Keren Shavit

The slow half of the pair

I work in a regular duo with Dana Livne, and my role in it is clear: I am the one who brings the tempo down.

In a duo set Dana opens at high energy and I come in after her. The room moves from two minutes of noise to two minutes of quiet, and that is the moment people stop talking. Without that contrast, two dancers is simply more of the same thing.

And if you book only me, it is exactly the same style, just without the fast half.

Burlesque: what it is built on

Burlesque is my style, and it rests on three things that have nothing to do with acrobatics.

Costume. A corset, long gloves, a feather fan. Each item comes off in its own time, and the set is a sequence of layers rather than one piece. Without costume there is no burlesque, only dancing.

Timing. The holds matter more than the movement. I can stand still for two seconds and the room keeps watching — that is learned rather than natural.

Light. This is the style most dependent on it. Under a white ceiling fitting half my work disappears, because the shadow does. One or two lamps to the side change that completely, and it is three minutes of work on your side.

Fashion: when the room does not suit burlesque

Fashion is my second style, and I move to it when the conditions for the first are not there: too large a room, a loud group, or light that cannot be dimmed.

It is built differently — not a square but a line. A straight run of four to five metres, walking, holding, turning. It has almost no props and it works under stronger light.

And it has an advantage I use often: it is aimed at nobody in particular. In a mixed room, where some of the guests did not choose to be there, that is exactly what is needed.

Pin-up: the side that makes people laugh

My third style, and the complete opposite of the first two.

Pin-up is full light, familiar music from the fifties and sixties, and a lot of smiling. It makes people laugh before it moves them, which makes it a particularly good opening for a room unsure how to behave.

I suggest it often for mixed birthdays and for evenings that start early. It works in daylight too, which is rare in this catalogue.

What to sort out beforehand

• Two and a half metres square of clear hard floor, rug rolled aside
• Ceiling light off, one or two lamps to the side
• A stable armless chair, if there is a seated section
• A room with a door and a mirror — the corset takes about fifteen minutes
• A mid-sized speaker; I do not work at volume

For a duo it needs more: three metres by three, because Dana works wide.

Which room is most mine

Groups of six to fifteen, and mixed evenings above all. Burlesque can be watched from across the room without feeling obliged to react, so a room with partners and colleagues takes it well.

Excellent for a birthday of thirty and up and for a company event. Less suited to a party of twenty who have been drinking for two hours — that needs Dana rather than me, and I will say so in a message.

What happens in a room that is unsure

It is the room I get most often, so it is worth describing what I do in it.

A mixed evening, some guests did not know there would be a show, and nobody is certain how to behave. A dancer entering on high energy meets a wall.

What I do: start very slowly, fully dressed, without addressing anyone. The first minutes look almost like a stage performance — there is distance, and you can simply watch. After two or three minutes the room understands that nothing is being asked of it, and from there it opens up on its own.

What I do not do: pull anyone into the middle, ask for a reaction, or come close to somebody who did not book this. Burlesque does not need a participating audience; it needs one that watches.

Why we answer quickly at weekends

Because we plan them that way. Thursdays and Fridays are kept for work, so a request that meets “nobody is free” elsewhere is often still open with us.

That is especially true of a duo booking: two dancers free on the same evening is rare, and with us it is the default, because we go out together.

Where I travel

Gush Dan and the centre: Tel Aviv, Ramat Aviv, Ramat Gan, Herzliya and Raanana, and the whole service area with ordinary notice.

The price is the same as everyone in the catalogue. Cash at the end of the evening.