Northside waitress serves up a Burlesque treat

NORTHSIDER Stephanie Gray works as a waitress by day but when she takes to the stage at night she swaps her apron for deliciously risqué outfits and serves up a wonderfully unique one-woman show.

Stephanie, from Finglas, is hoping her alter-ego, Gala Gray will be crowned ‘Miss Burlesque Ireland’ in a few months time and is up against 12 other girls in the competition’s semi-finals at the Tivoli Theatre on May 28.

Burlesque began in Victorian London and was then taken to New York where the bawdy costumes and parody performances made it a huge success.

Stephanie describes burlesque dancing today as “vintage 1920s showgirl” mixed with an “elegant strip dance”. 

“People have their own idea of what burlesque is, but it’s actually only when they come to the shows they realise what it’s like and they’ll come up and say it’s actually very elegant and very beautiful,” says the talented 24-year-old.

The bubbly waitress says she tends to stay with a classic style of burlesque but she’s experimented with other styles like horror and neo too.

“I first started burlesque when I was 19, after years of admiring it from a distance,” she tells Northside People. “I went to shows pretty much every week”.

After one of the shows, Stephanie left a comment on a dancer’s Facebook page.

“Someone else saw this message and contacted me about a burlesque troupe that they wanted me to join,”  Stephanie recalls.

“That was the beginning of my burlesque journey. One I am still pursuing today.”

Stephanie describes feeling so nervous before her first show that she nearly got sick backstage. However, she soon learned to use nerves to her advantage.

“If I wasn’t nervous, it would mean that it didn’t mean a lot to me,” she explains.

Stephanie is very open about her participation in burlesque.

“I’m not ashamed to say I’m a dancer, I’m dead open about it,” she says.

“All my work colleagues and my boss are coming to see the show. My parents are very supportive as well”. 

She encourages anyone interested in learning burlesque to start attending shows and “study, study, study” the dancers.

“There’s tonnes of classes available in Dublin, and they’re reasonably priced,” Stephanie tells us, and advises just using a quick Google search to find classes in your area.

Stephanie explains how there’s lots happening with burlesque in Dublin, but not so much in other counties. However, there’s still girls from Athlone and Waterford involved in the competition.

According to Stephanie, you don’t need any particular training to start on your burlesque journey.

“Once you have a creative mind and passion, everyone has their own way of ending up in burlesque,” she adds.

Stephanie recommends Asaria Starfire, the woman who is running the Miss Ireland competition, and who also runs burlesque workshops at various experience levels. 

And how would Stephanie feel if she won Miss Burlesque Ireland?

“Oh my god, when I got through to the semi-finals I couldn’t stop crying so I can only imagine what I’d be like if I got through to the finals again, or even won,” she laughs.

The winner of Miss Ireland doesn’t go directly on to a global competition but the photographs and videos of a good performance on the night might present an opportunity to perform abroad.

“I’ve worked so hard for this, it would be lovely to see this recognised,” she acknowledges.

“I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”

Róisín Nestor