‘Age is just a number’ is an everyday saying, but do we really believe it?
Society holds a negative stigma regarding age differences, which causes people to obsess over it, and, that is why when we see a new opportunity we like the look of, instead of ceasing it, we run away believing that we are too old for it
We often put up walls and flee for the mountains, but before shutting the door on the chance to start a new and exciting adventure, the kind of one that will help you look at yourself from a different angle, think again... burlesque is just a few steps away.
To help you believe it, we’ve interviewed Lynn Ruth Miller, the woman who started doing burlesque at the age of 73 years old!
So here you go, you’ve got no excuses anymore. Your age DOESN’T MATTER. The burlesque industry doesn’t care. CEASE the opportunity. HAVE FUN. We only live once after all.
You started doing burlesque on stage when you were 73 years old? Did you ever think you were too old for it ?
No. I think that is what sets me apart from other women my age. It never occurs to me that I cannot do whatever I fancy. I have just taken up the Lindy Hop and I am beginning to realise that some of those moves might actually cost me a hip or a knee. However I am practicing like crazy because I believe I can manage it.
Do you actually take your clothes off?
No. If I did that I would empty the room. My first outfit looked like a Victorian swimwear These days, I show a little bit more however...
When you first started, did you ever think you would so warmly welcomed by the burlesque community?
No. I was shocked . It took a couple more years before I queried the other burlesque bookers in the bay area and I began to realise that it was my uniqueness rather than my ability to sing and dance that they loved
Has burlesque changed you ? Made you stronger? More confident?
Yes. I have severe body image problems and forcing myself to expose what I think is a truly horrid body seemed to loosen me up. Until I started burlesque, no one ever saw my legs or my arms I wore turtle neck shirts and long ankle length skirts or trousers and absolutely no cleavage exposed. Now as you can see from the photos, it is very very different.
What would you like to say to older women feeling too old to start burlesque… or even something out of their comfort zone?
Bite that bullet, ladies. Believe in yourselves. Now I am doing the Lindy Hop and it is very very difficult for me to ask someone to dance with me because I am at least 40 years older than most of those people at the dance. I know I absolutely must have the courage to ask, even though 9 times out of 10 I get refused. If I do not make the effort to live in the now, I am living the same day over and over again and what is the point of that. Routines can suffocate you Every day needs a structure of course or you get nothing done but you must allow flexibility in your life or you won't have much of a life.
