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Photo by Tigz Rice Studios
Oh my you lot are being spoilt lately! I have yet another
fabulous interview for you from elegant Gwendoline Lamour!
Gwendoline is the UK’s most exclusive and celebrated
performer of high end burlesque and the perfect choice for prestigious parties,
launches and events. With ten years experience of performing exquisite and
refined shows for international clients, Gwendoline has represented Sir Elton
John, (9th White Tie and Tiara Ball), Cointreau, Cirque du Soleil for Naomi
Campbell’s birthday party, Jasper Conran, the Marquis of Bath, Eddie Izzard,
The Sunflower Jam (with Robert Plant and Paul Weller), Theo Fennel and Diesel
to name but a few. Heralded by The Independent on Sunday as the “Gypsy Rose Lee
of our times,” and frequently featured on The Culture Show (BBC) among other TV
and radio shows, Gwendoline’s work is elegant and stylish, reflecting her pre
and post graduate training in theatre and dance.A Lamour show is lavish, highly professional, exquisitely costumed and original pieces of burlesque theatre.
Gwendoline has worked all over the world from Moscow to Madrid, London to LA and almost everywhere in between. For more info check out her website http://gwendolinelamour.com/.
Photo by Tigz Rice Studios
How did you get into the burlesque industry?
In the early 1990s I was
wearing bespoke corsets and extravagant 18th century and showgirl costumes to
go to clubs like the Torture Garden and through that began to do pin-up
modelling and Bettie Page style fetish modelling both here and in the US, which
developed in to performing burlesque. My first ever show was at the Torture
Garden.
I moved to London in 1991 to study for my degree in Theatre Arts and then trained as an actress, subsequently teaching movement, acting and directing in many of London's major drama schools. This stood me in good stead for burlesque performance, but I taught myself to fan-dance by watching old film footage of Faith Bacon and Sally Rand. Faith Bacon was one of the stars of Ziegfeld Follies, an elaborate Broadway theatre show that defined the concept of the beauty chorus/showgirl and ran from 1907-1931. It is key to note that the Ziegfeld Follies girls were trained in ballet, as were Sally Rand and Lily St Cyr. Ballet itself is the quasi descendant of Baroque dance which was the defining movement style of the court of Louis XIV. In the case of the 17th century aristocrat movement, dance and deportment were critical to the presentation of oneself as a moving work of art, and thus above the commonality of mankind. In the Ziegfeld shows there is a comparable physicality at work - the showgirls are serene and embody a rather patrician elegance and grace. It was a standing joke in the 20s and 30s that the picture press of the era was full of chorus girls behaving like duchesses and duchesses behaving like chorus girls. My choreography is ballet based with postures and moves influenced by the Zeigfeld Follies, pin-up art and 30s, 40s and 50s interpretation and idealisations of femininity.
I moved to London in 1991 to study for my degree in Theatre Arts and then trained as an actress, subsequently teaching movement, acting and directing in many of London's major drama schools. This stood me in good stead for burlesque performance, but I taught myself to fan-dance by watching old film footage of Faith Bacon and Sally Rand. Faith Bacon was one of the stars of Ziegfeld Follies, an elaborate Broadway theatre show that defined the concept of the beauty chorus/showgirl and ran from 1907-1931. It is key to note that the Ziegfeld Follies girls were trained in ballet, as were Sally Rand and Lily St Cyr. Ballet itself is the quasi descendant of Baroque dance which was the defining movement style of the court of Louis XIV. In the case of the 17th century aristocrat movement, dance and deportment were critical to the presentation of oneself as a moving work of art, and thus above the commonality of mankind. In the Ziegfeld shows there is a comparable physicality at work - the showgirls are serene and embody a rather patrician elegance and grace. It was a standing joke in the 20s and 30s that the picture press of the era was full of chorus girls behaving like duchesses and duchesses behaving like chorus girls. My choreography is ballet based with postures and moves influenced by the Zeigfeld Follies, pin-up art and 30s, 40s and 50s interpretation and idealisations of femininity.
How
did the name Gwendoline Lamour come about and what does it mean to you?
Gwendoline is the name
of 1940s/50s cartoon character by John Willie that appeared in Bizarre
magazine. Lamour is a tribute to the 40s actress Dorothy Lamour and G Lamour
spells Glamour!
