BURLESQUE is heading to regional WA.
While most of the performing arts have been dormant since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Jessica Anne Gough was always optimistic that the Perth International Burlesque Festival (PIBF), which she owns, could potentially go ahead.
Call it luck, karma or fate, but the stars aligned and the festival has been given the green light, including its regional roadshow which will visit Katanning, Northam, Merredin and Kalgoorlie.
And what better show to take the performing arts out of the COVID-19 darkness than one with all the glamour, glitter, feathers, sequins and fabulousness of burlesque.
"It feels like a minor miracle to have the festival go ahead during a pandemic and one with a road show," Ms Gough said.
"The artists have lost most of their work and as a producer I want this community to come back and be supported, so we are putting this on because artists and their audiences need to feel empowered right now."
Burlesque is an art form that originated in the 1840s - a time of culture clashes between the social norms of aristocracy and the working-class.
By using the art of tease, burlesque is a form of parody and often explores complex and serious issues, such as politics and social inequality.
"The thing that people probably don't realise is burlesque started as a feminist movement because women weren't allowed on that stage," Ms Gough said.
"It's mostly about loving yourself and appreciating everyone for who they are, whatever cultural background, body type and gender role that is.
"It's such a safe space where people can have a conversation with the audience - that's the power of burlesque - it does this in such a fabulous, celebratory way where you can get sometimes very serious messages across, but it's done in a sexy way so people are happy to watch and learn as well."
Also known as 'The Sugar Duchess', Ms Gough ventured into burlesque about 11 years ago.
She had danced all her life and taught ballroom dance, jazz and tap but wanted something different.
"I wanted to have a lot more fun with costumes and designing my own kinds of acts and that's where I found burlesque," she said.
Ms Gough's burlesque career grew quickly as she now has her own company, Tease Industries, which includes the PIBF.
"You know when you discover something and you love it and also happen to be good at it, that was burlesque for me," she said.
"But my career hasn't also been about me - there are some wonderful people in our industry and that I work with all the time and I get a lot of inspiration from them as well.
"I am artistically driven but I also have a procedural mindset where organisation and the event management side of things is also my jam, so it was a beautiful marriage of something that I had myself and when I discovered it, it took off."
Ms Gough has travelled the world with her craft, performing in New York City, Berlin, South Korea, Vanuatu, across Australia and on cruise ships.
As with most performer's stage names, Ms Gough said The Sugar Duchess was a nod to her personality and was "unapologetically fabulous".
"For every performer, their stage name and stage persona go hand-in-hand with something else they have wanted to explore," she said.
"For me that was over the top glamour and fabulous elegance.
"I was known as a 'cupcake queen' as I have done a lot of cooking in the past, so I wanted to have a food element in there and I have always been the boss and stage manager etc.
"I felt like The Sugar Duchess was a bit cute and sweet while at the same time still being the lady in charge."
While Ms Gough loves performing, her favourite place to be during a show is backstage and she will be in charge and behind the scenes during the festival as the producer.
"I get so much joy out of producing shows because you see other people shine and the audience having fun," she said.
"When you are backstage, you can see what's happening on the stage, see the lighting, tech staff in the rafters, can hear the gaggle from down the hall area backstage of people getting excited and then you see the waves of emotion from the audience.
"I guess as a producer I have the concept, the vision behind things and have the lovely job of being problem solver on the ground too, but I like to think that I do that in a super fun and glamorous way as well - I have some amazing couture designs happening for the shows, so I'll be busting a move in those as well.
"The magic of empowering other people gives me so much back as well, so I keep on feeding it because I love it."
More than 100 performers make up the festival and Ms Gough felt it was important to show diversity.
"Each performer brings something special," she said.
While some acts might explore serious issues and concepts, others can be really light-hearted and simple, but all are thoughtfully curated.
"There are lots of conversations about different kinds of genders and what can be fabulously celebrated," Ms Gough said.
"We love all different sizes and makes of people and that is very much represented with our performers; as a producer I feel that it's important to reflect that."
One of the headline acts of the festival is Bettie Bombshell - who is one of Australia's top burlesque performers and was crowned Miss Burlesque Australia 2019.
She was also globally ranked 13th in 21st Century Burlesque Magazine's top 50 2019 performers, with a career in the art of more than 20 years.
Ms Gough described Bettie Bombshell as "dynamite and a pocket rocket of awesomeness".
The regional shows go for about two hours and feature about 15 performances with plenty of variety.
"We are trying to represent as many people and backgrounds as we can, which in turn will give the regions an amazing and very diverse show," Ms Gough said.
Now in its seventh year, the PIBF has grown each year with this event having its biggest regional tour yet.
Having spent a lot of her childhood in Karratha, Ms Gough said taking the arts to the regions was a big passion of hers.
"I know how some services, such as the arts, can be really difficult to access - whether that be to learn yourself or to watch, so that has been a big drive behind what I do," she said.
