Thread: When watching burlesque - do you listen to lyrics?

I'm finally getting my winter piece in order and am trying to settle on a piece of music.

When you watch a live burlesque show, do you listen to the lyrics of the song a performance uses?

I've seen acts which over-use songs, relying on the lyrics of a song to convey the narrative of an act. In my opinion, this has lead to a weak act as I'm straining to hear the vocal rather than watching the movement on stage.

On the other hand, I've seen acts use a theme which bares little/no relevance to the lyrics of the song being used. I'm conflicted about this. On the one hand, if the performance works, who am I to argue?! But on the other hand, I feel as though a really great track is being under-used if its content is not emphasised by the performance... like I say, I'm conflicted here and haven't really got an opinion yet.

So I thought I'd ask the forum users for your opinions on WATCHING a burlesque act and how your experience of an act is shaped by the (non-)emphasis of a song's lyrics.

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I only listen to the lyrics if its a popular piece of music and the act looks like its related to the theme of the song. Otherwise i just rely on the song to convey the mood of the act!

Good question Beatrix! I was just discussing this the other day, actually. When I perform, I tend to use instrumental tracks for storyline routines, so the lyrics don't distract from the narrative. But I'll happily use vocal songs for purely dance based routines, because I don't feel it does distract.

When I'm watching, I tend not to listen to the lyrics and more to the feel and mood of the music. If it's a song I know well, I don't bother listening to the lyrics, because I already know them (or the rough jist) and can see how they apply (or not) to the act. If I know it's a love song, for instance, then I'd expect to see something about love or romance in the act. If it's a song I don't know, I still don't bother to listen to the words, but I look for the mood of the act and see how the feel of the song ties into that. If the song sounds dark and moody, then I expect a dark and moody routine. Plus I also look at the tempo - is the performer actually using musical cues to dance/act to, or is the music simply background and being used purely arbitrarily?

I'm not sure how clear that comes across >_< but those are my thoughts!

Hi honey
I use both in different acts because sometimes you can not get the right words in a song to tell the story you want. But for example my feather finger act is very much inspired by the words of the song and I always imagine people are listening to the words.
I do when I watch an act if there are words in the song I am guessing they are relevant to the act so its a full sensory experience.
Good luck with it honey
Diva x

It sounds like you both experience a burlesque act as I do.

Often sound-systems can be an influencing factor too - if the sound is all muffled, one can't hear the lyrics anyway.

My own concern, I think, is that if I use this wonderful piece of music I've just found, and don't *quite* match the narrative of my act with the music, is this a problem? And I suppose the answer is that it depends what I do with my act, as you say Fleur, the overall atmosphere of the act is created, in part, by the music, so it is important for the two to correlate accordingly.

I can't decide whether to go for something more avant-garde, or to go for something more familiar...

Me being me, I'll probably go for the more avant-garde option... but before going head-first into such a decision, I always find myself agonising over whether to be more traditional... and in the instances where I've chickened out and gone for traditional, I've always felt that my act lacks substance and have ditched it after a couple of performances.

Gosh, I am blabbling today!

Originally Posted by Beatrix Von Bourbon

I can't decide whether to go for something more avant-garde, or to go for something more familiar...

Me being me, I'll probably go for the more avant-garde option... but before going head-first into such a decision, I always find myself agonising over whether to be more traditional... and in the instances where I've chickened out and gone for traditional, I've always felt that my act lacks substance and have ditched it after a couple of performances.

If I were you, I'd have a quick play about with each piece I were considering before making my final decision. Each piece will have its pros and cons, so working those out and weighing them up would help you decide.

One thing I would consider as well is your worry about matching your narrative to your music. You can easily say, 'well, no one will notice if it's not perfect', but will you notice? Is it the kind of thing that would bother you if your act and the music don't quite match up? Would you be restircting yourself and the act by using this particular piece? If you think you might find it too restrictive, then I'd use the more avant garde piece.

Oh, sorry! I don't think I was very clear, I've been trying to keep the full details under wraps but I guess I'll need to divulge some.

I really want to use a Tori Amos piece... but it's about being reminded of your father and his advice. As the song progresses, the daughter-character gets older and never quite manages to take on board her father's advice... or, at least, that's my reading of the song.

That's the avant-garde option.

And I think it'll work if I create a character who embodies neither the position of daughter nor father, a character who rests somewhere within the narrative of the lyrics rather than the characters created in the song.

I think my biggest worry is people picking up the lyrics toward the end of the song (about a grey-haired old lady) and wondering why I haven't followed this character through to that end-point. But I'm quite certain I'm over-thinking and people won't put me down for not following the song word-for-word anyway...

eeesh.

I have to say, it sounds very confusing!

I don't think the audience will be too bothered about you not sticking to the lyrics with your story.

Good luck with it either way ^_^

I can't help but listen to the lyrics when I watch but then I'm a music person. Though I prefer it when burlesquers only follow the lyrics loosely, which is what I usually do. So I think go avant garde!

I don't always listen to the lyric's. Unless it's a song that is being used when it shouldn't.

I think it's easier to pick up on lyrics that somehow are just wrong for an act. Something in my brain scans them and pop's up a red flag occasionally.

I do however appreciate it when songs with music are being used cleverly and that can occasionally add that little something extra to an act Sometimes it's almost a sly joke between the performer and those in the audience who 'get it'. And those who don't still can admire the act.

Following the lyrics exactly can be a bit teen disco.