This article is an automated a transaltion of the original, whoch you can find here: https://buduaar.tv3.ee/eesti-elu/eesti-oma-dita-von-teese-miss-chrissy-kiss-1/
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In Estonia, burlesque is (yet!) quite unknown, but everyone who has ever looked behind this exciting word knows that it is a bright and sparkling world, in the middle of which self-confident performers roam. One of them is Chrissy.
In Estonia, burlesque is (yet!) quite unknown, but everyone who has ever looked behind this exciting word knows that it is a bright and sparkling world, in the middle of which self-confident performers roam. One of them is Chrissy.
Sold the first time!
"My friend and I had always discussed that we should get in shape for the summer and still go to the gym, but as always, the conversation remained the same," says Chrissy. "One day he came excitedly with the news that he found a burlesque class at Müstika's dance studio and that we should go try it out." Anyway, but at that moment the word burlesque meant nothing to the girls. "I was absolutely sure that we were going to some kind of fitness training. When we got to the class, however, a slow and sensual dance choreography to Julie London's "Cry Me a River" awaited us instead. I was sold from the first time," she recalls her first encounter with this fascinating world. "Even though I still didn't really have a clear idea of ​​what burlesque was all about, I felt it was fun and feminine and that for a class twice a week I could be who I really wanted to be - seductive and free."
A month later, Chrissy happened to see a real live burlesque show, headlined by LuoLou D'vil from Finland. "I was like in love. After the show ended, all I could think about was how to get on stage myself. I wanted to be a part of this glittering world where confident women in extravagant costumes embody different characters and stories. I wanted to be a part of a world that was sexy at the same time, free of false shame and able to make fun of myself and the world around me. I really wanted to, because at that time I was actually relatively modest and self-critical"
Today, Chrissy teaches burlesque dance classes and enjoys her performances 100%. "All performances are exciting, let's be honest. I haven't had a single show where I didn't feel tension or excitement. If there were, I would have to review my priorities very critically," she says with a laugh and adds that in burlesque it's not important that you undress, but how and WHY you do it. "The tease part is very important, and there is no obligation to take off the entire costume. There are also very powerful numbers where, for example, only one item is taken away. For example, a glove. It is the part that fascinates people, performers and audience alike. This narrative, this tension and freedom of choice. The fact that as a performer you can do everything, but you are not obligated to anything," explains Chrissy and says that in burlesque you are never completely naked. "All strategic areas remain covered at all times."
Self-confident Naksitrall
Performing half-naked in front of hundreds of pairs of eyes takes confidence. "My physical self-esteem fluctuates like most women probably do, but yes, it's no secret that I feel pretty good in my own skin most of the time," she says.
"You wake up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror - even if there's a nanny in pajamas looking back, you think hmm... pretty good. But it hasn't always been that way. I've never been thin. Never, and that's why the pillow has been cried on so many nights," recalls Chrissy. "As of now, I haven't changed much physically. I still have my face and I still have my body and there are no extensions or other technical adjustments. There are stretch marks, there is cellulite, there are pounds and scars, birthmarks, hairs, and now even a tiny wrinkle has appeared on the forehead." What has changed over the years is a woman's attitude and understanding of what is beautiful.
"I'm pretty sure what's driving women's self-confidence is unrealistic perceptions of what reality is," the graphic designer by day knows well. “I know very well how powerful Photoshop is. I've been going to art schools since I was little, so I've had the opportunity to watch, draw and observe the body and face of another real person for hours. I have had the opportunity to see super divas without makeup, in tracksuits, desperately styling their hair. I can see from the side that the uploaded I'm-here-just-so-selfie needs about a dozen pictures and six filters. And I'm sorry that again and again I hear from the sidelines how beautiful women and girls are distressingly unhappy about their appearance, because the bar is set not by real women, but by media production. I'm not made of steel either. Again and again, someone from somewhere reminds me that maybe I would be prettier if I had my hair like this or my body like that, and a moment later I'm gnawing in my soula gi worm that investigates and believes that I am not good enough. Fortunately, there is a cure for this worm, and in my case it is the question "For whom?" and "Really?".
Who should I wear these clothes for? Does anyone really care what my waist size is? Am I a better person because my dress size is a 36 instead of a 40? I live for myself, my life, and if it really hurts someone's feelings that I don't look like I just jumped out of a catalog, that's their problem. I do it so that I feel good about myself," she says, a sentence that we should all take as our motto.
Chrissy's confidence in her body has not gone unnoticed by the audience. "After the show, a woman came up to me and said: 'I want to come see your next show with my daughter, so that she can see that a confident woman is the most beautiful woman,'" the burlesque performer recalls one of the most beautiful compliments given to her.
Just determined
When she is not dancing, she is doing "everything". "By day I am a graphic designer and by night I am a burlesque guitarist, performer, educator, instructor, event organizer, costume designer, choreographer, draftsman, dreamer, traveler and just a woman." The idea of ​​an ideal day is common for a busy woman. "I want to wake up in the arms of a dear man, eat a long breakfast and tick away the rest of the day quietly, in an embrace," says Chrissy, who can appreciate the very small details, as well as the everyday little things like a good coffee and a neighbor who said hello.
Chrissy likes to hatch big plans and do everything to make them come true. "Currently, my goal is to develop burlesque in Estonia and become as good a burlesque performer as possible and be so good that burlesque takes me to different places around the world." And I don't see any reason why such a determined and self-confident beauty shouldn't succeed?
Text: Triin Tisler
Photos: Evert Palmets, Terje Talts
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