Burlesque dancer turns focus on to body image

As a burlesque dancer, Lauren Cherryfox is confident about her body. But as a photography student, the 26-year-old, of Stoke, realised some women are not so proud of their image – especially in front of the camera. She tells Antonia Ash how she has helped women show off their best attributes through her own combination of photography and therapy.

LAUREN Cherryfox could be considered a bit of a contradiction in terms.

As a burlesque dancer and teacher, she is happy flirting with the audience as she struts her stuff on stage.

But despite the image, to Lauren, true beauty will always be more than skin-deep.

She is a firm believer in celebrating individuality and as a photography student at Staffordshire University, she realised she had some great tools for helping women build a better body image.

As part of her graduate exhibition, she produced various images of women who had battled with their confidence.

She used her studio shoots almost as therapy sessions as she encouraged her subjects to see past the image haunting them in the mirror and realise their own exquisiteness.

One of the women, 41-year-old mother of two Sarah Shires, even performed a burlesque routine in the show to accompany the photographs.

The unique exhibition earned Lauren a first in her photography degree, and now she is considering a possible future career in body image photography.

"I began burlesque dancing about four years ago," says Lauren, a former pupil of Biddulph High School.

"Having always been a fan of 1950s pin up art, and the likes of Bettie Page, I took the initiative and began learning about the performance for myself.

"I've always been extremely happy with my own body image, and had no qualms performing burlesque.

"However, I do believe that many women have terrible issues with the way they look, and often torment themselves by looking in the mirror and seeing a reflection that is entirely different to that which the rest of the world see."

As a fan of burlesque, Lauren, has also written two books on the subject. Studio Image focuses on how she uses burlesque moves and techniques to get the most out of her photography subjects, while Live Performance Images examines the dance act itself.

As well as impressing her tutors, according to Sarah, Lauren has helped a number of women transform their lives.

Sarah, who lives in Little Mosterly, Shrewsbury, with her husband Mark and two children, and has the stage name Tempest Devyne, spent time with Lauren in one of her therapeutic photo sessions.

Sarah says: "Lauren is an absolutely brilliant photographer, and really put me at ease. I had very big self esteem issues and part of my process of recovery was to partake in various photoshoots to help me build up my confidence."

Sarah suffers with bipolar disorder and also experiences agoraphobia.

"Up until about a year ago I struggled to even leave the house, and at one point I went for two months without setting foot outside," she says.

"I then noticed a television programme on Channel 4 called 'Faking It' which followed the experience of a woman who likewise suffered with low self esteem issues, and part of her recovery was to train to become a burlesque performer, which she did through the course of the show.

"A year later, I saw this same woman in an advertisement for burlesque classes in which she was offering to help other women like herself to overcome their demons and embrace burlesque.

"I signed up and found the act very empowering, and I slowly began to fight my own low self esteem issues. It might sound over the top but burlesque has, in a sense, saved my life.

"I later went on to work with Lauren who really is a fantastic photographer. With her use of light, and guidance on how to pose in a certain way so that it works best for your particular body, she can make a woman look her absolute best without having to resort to the cheats of Photoshop.

"It has helped me get a realistic view of what I actually look like rather than the unrealistic 'blob' I used to think I looked like.

"Her photos and burlesque have made me realise who I really am, and even though I'm 41 and a size 22, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be pretty too."

Lauren added: "The Ministry of Burlesque is quite a small scene, and so we ran into each other on a number of occasions, and then I ended up using Sarah as one of my models in my graduate show."

As well as occasionally running a burlesque class in Burton, Lauren also works in the schools and colleges office at Staffordshire University where she spent four years studying. Her show has now moved down to London to be featured in the Association of Photographers Exhibition, alongside other graduates.

"I like the shoots to be completely natural, and although I do guide my models, I also encourage them to stay true to themselves and to only do what they are comfortable with," she says. "Throughout the session they slowly begin to see how attractive they really are, as I am always sure to tell them when they look fantastic and point out their positives. Rather than just telling someone they are beautiful, it is important to show them that they are, so that they can see and believe it for themselves. And of course the final images speak for themselves."