In Bed with Leroy | Lola Frost, Burlesque Performer
WRITTEN BY Leroy Wan
Dear Readers,
Every Thursday, yours truly, goes out into Vancouver to bring back to you a miracle, a spectacle or a celestial supernova that the world has yet to know about. This Thursday, Mama reeled in a big one.
Burlesque, has been this mysterious and naughty but nice taboo talent that has somehow been manifesting in every nook and cranny of the world as we know it. Every culture has its own dance that seems to do nothing but celebrate the power and beauty of the female form. The Middle East has bellydancing. In New York, there’s the Madonna concert at the stadium arena by 86th and Main. But here, in our own Vancouver, we have Lola Frost.
With our new 21st century world evolving, and being desensitized by mistress-mistakes like a Ms. *cough Spears *cough; woman in performance do not neccesarily have to act like Kate Middleton anymore. With door-opening pioneers like Mata Hari, Josephine Baker, Madonna to name a few, the world has matured enough now to publicly admit their weaknesses and undying love for a fierce female performer. And with some stinking up the place with a bad lip-sync and one too many Valium, Vancouver is itching for a good show.
Lola is the answer.
With many well-known burlesque performers already overcoming the fashion industry as fashion heavyweights, like Dita Von Teese for example; Lola Frost is a perfect example of how the art of burlesque is actually a marriage of fashion, acrobatics and performance.
A student of seduction, this lady must have studied hard. With big backgrounds in Theatre and Dance, this one person powerhouse is using her skills to take her around the world. Building quite the risque resume, Lola Frost has performed anywhere from Hong Kong to Vancouver’s International Burlesque Festival 3 years in a row.
Frost has also had the honour of being recognized and inducted into the Burlesque Hall of Fame and was even dubbed Vancouver’s own “Rock N Roll Flapper”.
But if you see the intricacies of Frost’s work: from the glam-spin of her retro-inspired makeup details, to her music selection; Lola is not a run of the mill performer. With a look that harken’s back to not just the roaring 50′s and the 20′s but to Harlequin Goth’s as well a little Las Vegas glam; with her signature black bob, Frost is a killer. Her art is as much disciplined as it is provocative. Her routines are as much statements of female empowerment as they are delicate and breathtaking. And her outfits, are as much a lesson in fashion as it is a corset discarded to the bottom right corner of the stage 4 seconds later.
I guess, what I mean is, I can safely say, Lola Frost is my muse.
Then, this amazing woman, took it upon herself to become a teacher. Lola Frost, now comfy in her home of Vancouver, decided one day that she would share her skills of dance, performing and the art of striptease in one fabulously affordable place: The Vancouver Burlesque Centre.
Please feel free to check out these links below for a glimpse of a legend in-the-making and ways to book a lesson with this Wonder Woman.
With love and burlesque, Leroy Wan
