News Archive

If you’ve ever marvelled at beautifully decorated cupcakes and wished yours could look just as fabulous, why not learn from an expert!   I will show you how to create the perfect cupcake, wow your friends with beautiful designs and share my secrets to having the best looking cupcakes on the table! 

The next available class is Saturday 30th July, Bethnal Green London, 3pm – 5.30pm.  There is a maximum class size of 6,  £30 per person.
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/125906 

At the end of the class you will take away with you:

• 8 decorated cupcakes (vanilla, chocolate)
• A Wilton1M nozzle worth £4.25
• 2 disposable piping bags
• A factsheet of hints ‘n’ tips

 You will learn:

• My secrets to perfect cupcakes
• How to make sugar paste roses
• Piping techniques to decorate your cakes
• How to use sugar paste to make flowers & shapes
• The best way to finish off your cakes with edible decorations

After the class why not ask Rose questions, flick through the recipe book library, relax with a glass of fizz and enjoy a cupcake.

*Gluten free cakes are available at no extra cost

“Rose is a fabulous and unique performer. She has such a commanding stage presence. She’s got the glamour and the confidence of the Old Hollywood starlets, teamed with beautifully detailed costumes, and a hint of a rather twisted sense of humour! Our audience adored Rose, and she was an absolute delight to work with, all at BURLESK! highly recommend her.”

Severine Brooks, Producer BURLESK!

Dr Sketchy’s V: The Final Frontier

by Alex Hughes

http://alexhughescartoons.co.uk/2009/07/dr-sketchys-v-the-final-frontier/img042-2/

As you may or may not know, burlesque performance in Britain is under threat from new legislation which will re-classify strip tease and require that all venues hosting burlesque shows apply for new and very expensive licences to operate. This law (SEEL) is designed to target lap dancing clubs, but will adversely effect burlesque since the venues in which burlesque nights operate are most often not strip clubs but clubs, pubs, bars and theatres which host a variety of events. It is very unlikely that these venues will deem the cost of the licence worthwhile, which will mean that the currently thriving burlesque culture will disappear.

Please sign the petition below if you want to stop this from happening!

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/SaveBurlesque/

If you want to learn more about this legislation or get involved further, have a look at this event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=74199728647&ref=share

“Miss Rose Thorne is a Rubenesque beauty clad in the most brilliantly themed costumes. Her on stage presence is a mixture of naughtiness and delight.  I find watching her perform is always a joyful experience.”
Goodtime Mama Jojo, British Burlesque Legend

“Rose Thorne is one of those performers who embodies what true burlesque is. She is by turns sassy, sensuous and funny; she has the great knack of taking audiences on a journey with her and loving the characters she portrays. Her acts are very imaginative and a complete joy to watch. In my opinion, Rose Thorne is one of the leading lights of the British Burlesque scene.”
Zoe Fletcher, Director, Time for Tease

“Rose Thorne brings a fine sense of humour and boundless performance energy to every act that she performs. She is great at communicating with the audience and she has achieved an incredible amount since her explosive arrival on the burlesque scene.”
Des O’Connor

“Rose Thorne is a pleasure to work with both off and on stage, bringing a fabulously refreshing and fun element to all her performances. The Elephant Woman is something not to be missed, my personal favourite!”
Bella Besame, The Slippery Belle, Manchester

“Rose Thorn was impressive. In many ways her performance was the most extreme. It’s hard to describe quite why in such a small space, suffice to say imagine being squashed in a pink gingham lined giant peachy cleavage whilst being erotically powder puffed. Rose is a consummate professional.”
Lucy Granville, londonburlesquefestival.blogspot

“It was a pleasure to have Rose Thorne at the club. She is sexy, professional, low maintenance (Rare in this game) and proved very popular with the crowd”
PaulyB, Dolly Remixture, Hitchin

“Miss Rose Thorn is one of Britain’s finest Burlesque Artists. She will bring a spark of excitement to any event with her imaginative acts and her utterly fabulous costumes. A pleasure to work with it is definitely an honour to have had her on the HMS Pin Up stage!”
Dolly Divine, HMS Pin Up, Portsmouth

“Unusual and entertaining, Ms Thorne’s sassy burlesque skills continue to develop from strength to strength. A pleasure to work with”
May, StripLite, London

“Voluptuous variety at its most vivacious – don’t miss the opportunity to experience this flower in its fullest bloom!!”
Cici Darling from Frivolitease, Best New Troupe at London Burlesque Festival 2008

“One moment she’s the elephant woman, the next she’s coming up roses, Miss Rose Thorne by any other name would be as great”
Lil Miss Chievous

“Miss Rose Thorne…aaah what a girl. A Mae West of the 21st Century. She dazzles and dances her way into your heart. A privilege to watch and a woman whose talents I am jealous of!”
Khandie Khisses

Miss Rose Thorne gets with the ‘now’!
http://missrosethorne.wordpress.com/

BURLESQUE REVIEW – THE SLIPPERY BELLE – BOOKBINDERS NIGHTCLUB FRIDAY 21ST NOVEMBER 2008

There was a very smooth admissions process, with Bella Besame being the perfect party hostess, greeting everyone as we came in. I’d booked in advance so I got in very quickly, and took a seat close to the stage. I moved the table back slightly to make it easier for performers. A film crew wandered round, capturing much of the event on camera.

