Burlesque dancing class to be held in Knutsford to help women keep fit (From Knutsford Guardian)

Burlesque dancing class to be held in Knutsford to help women keep fit

4:40pm Wednesday 23rd September 2009

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A BURLESQUE dancing class will be held in Knutsford next month to help women keep fit.

Linda Marshall, 49, said members would learn the sexy moves and exercise at the same time.

“It’s basically a fun way of keeping fit using a dance routine around a chair,” she said.

“It’s quite sexy and sassy. The women will never look at a kitchen chair in the same way again.”

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Linda developed the idea for the class after seeing another fitness instructor using the technique at a convention.

She then asked a few of her regulars to trial the idea during the summer.

“The girls I’ve been practising it with said they got a really good workout,” she said.

Burlesque dancing dates back to the 1840s in America, when performances also included comic sketches and variety theatre.

Many of the shows were designed to mock polite society and the upper classes.

By the late 19th century burlesque dance troops had developed a following and the routines gradually became more risqué.

In the 1930s burlesque performances began to decline as striptease shows took over.

However, in recent years burlesque dancing has enjoyed a revival as a way of keeping fit and developing confidence.

Now Linda, who has worked in Knutsford for 20 years, believes she can run a class.

The fitness and dance instructor will hold a one-off burlesque lesson at 10.30am on October 10 at Knutsford Leisure Centre to gauge interest in the idea.

But she hopes the experiment could catch on and lead to regular sessions.

“I’ve absolutely no idea how many will turn up,” she said.

Linda mainly teaches Pilates and now has 10 classes in the area.

But she has also run tap, ballet, freestyle, line dancing, step aerobics, bums and tums, high and low impact aerobics, yoga and salsa classes.

Her daughter, Amy, 21, will help out with some of the burlesque classes.

The women will be allowed to wear skimpy outfits such as hotpants and fishnet stockings, but there will be no nudity.

Linda believes many of the students will just arrive in normal gym clothes.

On Monday she said she was always open to new ideas to encourage exercise and help women keep fit.

“I do keep up with new trends,” she said.

“This is just a novel experiment in keep fit and it will certainly be a whole lot less boring and more enjoyable than running on a treadmill.”

For information on the class, which costs £6 per person, call 01565 830822, 07812 525776, or email info@fit4lifeknutsford.com

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