A BURLESQUE babe from Tallaght is in the running to take this year’s cabaret crown.
Performer DialEmma (Emma Weafer) is pushing herself in new directions in a bid to take home the Miss Burlesque Ireland 2018 crown.
DialEmma, who hails from Tallaght originally and has been living in Smithfield for the past 10 years, has been a well-known regular on the Dublin cabaret, drag, and burlesque scenes since the year 2000 when she began her performance career in The George.
In 2011 she co-founded underCURRENT Seriously Camp Cabaret, an inclusive queer cabaret troupe, with her wife and fellow performer Lady K. Through producing the troupe, the pair began to explore the burgeoning burlesque scene in Dublin.
“Although our troupe blossomed out of the gay scene originally, I’ve always had an interest in a wide range of alternative nightlife entertainment forms,” Emma says. “I’ve found the burlesque scene to be incredibly welcoming and supportive and an absolute fountain of creativity.
“We’ve always had burlesque as part of our troupe’s shows and that element has grown from strength to strength in the past couple of years through collaboration with some of the incredible artists we’ve met.”
Although DialEmma’s performance style has always been lip synch and dance based she has found herself incorporating more and more burlesque elements into her routines over the past couple of years, to a point where entering the Miss Burlesque Ireland competition felt like a natural progression.
“I really like the idea of pushing myself as a performer and being more free with my body,” she adds. “I’m 37, I’m short and I’m curvy, so I’m also a little nervous about revealing that side of myself. But I love that the core of burlesque’s message is that everybody is beautiful.”
The venue for this year’s event is the Liberty Hall Theatre on Dublin’s Eden Quay, a venue that holds special memories for DialEmma.
In 2006, she played Dorothy in a Dublin Fringe Festival show, ‘Oz: A Fairytale Plot’ which was a queer reimagining of the Wizard of Oz stories produced by her then troupe, DoppleGang.
Now, 12 years on, DialEmma hopes to come full circle and play the leading lady once again in Liberty Hall.
“I can’t wait to take to the stage with the brand-new acts I’ve created especially for the competition,” she enthused.
The Miss Burlesque Ireland competition has three rounds, a Red Carpet Parade where the contestants show off their performance personalities through their extravagant costumes; the Traditional round which celebrates the roots of burlesque from the 1880’s to the early 1960’s; and final-ly, the Unique round in which the performers can choose any style and incorporate props and tricks to make their performances truly spectacular.
The Miss Burlesque Ireland 2018 Grand Final takes place on September 15 in Liberty Hall Theatre, 1 Eden Quay. Tickets are available via www.missburlesqueireland.
