I was feeling bored, fed up and stuck in a rut, then I discovered Jo King’s Burlesque Buzz course.  When I signed up I had no grand plan to become a performer.  I came to do something completely outrageous for myself and to feel alive.  Well, when I left the first class, I felt like the sexiest woman on the planet – and would have pulled it off had it not been for the Cheshire cat grin plastered all over my chops!

Doing this course planted the seed that is now Crimson Skye who has since worked all over the London burlesque circuit and beyond.  In August, I’ll be performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of a show that I’ve devised with two other burlesque performers and after that, who knows?

I’ve been privileged to work alongside Jo and some of her other ex-students who are the best in the biz!  Maybe it’s something to do with who we are, but I also think its something to do with Jo that the performers who are ex Jo King students are also the nicest people on the circuit!

I tell every woman I know that if they have to do one thing, then this course is it.  Especially if you just fancy doing something a bit different from the daily grind, you’ll absolutely love it and will feel a million dollars too.   Who could say no to that?

 Heather Malone aka Miss Crimson Skye

Hi Jo,
 
This is Celia from your Tuesday classes that finished last week. I just wanted to write and say how wonderful I found them. I've never done anything like that before but you will definitely be seeing me again - be it at a burlesque show or more classes. I loved the fact that we could each have personal attention (from the Mama!) but I never felt singled out and you, my dear, are, quite frankly, the mutts nuts! Your outlook and the way you embrace life and femininity was, for me, the highlight of my time with you. I came away feeling fantastic and have been singing your praises to anyone who will listen.

Burlesque Buzz - Beginners Performance Art Course
Jo transformed a group of self-conscious, awkward hopefuls into a troupe of true burlesque sirens in just four weeks. We learned that it wasn't about a repertoire of moves (though she certainly gave us those!) but about convincing yourself - not her, and not an audience - that you're absolutely irresistible. That's her genius, and once she flicks that switch in your brain, the rest just falls into place.

Love

Mel xx

 "Of course I will organise your hen night” I said when my friend told me
she was getting married. "Excellent" she replied "I want to learn exotic
dancing".

I can honestly say that I was at a complete loss to even know where to start! I found the LSOS website after having read about burlesque classes in Wedding Day magazine and gave Jo King a call. From the very moment I started speaking to Jo, I was filled with a sense of relief. She set my mind at rest saying that the classes could be as involved as we wanted them to be, and explaining the format. The fact that we could chose the venue made things even easier.

Our teacher Sachi was amazing. She was a vibrant, attractive woman, who made everyone relax by making them laugh. She proved that you really can make
yourself feel sexier if you just let go of your inhibitions, helped us to avoid looking ridiculous, and encouraged those people who felt they just could not do it. We started the evening with fifteen rather frightened looking women holding onto their wine glasses for dear life, and ended it with everyone rolling about with laughter. Every person in the room participated (even the shy ones) and it was universally agreed to be fantastic fun.

I can strongly recommend booking a class for a hen night, or just a really
good fun night in with the girls.

Burlesque Striptease Training November 2006

Well where can I start?  At the first class I was a timid, cowering, self-conscious VERY NERVOUS wreck! I was feeling very worried about it all and not quite sure what to expect and yes, the first class was hell for me, although Jo was lovely, I just couldn't see it happening for me at first.  So second class came along and I got more into it, felt more comfortable and Jo said some lovely things to me about my moves and tried to keep my spirits up.  Then we had a lesson on facial expressions which pushed me over the edge!  Jo took me aside and made me pull faces at her in the loo until I was laughing so much that I felt much better.  Anyway by the end of the course I was so much happier, I felt more confident, I didn't feel silly anymore and
when it came to performing on stage... I wasn't even nervous, in fact I loved it!  There was absolutely no way if you'd asked me a couple of months ago whether I'd go on stage in pasties and pants that I would have said yes but I did and not only that, I will again (hopefully)!! Out of the seven of us who were in Jo's class, at least five of us are planning a troupe so watch this space! x

As for me, Jo I cannot thank you enough.  I think you're FANTASTIC!  You've
helped me so much and I'm sure my boyfriend would like to thank you too.  He
enjoyed all those striptease practises I had to force him to sit through (didn't take much persuading) and he's now making the most of the new 'more girlie' me..  I feel so much better about myself and have much more confidence, so thank you.  AND I'm sure I'll be back for more lessons with the other girls, very soon. XXX

Love to you always.

Jane Petrie  xxx
One of the Burlesque Babes ;)

 Jo's Burlesque Striptease classes really are a must for every woman who feels insecure about her looks. She puts everything into perspective and makes every woman feel gorgeous - just the way you are. I thought Jo's 'larger than life' personality and general zest for life was really inspiring, and very Burlesque I must say! She trained me up from being an unglamorous, under-confident individual to feeling feminine, sexy and brimming with self-esteem. The rewards of performing at the end were plentiful. I felt like I had climbed the highest mountain and was literally shaking my bootie at the top. I feel like doing it all over again - and just might! Thank you so much Jo for always keeping positive and believing in us. And thanks to all the other girls - Alex, Jenny, Jane, Dulce and Serefina - for being a pleasure to work with. Here's to our future as the Burlesque Babes!

