Chicago’s showgirl

Michelle L’amour relishes the life of a burlesque star

By Michael Wigman

She slipped in without me even noticing. Only the short black-as-night haircut, which I recognized from photos, tipped me off.

When one thinks of a burlesque star, they expect to see rhinestones and skimpy clothing. Not a girl with soft white skin wearing a black leather jacket and tight blue jeans, munching on a cone of french fries.

Hers was not the demeanor of someone who in an hour would stand dangerously close to nude onstage. At this moment, she could have been anyone in the bar, no different than any other smiling beauty on a Wednesday night.

On second inspection, the glimmering eyes tell you this girl is different though. Something sets her apart. It’s not only her stark and classical beauty, looks that would have given any 1930s pinup a run for her money. There is a careless joy about her, an innocence of a young girl. The kind of charm and confidence that is necessary if you wear pasties and thongs and perform classical stripteases in front of strangers for a living.

Looking into the glow of her face, you can see she is one of the lucky ones who love every minute of every day. You see it in the way she moves on stage, determined to make even the people sitting way in the back feel as if Michelle L’amour is there for them.

“I place a lot of importance on it coming from a very genuine place... it has more impact,” says L’amour, a 1920s-era-themed burlesque star.

To watch her perform is to see a torrent of sexuality in motion. Her whimsical, hand-crafted outfits and curvaceous body scream passion.

At a recent performance at the Motel Bar, the swinging of her hips to a 1930s-era jazz tune served as the hypnotist’s pocket watch. A black cocktail dress was seductively removed by teasing the audience with a few quick glimpses of her breasts.

By the end of the performance, she stood in the middle of the stage with only wildly swinging white tassels and a double-stringed black thong. “I like the rawness, and I like the kind of the f--k you, thanks for watching,” says L’amour.

Seeing her in front of an adoring crowd, it’s easy to forget L’amour is relatively new to the burlesque scene.

In five short years, the one time finance major from the University of Illinois has been named Miss Exotic World 2005, appeared on numerous television broadcasts and earned the tagline of “The ass that goes POW.”

L’amour’s rise was not by luck, as she is definitely not the type of person to do something halfway. Whether it is her constant practicing or non-stop contemplation of new moves, burlesque has taken over her life.

From the beginning, as she explained in a somewhat defensive tone, it has never been just a character she plays on stage. “I have never really thought of it as a role,” says L’amour. “I think that is me.”

It was in Champaign in 2003 when a random trip to a modeling talent search introduced her to a future friend and manager, Franky Vivid. “I was in Champaign in the cornfields and bored out of mind doing finance,” says L’amour.

Vivid, who was there supporting a friend, saw L’amour dancing on stage and could not believe how aggressive she was.

“I thought, ‘This is out of control,’ ” says Vivid.

The lead singer for a glam rock band at the time, Vivid talked L’amour into becoming the star stage dancer for their shows.

From there, the path to burlesque began.

On a suggestion from Vivid, L’amour first got involved in the burlesque world as a choreographer. Ironically, she didn’t start off as a performer because she was concerned about the skin exposure. After a girl was unable to make a show, however, L’amour agreed to fill in. “It’s a slippery slope once you put on your first thong,” L’amour says laughing.

L’amour enjoyed the experience and never looked back.

“It turns out I have been training for it my whole life without really knowing it,” says L’amour.

Studying jazz and ballet since the age of 15, L’amour had the moves to teach ballet and hip hop to kids in Champaign. “Once my name started appearing in the paper, the parents were a bit concerned,” she adds.

After quitting the instructing gig and deciding the world of finance was not for her, L’amour threw all her energy into burlesque. It turned out to be a wise decision.

What started as a one-night performance has turned into a burlesque empire, under the umbrella of The L’amour Group. Burlesque has taken her across the world, including recent performances in London and Brazil.

She is based out of Chicago and performs regularly across the city, including shows the first Wednesday of every month at the Motel Bar, every Thursday night at Blue Bayou and the upcoming LipShtick Show at the Lakeshore Theatre on April 11 and May 9.

On top of all that, L’amour teaches weekly burlesque and hip movement classes to women at her studio, a job she loves. She believes most women’s sexuality is out of whack and relishes inspiring them to become more comfortable with their bodies.

“If they can look to someone that has a good head on their shoulders, I feel like I am a good role model to them,” says L’amour.

The women are usually shy and nervous when they first start and resist looking directly at themselves. “One of the hardest things for my students to do is actually look at themselves in the mirror,” says L’amour. “Your face sells what your body is doing.”

Most women try to play the part of what is supposed to be sexy, but L’amour notes there is no soul involved. Her performances and classes have become her way of educating people — even if it means having to yell at her reluctant students to touch themselves while dancing.

“I always say, ‘Touch your boobs, touch your boobs’ in class,” L’amour says with a giggle.

Many of the women who train under L’amour have gone on to perform with her throughout the city in a group called “The Starlets.”

The one thing that bothers her about performing in Chicago is its conservative nature. The amount of criticism she receives for being genuine about her sexuality angers her, especially when she sees children walking by magazines with cleavage all over the covers.

“No one cares about that ... you get someone that is actually genuine about their sexuality, it touches people in a way that they’re not expecting,” says L’amour.

Even though the shows sometimes face resistance, and burlesque in Chicago is in its infancy stage of being reborn, the future seems bright.

“I fully expect to be in the entertainment industry for the rest of my life,” L’amour says with a huge smile on her face. “Can’t go back, can’t go back.”

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