Ten years ago, Montreal-born Scarlett James gave up her office life to become a burlesque dancer. Her career has been filled with difficulties, but today, her art makes her travel to the four corners of the world.
Between two trips back to Dubai, Scarlett James found time to be one of the headliners of the Salon of the love of seduction, which continues this Sunday at Place Bonaventure.
For about 30 minutes on Saturday, the visitors, most of whom came as a pair, abandoned the countless toy kiosks and rushed spontaneously around the stage where Scarlett and his troupe were presenting a number.
“That’s what I like about burlesque. Women can appreciate as much as men because of the beauty of the show, “says the forty-year-old artist, who prefers to remain vague about his exact age.
Easier for her to reveal parts of her body. While she began her performance with a coat, she finished it in underwear. The other girls in the troupe, they, have left a little more, without ever being completely undressed however.
“Of course there is a dimension of stripping in what we do, but there is no shame to have. Nudity is something beautiful. It’s a way of reclaiming our bodies, “she says tooth and nail.
Nothing vulgar
For Scarlett James, burlesque is an art in its own right, mixing each of her passions: dance, theater, costumes … That’s what struck her when, at age 31, she saw a show for the first time. She saw nothing vulgar, quite the opposite.
“Today everything is so easy with dating sites. Burlesque is more like a way to return to lost values like seduction, “observes Scarlett, who is keen on what is known by her stage name.
A form of therapy
Born in Montreal to a French mother and a Quebec father, she grew up in a small conservative village in Brittany before returning to Quebec at the age of 19. From her childhood, she remembers mockery about her weight.
“We never forget, but burlesque was a way to go over it. One way to tell my bullies that they did not win, “concludes the one who also gives private lessons, hoping that others will find emancipation, regardless of their age or their physique.