Vancouver Burlesque Centre

Great place, great atmosphere, great teachers! Instructors are very helpful! I take a class with Cherry on Top and she is wonderful! Very friendly and helpful! Super fun!

I am completely in love with the VBC. A welcoming, warm and friendly environment in which to shake what yo’ mamma gave you. Get yourself a Sass Pass for 5 or 10 classes and score a discount on drop-​in classes. It’s called a Sass Pass. You know you want one.
I’ve been taking weekly drop-​in classes led by the amazingly talented and sweet as punch Ruthe Ordare. These classes are fun, energetic, challenging (oh choreo, my nemesis), and a decent workout. Get those «Tina Turner thighs» while learning to shimmy, shake and twerk. Yes, I said twerk. Classes are body positive. Everyone can jiggle, and jiggling is good!
I have also been taking a progressive class with Ruthe, challenging me even more in the world of choreography and dance. We will even be performing our group number at the VBC student showcase at Guilt & Co.
For those of you interested in checking out classes but are intimidated by the word «Burlesque» in the name, fear not. The VBC classes are not strictly burlesque. Most classes, especially drop-​ins, are for toning, technique and skill, with a strong dance component. Choreography is common, which is a great skill to work on for people like me with two left feet. Drop in and see! There’s a class for everyone.

I don’t have enough good things to say about this place. I could talk about them all day.
A place where you can come without judgment to dance your little booty off and sweat!
The instructors here are all amazing and helpful. I quit the gym just so I could take classes here, because I enjoy this much more than hitting that elliptical ad nauseum.
It’s not for everyone of course, but coming here makes me feel free, the environment is amazing and friendly as well. They encourage you to jiggle all the parts that should, to not be ashamed of your body and just come as you are.
Thank you to the all the ladies that teach/​coach and instruct here, you are all amazing.

I cannot say enough glorious things about the VBC. Going to class is one of my favourite parts of my week– and if you’re even a little bit interested, put on some pants and go. I’m assuming you aren’t wearing pants, but put some on, and go learn how to how to take them off all over again; the fun way.

Whenever anyone asks me where I learn to move and shake it, I point them in the direction of the VBC! Not only do they have fantastic drop in style classes, they also run intensives and progressive courses.
It’s a little hidden from view (though very near to Nuba if you’re fancying a post-​shimmy food fest!) but well worth the three block venture from Broadway.
Highlight classes:
Tropical Punch Booty Shake– a great, intense workout, but so much fun you won’t even realize (until cool down) just how hard you were working. Cherry On Top’s signature energy is a fantastic motivator. She just does not stop moving!
Go Go Fit: Who doesn’t like the swinging 60s? Burgundy Brixx leads this cardio workout to super groovy tunes, (she’ll often be singing along, bonus!), and her character is just so infectious. 60s dance moves are great on the dance floor. Bring some girlfriends and plan for a flash mob, 60s style, on your next night on the town.
Lola’s Burlesque Movement class. Just go, watch, drool, and embody your own form of sensuality. It’s a feel good class. Believe me.
They also run workshops on Saturdays, so check their website and schedule. Different headliners come to town and are featured there, so it pays to check often!

You’ve seen them. Those burlesque dancers, the ones who look good in next to nothing but pasties. You wonder how they can shake their booties with such intensity and make it look sexy, while your cottage-​cheese ass reaches for another Crispy Crème. Don’t YOU wanna look like one of those burlesque bitches and be strolling around wearing nothing but pasties looking all fine n shit? Well let me tell you — the word is out, you better treat me right, you don’t have to be the queen of cellulite…
I dropped in to my first class at the Vancouver Burlesque Centre on Wednesday, which will now forever be referred to as hump day — yes HUMP day, as in ‘you’re gonna hump the sky and grind that derrière until the sweat pours down that crack’. The class was called «Tropical Booty Shake» instructed by Cherry Ontop, who guides you through an ass-​shaking combination of yoga and dance to get you fit.
The class was small, which means you get a bit more hands-​on experience (if you know what I’m saaaaaaaying — it doesn’t come with a happy ending, but I ain’t never felt bad after working out before). Being the uncoordinated mess that I am, I felt more like one of those douchey guys from Night at the Roxbury trying to hump your leg on the dancefloor, but what I probably looked like was a white girl trying to dance. But remember — it’s all about having fun, and Miss Cherry Ontop makes sure you have some of that. She will be making jokes about those awkward yoga-​like poses that you have to do, and just calling it out for what it is. Afterall, its HUMP day right? Cherry is so excited and passionate about her class that while everyone in class is reaching for their water, she’s busy queuing up the next track and adding more steps into some of the dance steps we already learned, meanwhile it’s already ten minutes past when class *should* have ended. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth here!
Drop in is $ 15, or they have packages you can buy online for multiple sessions. If you drop in, its cash only — so bring some dolla dolla bills baby!

There is nothing more fun than shimmying with Burgundy. No pressure, lots of fun, informative, sisterhood bonding experience. I love it here. It opened up a whole new world and helped in areas I didn’t expect. Put this on your bucket list!

I just finished the Monday candlelight yoga class (taught by Brenda). The space is slightly off the beaten track, but I enjoyed the walk there. The atmosphere is welcoming and soft, and it takes me back to my childhood where I was OBSESSED with Flashdance.
Can’t wait to take Tropical Punch and the Booty Bootcamp classes soon!

I’m so happy that this centre has opened. For years I was saying that I wanted to take burlesque classes. Although the classes I’ve been taking are more booty camp in style I have a new respect for dancers that manage to look graceful and sexy while pulling those moves!
A friend and I split a $ 120 sass pass so we each get 5 classes. I bought mine though PayPal. We’ve been going to the Tuesday night Tropical Booty Shake with Lindsay Cherry (Cherry on Top). It’s a one-​hour class of bumping, shaking and strutting. You only need a mat and water bottle. We go barefoot. At the first class I had too many clothes on and really worked up a sweat. Now I know to leave the layers at home.
Today I’m going to try the Boobie Booty Burlesque Boot Camp class with Lola Frost. Can’t wait to see what that’s like!
The studio is a good size, not too big, with pretty accents of silk fabric, Chinese parasols and paper lanterns that give it a sassy classy feel. A bonus is that there’s free street parking if you drive. It’s close to Broadway though so transit is easy.
There’s a schedule here
. Shake it like a Polaroid picture!