Shira Aronson

What my show actually looks like

I started as a singer, and you hear it before I start moving. My territory is glamorous burlesque — a corset, a feather fan, a slow tempo, and a live song to open when it is asked for in advance.

I work in a real steel-boned corset. It changes the line entirely, and it is also why I work slowly — in a corset like that you cannot rush, which serves the show.

Ten years on stage with a microphone teach one thing that is hard to learn any other way: I am not in a hurry to fill silence. I can stand still for two seconds and the room keeps watching. In burlesque that is worth more than any complicated movement.

Who I suit

A birthday, themed parties, retro evenings. A stag night too — the glamour line removes awkwardness because it is amused rather than heavy.

I work particularly well with a mixed audience. There is nothing in burlesque that makes a woman in the room uncomfortable, and with my style many women actually enjoy it more than the men do.

And if you want a live opening, that is me. Nobody else in the gallery sings, and at an evening with a table and people sitting around it, that changes the entire entrance.

Where it works

A room with two metres of width for the fan, a chair without arms, and warm light. I do not need a high ceiling or a special floor.

I work across Florentin, Jaffa and the metro area, plus cabins.

What I do not do

I do not sing karaoke and I do not take requests mid-show. One song to open, prepared in advance and matched to the room — this is not a jazz night and I am not a band.

Nobody touches the fan — feathers come out on one grab and it costs about as much as a whole show.

No filming, no touching unless I invite it, and the show ends when it ends.

How I got into this

I trained as a singer and worked for years in small jazz outfits. I have had a stage since seventeen, simply with a microphone in my hand.

I came to burlesque through an evening where I was booked to sing in a retro production. I watched what the dancer was doing while I stood at the microphone, and understood I wanted to be on the other side of the stage. Within two months I had ordered my first corset.

I am twenty eight, six of those years in this. I still sing with the outfit occasionally, and without it the voice drops off within a month.

What I bring and what I need from you

A corset, a dress, the feather fan, shoes and the music — swing, soul, big band. The bag is large because of the fan.

From you: two metres of width, a chair without arms, and warm light. A yellow bulb or a table lamp — under cold white light the whole retro falls apart.

And a side room for ten minutes. A steel-boned corset does not close by itself and does not close quickly.

Mistakes people make when they book me

Asking for the song on the day. I need to know in advance to pick something that suits the room and to check there is somewhere to stand. At an hour’s notice it simply does not happen.

An armchair instead of a chair. Half my show is built on a chair, and with arms there is nowhere for me to work.

Hard white light. It kills the retro completely.

Touching the fan. It happens every other evening, which is why I say it out loud before we start.

What I ask before I confirm

Whether you want the live opening. The first question, because the shape of the whole evening and what I bring depend on it.

Whether there is a chair without arms and two metres of width. That decides whether the fan opens at all.

What the lighting is. Warm. If there is none, I bring a different programme.

Who is in the room. A mixed audience is my favourite situation, and if there are women present I direct part of the show at them too.

What happens between booking and the door

After we agree you get the hour, a short list — chair, room for the fan, warm light — and one request to pass to the guests: nobody touches the fan.

On the day I message when I leave. I arrive by car because of the bag, dressed entirely normally.

I ask for ten minutes in a side room for the corset, and the show runs from there. At the end I pack, take the payment and go.

What is included and what is not

In the price: the show, the costume, the fan, the live song if you asked for it, the music and travel within the metro area. No costume surcharge and no service charge.

Not included: a chair, a speaker and lighting. And I do not bring a microphone for the song — in an ordinary room it is not needed, and in a large hall it has to be yours.

Why a live song at the start changes the whole evening

This is the hardest thing to explain in a message, so I will try here.

A show that starts from recorded music asks the room to organise itself. People stop talking at their own pace, somebody is still pouring, somebody turns round late. Thirty seconds pass before everyone is present, and you never get those thirty seconds back.

A live voice does it immediately. I start singing without any announcement, and the room sharpens within two seconds, because a live sound registers differently from a speaker and it works even on people who did not notice me come in.

From there the show does not have to climb. When the song ends everyone is already watching, and I start from the point an ordinary show only reaches halfway through.

That is why I ask in advance. A song has to suit the room and its size, and you choose that calmly beforehand rather than at the door.

When somebody else suits you better

If you wanted acrobatics, pole or a fast high energy show, not me. I would suggest Eva Wright for the athletic line or Lana Hoffman for urban energy.

And if you liked the retro line, Dina Klein does vintage with a fan in a different register, and Yasmin Coral does classic burlesque.

Booking me

Name, hour, address, how many guests, and whether there is a chair without arms. I always ask about the chair.

Standard price, no deposit. The whole gallery is here. If you are undecided, describe the evening in two lines and I will say honestly whether I suit it or whether somebody else would be better.