Bridge Burlesque dancers shimmy against breast cancer

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A classic dance form is making a comeback in Murray Bridge, empowering women and saving lives in the process.

Burlesque had its origins in parody musicals played for laughs in the 19th century.

During the jazz age it evolved into striptease and other raunchy forms of entertainment.

But these days it is something else again: a dance style reclaimed by the women who perform it, as a demonstration of the power, grace and capability of their own bodies.

Rhianna Leyland has been running burlesque classes in Murray Bridge since 2021.

“There’s a lot of different styles of burlesque: you’ve got your Paris burlesque, which is all boobs … you’ve got saucy burlesque, cheeky burlesque, lots of different personalities.

“We do a more sophisticated, theatrical version of burlesque … a sort of sexy self-love.”

There was no nudity involved, she said - her classes were more about confidence, friendship, fitness, even weight loss.

But they were also about a common cause: raising money for breast cancer research.

Ms Leyland’s mum is a survivor, and many of the 27 women in the class have had their own brushes with the disease.

Each pays $50 per term to attend Bridge Burlesque’s classes, and 100 per cent of that money – plus thousands more in donations from the Murray Bridge Club, Mobilong Rotary, Soroptimist International and other locals – goes to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

“I didn’t want to run a dance school to make money; I just love teaching and I thought ‘we’ll do it for charity’,” Ms Leyland said.

The dance company has raised more than $5000 for breast cancer research so far.

It’s an inclusive group, too, catering to women with disability or mental health issues and those who have survived domestic violence.

Later in the year, Ms Leyland hoped to introduce a second weekly class at the Square Community Centre so she could take on more students.

She encouraged anyone intrigued by the idea to consider giving burlesque a go.

For now, though, her focus is on two performances Bridge Burlesque will present at Murray Bridge’s town hall on August 24.

The evening performance sold out soon after it was announced, but tickets were still available for the 2pm show at the time of publication.

A raffle offering more than $2000 worth of prizes will be drawn in the evening.

Ms Leyland invited anyone interested to come and watch the performance: “Be part of something incredible.”

• Show tickets: $30 at events.ticketbooth.com.au.
• Raffle tickets: $2.50 or five for $10 at Murray Bridge Newsagency and Gifts, or by contacting Rhianna on 0402 416 771 or at rhiannaw@bigpond.com.
• Donate: fundraise.nbcf.org.au.
• More information: Search for “Bridge Burlesque” on Facebook.

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