Disabilitease Owning The Stage鈥�
What connects burlesque, body confidence, and people with hidden disabilities? Emma Donohoe meets the performers owning their sexuality and challenging perceptions.
"What connects burlesque, body confidence, and people with hidden disabilities? Emma Donohoe meets the performers owning their sexuality and challenging perceptions. Through cabaret and burlesque they're trying to put together a show called DisabiliTease... but it'll be touch and go whether they can they sell enough tickets to make it succeed. And how does the glamour and risqu茅 world of burlesque make these performers feel about their disabilities and about their bodies?
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 flying, don鈥檛 feel my pain anymore...a lot of people don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e sexual or have sex鈥� it鈥檚 seen as shameful and should be hidden, [but] it鈥檚 nothing to be ashamed of鈥�, says Dottie May, one of the performers.
In her late teens when she was hoping to have a career in dance, Emma was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) - a condition that can causes extreme chronic fatigue, muscle aches and difficulty concentrating. In more recent years she has been able to get her condition under control, and now she's intrigued what inspires these performers to ""out"" their disabilities on stage. Will Emma find inspiration in this group of performers?
Every cast member in DisabiliTease has a disability. In coming together for the first time, their goal is to create a platform for people with disabilities both visible and invisible - where they can showcase their talents and find their performances empowering and liberating.
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