{"id":4396,"date":"2016-09-27T10:28:37","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T09:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.city-academy.com\/news\/?p=4396"},"modified":"2021-11-25T09:59:42","modified_gmt":"2021-11-25T09:59:42","slug":"burlesque-student-story-kitty-petite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.city-academy.com\/news\/burlesque-student-story-kitty-petite\/","title":{"rendered":"Burlesque Student Story: Kitty Petite"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rising burlesque star, Kitty Harvey, kick started her foray into the heady world of clubs, striptease, cabarets and fairy tale with burlesque classes here at City Academy<\/a>\u00a0- that's her above, second from the left, with the rest of her class at the Christmas Showcase.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She empowered her alter ego, Kitty Petite, to come out and play, and is now a professional performer and punk rock pin-up, who has featured as part of\u00a0the London Burlesque Festival and in Mardi Gras Magazine.<\/p>\n

\u201cTiny footsteps, sneaky looks, an absolute rascal in hiding\u201d; we speak with Kitty and find out what 5 foot 3 inches of fun and frolics looks like in the limelight and when the lights go down\u2026<\/p>\n

\n
\"Kitty

Photo: Claire Seville. Make-up\/hair: Kari Roberts.<\/p><\/div>\n

What\u2019s the difference between Kitty Harvey the person, and Kitty Petite the character?<\/strong>
\nI'm quite a reserved, thoughtful person day-to-day, but as soon as the stage lights hit me, I'm naughtier, cheekier (and hopefully funnier) on the outside. It's kind of like the me that's inside my head has come out. Kitty Petite is my stage persona - she's me x 100.<\/p>\n

Do you feel a sense of catharsis playing her?<\/strong>
\nThere's always a sense of freedom about being on stage, I enjoy that there are things that I get to do being her, that would just seem slightly strange - and maybe self-indulgent - if I were to do them without my burlesque persona. An example is recreating Botticelli's Birth Of Venus with Claire Seville; the vintage pin-up, boudoir and burlesque photographer.<\/p>\n

How did Kitty Petite\u00a0come about and has she changed over time?<\/strong>
\nAs an initial idea, I had this stage persona that's very different to her as she is now - like this clich\u00e9d image\u00a0of what a burlesque performer should be from my limited knowledge at the start of the process. She's developed over time to a character who's more true to myself. I'm not really as delicate and graceful on stage as I tried to be in the beginning - I'm naturally quite clumsy so I've tried to work my acts around that.<\/p>\n

What role does punk rock, ska and music in general play? Who\u00a0would you like to collaborate with live?<\/strong>
\nI listen to a lot of different music but how can you not want to bounce about when you listen to ska music? And pop punk has this great sense of humour about it as well. So many of the songs, and the bands, are brilliantly dry. It would be fun to work\u00a0with Wonk Unit, a hilarious punk band I've known for many years, and an absolute dream to collaborate with\u00a0Set It Off, a\u00a0pop punk band who write really beautiful theatrical music.<\/p>\n

I like to try and juxtapose this whole idea that punks are hard and gritty, because honestly the people I've met on the music scene over the years\u00a0are just so lovely and warm. Sadly, p<\/span>eople get reduced to stereotypes, but you don't always have to be what people think you are.\u00a0I think punk and burlesque go together very well in that sense, because both of them are about making fun of or making a statement about something.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Burlesque has so much appeal - the improv, comedy, anarchy, sex, body positivity - what about it caught your imagination,\u00a0so much so that you left behind your first art form of acting?<\/strong>
\nYes, all of that! Inclusion! I was told when I was younger that I wouldn't be a successful as an actress because I had tattoos and at the time, a lip piercing. The thing is, I love my tattoos. They are a part of me, even the awful ones I got when I was younger. And I feel more like myself when I have pink hair.\u00a0Sometimes, all of that isn't viable for certain parts, so I felt I was holding a lot of myself back for acting - it is\u00a0still my first love and I would return to it for the right thing. For me, I just found burlesque gave me a lot more freedom to be me.<\/p>\n

