us.

Fast forward five years and Tempest Rose is now a leading figure in the world of burlesque, currently bringing Burlesque UK to the New Theatre as part of a worldwide tour. But in the transition from niche to mainstream, has something been lost along the way? Isn’t it the vaudeville aspect of burlesque that makes it so risque? Is Tempest Rose not stripping the genre of its originality by making it more commercial?

“Burlesque is now an established form of entertainment, while before it was seen as a fad or a fashion. It’s become mainstream and as such accepted, and it’s been an incredible honour to have been part of that journey, having been there right at the beginning to watch its rise. It feels like a very personal journey; I’m proud of that,” the former Oxford High School pupil declares.

Having worked her way up the burlesque ladder, Tempest Rose is now in the enviable position of being able to call the shots, touring, launching her own company House of Burlesque which performs in all the top London clubs from Madame Jojo’s to The Kitten Club, and running a Burlesque Idol monthly competition to coach and mentor upcoming burlesque performers.

Picking and choosing her work, Tempest Rose no longer has to lug a suitcase of costumes and props around on the Tube as she tries to cram in several gigs a night, instead picking three high-profile shows a week and taking a cab.

“I’m very lucky, but there is no overnight success, you have to hone your craft, it’s just the way the industry is, so once you’re established you’re in. That’s why I coach girls coming into the industry to take them to the next level, performance-wise. We want them to represent burlesque properly so give them all the tools they need, because if you don’t work out what the audience needs, you won’t get the bookings.”

So what’s the secret to a good show? “It needs to be visually heavy but with a paradoxical narrative of satire, humour and performance. You need to have a vulnerability, a mix of truthfulness and the ability to be in the moment, and to be a good burlesque artist you also need a sense of maturity — to be aware of your sexuality and your body.”

Body perception is now Tempest Rose’s main bugbear, the Hollywood burlesque makeover meaning people got the wrong end of the stick. “I think people watched the film and thought that’s what burlesque is all about, but it wasn’t an accurate representation.

“Burlesque is not a pop video or a magazine shoot, it’s not size 8 models in corsets, and making the girls more generic doesn’t give any credit to their joie de vivre or their personalities, and we must stay true to that.”

Strange to think then that Tempest Rose’s burlesque career almost didn’t happen, having left Oxford High to study Italian at Birmingham University. “I dropped out after just one year. It was like being in a fishbowl and I didn’t like that, it didn’t seem like real life to me and having been travelling and working since I was 15 I just thought it was boring. I wanted to go to London.”

London it was then, where burlesque was having a rebirth. “When I first ventured upon burlesque I was blown away. I felt as if it was a new art form made just for me because it played to all of my strengths. So when I auditioned at The Kitten Club I really wanted the job, even if it was peculiar being dressed up in stockings and suspenders.”

Were her family supportive? ”The first time my parents came to a gig I saw it through their eyes and wondered if I’d made a terrible mistake. But then I peered through the curtains and saw my dad howling with laughter and knew it would be alright,” Tempest Rose, whose real name is Ariadne Blakey, laughs.

So how does she view her education now? “I was very lucky that my parents put me through such a good school, even though I wasn’t academic because it has helped me immeasurably in running my own business and believing in myself. In fact I was invited back to discuss my career recently, and it was a benchmark moment for me. I wanted to show that there are lots of unusual careers out there which you can do well at if you work hard.”

And when the 32 year-old’s life as a burlesque artist is over? “Producing has been in the back of my mind from day one because I’ve invested 10 years in burlesque and need to make it last a lifetime. There’s nothing worse than an un employed showgirl, so you have to be quite savvy and at the end of the day art is a business, even if I am still a performer at heart.”

An Evening of Burlesque
Saturday, October 4, 8pm
New Theatre Oxford
Box office: 0844 871 3020 www.atgtickets.com/oxford