Jessica x

Dear Jo
I want to thank you so very much for your fantastic Burlesquerella course. What could be better than getting up every morning to go and play with movement, props, acting and most of all, of course, being fabulously sexy. You were thoroughly entertaining and supportive and the whole thing was an absolute treat.  I left feeling on top of the world and despite having to miss the final day for a job interview, damn it, that truly had to be one of the best job interviews I have ever given!

To be honest I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit from your course and taking the time to explore themselves as the amazing sexual beings that we all are.  You are right, we all deserve more confidence, and to, when we want, walk with a bit more of a sway in our hips and spring in our steps. I also absolutely treasured getting to meet the other course participants who were such an incredible group of gorgeous and lovely people.

I also want to thank you for all your help and encouragement and for giving me the opportunity to get up on stage and make a dream become a reality.  I really never quite dared to think I'd actually do it (and crikey I nearly didn't) and to be honest it's still only sinking in that I actually got up there and performed!!  Burlesquerella got to go to the ball AND be a star on the stage!  Truly thank you so very much.  As I
think the stunning Miss Polly Rae said that night 'the nerves are just there because you care', but as you can see I care a little too much.  But now with documentary evidence that my nerves don't really show, a wardrobe with too many costumes than is normal and some of your wise words in my ears... hopefully there will be more to come.
With much love
Tamsin aka Mizmyrrelda XX

Put simply, without Jo King the Teasemaids would not exist!  We are all proud graduates of the London Academy Of Burlesque, most of us did this in the summer of 2005 although our youngest and newest member is a more recent graduate!

We came to the course not really knowing what to expect and hoping to gain some extra confidence and a little bit of glamour on a Tuesday night. We got both by the bra-load!

By the end of the course, most of us decided to prove that we could actually use our new skills to get up in public and perform.  We hired Mama Jojo to choreograph a routine for us and we made ourselves costumes and personas to wear.  It was a big effort with all of us leading busy and different lives.

The Teasemaids' debut performance was in December 2005 - it was a great success and achievement for us.  Since then, the line up has changed but the sentiment remains the same - to have fun, be creative and feel sexy.

We have quite a few routines under our belt now.  Jo has choreographed our two favourites - 'Big Spender / Showgirls' and 'Air Tease' which are fabulous.  The latter got us through to the finals of the erotic awards this year.

We want to thank you Mama Jojo, firstly for bringing out our inner burlesque selves, and secondly for bringing us together.  We have gained so much from this adventure so far, but perhaps most important is that we have made lifelong friends out of it, whom we would trust with anything and can turn to for support and laughter at anytime.

I don’t think that there is another person that I would recommend more than Jo King. I came away from my private lesson feeling not only unbelievably fabulous, but for what felt like the first time, like the woman I had always wanted to be – sexy, powerful (without losing my femininity) and free. When you walk away from the class, all the baggage attached to the worries about what you mustn’t be slip away, just like the clothes that you have just been so expertly taught to step out of… 

I think that it makes perfect sense to go and be reminded of what you are and what you are capable of. In the same way that people go to law school to learn the skills associated with being a lawyer, or medical school to be a doctor or even to the beach to be a surfer, one can go to Jo King and learn how to be a woman. And in these days when so much focus is placed on succeeding, the gentle grace of womanliness gets pushed aside in the race to go the top. Jo takes you to the top, a place reached by simply reconnecting to your true self. She is a great teacher. And paying for one of her classes is the best present I have ever given myself.

 Subject: JJJOOOOOO xxxxxxxx

I just wanted to say thanks for everything that you gave me within our fantastic 2 hour lesson, you didn’t just teach me the steps, you showed me how to become a stripper. The lesson we had together was so much more valuable than that I imagined it would be, and I would advise all aspiring strippers to take up on this opportunity. Not only did you give me the confidence that I needed to get my arse out there and do something I’d always wanted to do but you were honest with me. you didn’t lie to me and tell me everything would fall into my lap, or that it was a perfect easy job where you get paid bundles but you showed me how to believe in myself and to make my own decisions and to be proud of them, rather than to listen to everyone else and do what they want me to.  You taught me that I am sexy and powerful, not if I lose a couple of pounds, or if I tan, or wear false lashes (!) but I'm sexy because I’m a woman and women are sexual beings in a way a man can never be. Often when I am out there shaking my arse and some thing goes wrong, I think of you, and I just smile and forget about it, and maybe that’s the most important thing. You’re a very very special person who I look up to and respect a lot, and I just want to say thank you. You truly are my mama Jojo.

Jo is truly fabulous, flamboyant and seriously talented. She makes everyone feel totally at ease and relaxed and you really feel like you are learning from the best. As a result of these classes my self esteem is through the roof and feel fantastic about the future.

Jo, I really hope to work with you again and can’t thank you enough.