Tell us\u00a0about the physicality of burlesque, the hard work that goes on behind the scenes...<\/strong>
\nAt the moment I'm really focusing on learning how to do the splits properly, and\u00a0then I'm going to move on into contortion - chest stands by the end of next year, because I want to take my acts in that direction. I have to practise pretty much every day, or I'll\u00a0lose the ability. It involves a lot of stretching to make sure you don't hurt yourself or push yourself too far, so I set aside time for that every day.\u00a0I'm also eager to start taking more dance classes to incorporate more different styles - right now you\u00a0can tell that I have more of an acting background than a dancing one.<\/p>\n

How was\u00a0your time at City Academy, and\u00a0with\u00a0your tutor,\u00a0Suzanna\u00a0Moln\u00e1r?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nI loved performing in the Christmas Showcase, it was pretty nerve-racking and the atmosphere backstage was amazing, everyone was so excited and we were all proud of what we'd achieved together - I'm still friends with all the girls in the troupe, and Suzy.<\/p>\n

Lovely Suzy.\u00a0I learned a number of routines with her - she's an amazing teacher and such an inspiring, driven lady.\u00a0Apart from making sure my toes were always pointed (haha!) and making me aware of what my face was doing, she taught me\u00a0the more graceful moves I put into my acts. I like to sneak in a chair drop every now and then - a move Suzy taught me - and it tends to shock some audiences because it's not what\u00a0they're expecting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Kitty

Photo: Claire Seville. Make-up\/hair: Miss Bones.<\/p><\/div>\n

Who are your inspirations?<\/strong>
\nI'm inspired by so many different people and things. I listen to a lot of pop punk, but the I'll also listen to Elvis and classic rock. I love vintage and retro styles, but I'm also a magpie for pastel goth imagery and colours.<\/p>\n

With regards to performers, there are a couple on the scene that I go heart-eyed for because of their style and amazing connection with the audience - Lady May Den-Voyage is one of them. She's like my opposite - a big boobed, glamazon lady who\u00a0has this \"watch me, love me\" bad-ass attitude.\u00a0Then there's Tickety Boo, who is so funny and smart (and also lovely) - she creates these perfect characters that enchant the audience, and gives me major aspirational goals.<\/p>\n

Performing can be an escape, but where do you escape to when you need a break from performing?<\/strong>
\nI like to escape into my own head, I'll watch weird comedies (like Arrested Development) or read biographies of people I look up to (I'm nearly done with Amy Poehler's 'Yes Please' - she's a boss-babe hero of mine).\u00a0And then, I have my very own 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' place - I like to go to the British Museum or the National Portrait Gallery and just walk around with music in my ears, looking at the exhibitions.<\/p>\n

How can the burlesque scene grow? What do you hope for it?<\/strong>
\nI think we all just need to keep on supporting each other, going to each other's shows, using each other's businesses (whether it's costuming, dance classes or something else), and learning from each other. I've only been on the scene for a short while and I love how supportive it is - I have made so many close friends from being in shows and going to shows, I just hope it continues to be an inclusive and safe place for all performers to create and grow. And that it\u00a0keeps on being amazing and pushing boundaries, that's what drew me to it...<\/p>\n

\n

Take a chance like Kitty, and get a taste for burlesque<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Or, dive right in and discover your own alter ego with our Burlesque Classes for Beginners<\/a>, taught by\u00a0Suzanna Moln\u00e1r.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, check out our other dance forms<\/a>, be part of a troupe, learn some new moves and express\u00a0your creative side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rising burlesque star, Kitty Harvey, kick started her foray into the heady world of clubs, striptease, cabarets and fairy tale…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,120],"tags":[336,377,378,232,205],"yoast_head":"\nBurlesque Student Story: Kitty Petite | City Academy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rising star, Kitty Petite, started her foray into the world of clubs, striptease, cabarets and fairy tale with burlesque classes here at City Academy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.city-academy.com\/news\/burlesque-student-story-kitty-petite\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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