The theme for the event was Asylum freak show, and several members of the audience were in appropriate touches of fancy dress. Bella wore a lab coat. One chap wore a makeshift straight-jacket.

After lots of very appropriate lounge music played by Dr. Sid, the show began in earnest.

Bella whipped the audience up with the traditional calls of Hurrah! That would be shouted to each act as the clothes were removed, and introduced the compere for the evening. Guest hostess for the night was ROSIE LUGOSI, the vampire queen of Manchester.

I know Rosie from her hosting of The Creatures Of The Night poetry slams at Manchester’s Green Room up to 2003. As a regular participant in the slams, I always feel that Rosie helped give my own writing career a tremendous boost. Her own performances are always amazing. Here, she dressed in purple, looking like a vampire circus ring MC, and carried a formiddable looking riding crop. On top of Bella’s Hurrah’s we were now to shout Yes Mistress, for our scary dominatrix vampire leader.

Part One

LEIGH MON-MERINGUE was the first dancer, and a new act to me. Her sexy nurses outfit was likely to send any patient’s temperature soaring.

Rosie now introduced the Maid. It is a Burlesque tradition to tease and torment the poor lady dressed as a French maid with panties clearly on show, who clears up the discarded clothes and props between dances. Rosie tried to secure the Maid as a potential submissive pet plaything, though the maid was perhaps wisely having none of that. A lady from the audience demonstrated how to be the perfectly passive slave, but the Maid was not going give in. Her resistance was as funny as Rosie’s attempts to seduce her and boss her around.

SCARLET FEVER was now introduced and she came on as Little Red Riding Hoodie, with little interest in going to Grandma’s House (she even alters he sign to send any other travellers off lost in the woods0 before removing more than her hood and running off to the sound of police sirens.

ROSE THORNE came on as Squaw Blimey, performing a sensual rain dance, enjoying the feel of the imaginary rain soaking her down, before disrobing. Most folk undress before a shower. This way was much more fun.

EMERALDE ACE presented her strong woman circus act – one I have seen before, but it is very worthy of repeat performances. Struggling to raise heavy looking dumb-bells, (carried into place so effortlessly by the Maid in advance of her arrival) takes more and more clothes off and somehow finds the strength to lift more by doing so. However, when she removes her bra, her tassled boobs prove to be a weight too great for her to handle.

NARA, QUEEN OF THE NIGHT- An alto singer, rather than a burlesque dancer – It’s a brave lady who presents a vampire act while sharing stage space with Rosie Lugosi, but Nara proved to be exceptional in many ways. Few would dare present genuine operatic arias to a general audience, but Nara carried the songs by Bizet, Purcell & other great composers off with genuine passion and conviction, keeping her audience quite spellbound while enjoying genuinely hillarius banter in between sets. She reminded us that Carmen was a bit of a slut, deserving death for driving her main lover mad. Her voice was in perfect pitch, and I wondered if she might actually cause glass to shatter, and looked at my beer glass hoping not. Fortunately, she didn’t. Her performance ended the first half of the show.

Part Two

Part two opened with Rosie presenting a song of her own – I knew what was coming as soon as the music started, having seen Rosie sing this before. The Wanking Is Forever number set to the Shirley Bassey Bond theme Diamonds are Forever, is extremely funny, and daring.

ROSE THORNE was the first dancer back on to entertain us, performing as The Elephant Woman, coming on to The Elephant Man film’s main theme music in a black cloak, and with a sack over her head, before stripping away to show her genuine beauty, while wearing a little elephant’s trunk over her nose.

SCARLET FEVER performed as an X-Files style Green faced alien to The Eve Of The War music from The War Of The Worlds concept album, taking off all but her mask, tassels and panties. If I’m ever abducted by aliens, I hope they look like that too.

EMERALDE ACE came on as an Octopus, in a lovely green dress with tentacle extensions. Reading a book on sushi, Emeralde took a meat cleaver to her own tentacles and resorted to a kind of self-canibalism, before taking off her remaining garments to finish.

Rosie and Bella now presented a prize for the best dressed man at the event, and a handful of men were selected but the winner was in no doubt, with even the other contestants voting for him by cheering loudly in his favour – the chap in the straight-jacket won. His prize was a pair of lycra underpants, which he was obliged to put .. dancing to the stripper with Bella. He accomplished the is with great enthusiasm. He then incurred the wrath of Rosie by taking the gift pants over instead of wearing them to the end of the night. He slipped them back on quickly.

With a closing set by NARA, QUEEN OF THE NIGHT, the show was over, bar the drinking and dancing that would continue for many hours. It was the close of another fantastic burlesque night.

For more details on Slippery Belle events see http://www.myspace.com/bellabesame

Review by Arthur Chappell http://arthurchappell.me.uk