Do
you have a favourite routine/performance?
I don't have a favourite
but my giant shoe is my signature prop so I always enjoy working with it! Being
able to perform on full size theatre stages is always great because I get to
use my big props and more extravagant costumes and have the space to really
give full expression to the choreography.
You
are on stage and being photographed a lot of the time. Looking after yourself
must play a big part in your life. What are you favourite beauty products and
why?
I use a range of plant
based products by Mike Harmon at Skinbuddy.co.uk which are fantastic. He
created a special hand-cream for Elizabeth Taylor and he has named his
night-cream after me -which is a great honour! His products are gorgeous, free
from the petroleum derivatives common to the major brands, cruelty free and
full of essential nutrition for the skin. Aside from that I find body brushing
and body moisturiser really good for the skin, I avoid sunbathing, use a
sunblock and drink a lot of water.
Do
you have a set beauty routine?
I always take off make
up and cleanse and tone every night and put on lots of moisturiser!
On
that note how to you keep yourself in shape for your performances?
Yoga is my main form of
exercise, and then I pick and mix from ballet, baroque dance, zumba, running,
Pilates and cycling.
Describe
your fashion style?
On the whole I have two
modes; elegant vintage or dance kit!
Where
are you favourite places to shop?
I do lots of my shopping
online, Ebay is a big fave - fabulous vintage finds to be had! I'm in the
second year of my PhD at present so apart from delivering Swarovski crystal and
stockings the postman also brings a lot of books!
What
are your 3 must have pieces of make up?
A well defined eye-brow
and flawless complexion are key to a 40s make up look, so I would choose my
eyebrow kit 'Browzings' by Benefit and my Nars foundation and powder. Most of
my make-up is Nars, their products are of a very high quality and unlike MAC
they are cruelty free. Perhaps even more important though are my favourite
brushes, I use an angled eye-shadow brush and an angled eyeliner brush for my
eyebrows, I can manage with just about any product but the right brushes make
life much easier.
What
do you like to do with your time off from being Gwendoline Lamour?
My PhD takes up a lot of
time, but I enjoy cross-stich tapestry and I read a phenomenal amount.
Eventually me and my husband hope to move to the countryside, I'd love to keep
chickens and have a really big garden! If I ever have the money I'd like enough
land to buy a few male calves - the 'waste products' of the dairy industry. In
the UK they are shot soon after birth, which is arguably better than the US and
Europe where they end up in veal crates. I'd also like to buy a few cows that
are coming to the end of the use to dairy industry (and therefore bound for the
abattoir) to give them the chance to keep a calf and nurse it as nature
intended, rather than having it removed so that humans can drink the milk.
Needless to say I have a meat free and dairy free diet!
Who
is your favourite burlesque performer to watch?
I greatly admire Dita
von Teese and Catherine D'Lish, and of home grown talent Kitty Bang Bang is
magnificent.
Who
are your biggest inspirations and why?
For fan dancing Faith
Bacon, but my shows are influenced by a variety of sources. 'The Swing' is
based on Fragonar'd 1767 painting of the same name, whilst 'The Shoe' was
inspired by a cartoon in Bizarre magazine (the original 1940s version) and the
idea for my 'Petal Bath' came from pin-up art . For elegance and style I love
iconic actresses like Lauren Bacall, Hedy Lamarr and Veronica Lake.
What
advice would you give to a girl reading this interested in getting into this
industry?
When I teach burlesque and
fan-dancing I always stress the importance of posture and elegance in the
performance of classic burlesque. If you don't have stage training it is
advisable to get some; take acting and dancing classes, ballet is great for
posture, strength and elegance. Also take the time to understand the history of
the art-form, if you haven't heard of or seen Lili St Cyr, Faith Bacon, Sally
Rand et al look them up! It's so easy now that everything is on youtube! Most
of all - be yourself and discover your own burlesque alter-ego!
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Thank you to Gwendoline for her time with
this interview for me to share with you. Keep up to date with news on
Gwendoline by checking her website http://gwendolinelamour.com/ or check out her Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gwendoline-Lamour/168084696580464?fref=ts
I have more very exciting interviews lined up
for you so keep reading!xoxo
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