Burlesque Fan Dancing - Some of my favourite fan dancing videos

I was so thrilled to recently host a fan dancing workshop with some amazing students. Some of whom had never held a fan before, and others that had a bit of expertise in that field.

It’s one of my favourite styles of burlesque performance and holds a soft spot in my heart.

My first ever solo performance was with a pair of (by today’s standards) fairly cheap and nasty hot pink fans. Set to the perhaps overused “Feelin’ Good” by Nina Simone.

So I’ve come a long way since then.

And one of the ways that I worked on my development was just by watching and learning from performances.

By this I don’t mean copying. I mean really reviewing with a critical lens some different artists: what made that performance special? Did they do any particular tricks? Were there reveals of costume or other elements that really worked well?

In this continuing COVID world, we often can’t get out and travel about the way we once did. That opportunity to live shows can be more restricted - either by lockdowns, or just our feelings of safety in ourselves and our environment.

Thankfully, the presence and breadth of talent online is more ample compared to when I first started out! While it’s not the same as a live show, you can definitely still learn a number of things by watching performances online.

There are definitely a couple of favourites that I consistently come back to and learn from that I wanted to share with you all

Sally Rand Fan Dance

The original, famous fan dancer (see also Noel Toy, Faith Bacon). Don’t put a fan dance on stage without watching the original performance.

Michelle L’ amour

I saw Michelle on a tour to Australia a number of years ago. And she is just spectacular and graceful. We can all learn from her incredible transitions.

Bella de Jac

It’s no secret that Bella is one of my favourite performers in Australia. If you want to see how you can move with non feather fans, this is a great example. I know more and more that performers are looking for vegan and cruelty free alternatives to the feathers!

Interested in learning with me?

I would love to keep sharing some tips and techniques on fan dancing and build up to a performance worthy piece!

Use the expression of interest form below if you are keen to sign up for my 4 week fan dancing course in 2022.