Burlesque: A Talk with Starlotte Satine

*Originally published in Talent North Magazine*

Being on stage wearing a stunning costume that sheds sparkles left, right and center is only part of what it means to be a Burlesque performer.

For Starlotte Satine her life is not burlesque-like, rather, she says it is Burlesque. She laughs that her home is filled with high heels scattered about and glitter all over the place.

“I don’t sweep dust,” she chuckles. “It’s sparkles.”

If you think she’s kidding you would be wrong. She squirmed in her seat and looked around herself saying, “I wouldn’t be surprised if I left sparkles on this seat.”

While a Burlesque performance includes glitter and glam there is whole other life to not only the art but the artists as well. She feels she has been very lucky to find this aspect in her life and she’s finally able to follow her dream.

When Satine was just a little girl she knew she wanted to be a performer, particularly a traveling performer. Because of Burlesque she is following that childhood dream right into adulthood.

“I think Burlesque is all I do now,” she says. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.”

Satine moved to Sudbury from Carlin, Nevada when she was 13 years old (2004). She attended Sudbury Secondary School for her high school education and graduated in 2010.

In the fall of that year she attended Cambrian for their Animation program but later left the program in order to become a Burlesque performer.

It was a busy year for her in 2010 as she also began to do pin-up modeling. However, Satine says she doesn’t do very much modeling now but notes that it is part of how she became a Burlesque performer.

She admired the pin-up style modeling and says that as she began to research pin-up models she noticed that many of them also do Burlesque performing. She says she looked up more popular Burlesque performers, such as Dita Von Teese, and went from there.

It was very good timing, she notes, as by that time (2011) Sudbury Burlesque was being established and the creators were auditioning.

She has been performing with them ever since. Her performances are not limited to Sudbury though. Satine often applies and performs at festivals. She’s been able to travel to Toronto, Ottawa and Chicago. Most recently she’s travelled to Edmonton (September 2016) and is traveling to Montreal to perform on October 13.

While there is certainly a good amount of glamour on the stage it comes at a price. Satine says her least expensive costume is at least 300 dollars. Plus she pays for the price of travel. Satine says her flight to Edmonton was easily 500 dollars.

Despite the money and expenses Satine loves her life. Especially the traveling as she’s performing at the same time.

“I’m my own boss,” she says. “I’ve managed myself for a long time.”

One of the attractive qualities of Burlesque is how bold and brave the performers are. She notes that this is part of what sets Burlesque apart.

“You can’t really go to another place where there are all kinds of performers there,” Satine says.

She notes it’s the art of striptease which is inclusive of fun, glamour and boosting self-esteem. She calls it “the most sexy, entertaining thing out there.”

Sudbury Burlesque is going to be celebrating its five year anniversary at the Grand Theatre on October 28 and 29th.