“These people at the top of their field, sharing their knowledge, is beyond important!” ~Kisa Von Teasa, Knoxville, TN

Are you SERIOUS about your life with the sideshow, circus or catwalk? Or just want to dip a sparkly toe into some self-affirming fun? Either way, take a workshop in the ABSfest Seminary. We promise that you just can’t find teachers of this international caliber just anywhere – this is a once-a-year opportunity to train with some of the best talent in America.

We offer both one-on-one act coaching and group sessions in beginner and advanced burlesque, circus arts, bellydance, stage-craft and business for artists.

Group sessions $25 each, 5-class full Saturday package $100
Individual Coaching Sessions $50 for 50 minutes.

Friday Private Sessions with Jo Boobs

$55 (Location given upon booking)
2-2:50, 3-3:50, 4-4:50

Sunday Private sessions with Armitage Shanks

$55 (Location given upon booking)
4-4:50, 5-5:50, 6-6:50

Saturday Instruction

Workshops at the French Broad Food Co-op Movement Center
90 Biltmore Ave Asheville, NC 28801

9-11am “Truth or Consequences Stagecraft Workshop” with Armitage Shanks (Seattle)
11-12:30 “Assles, Tassles, Anarchy” with Jo Boobs (NYC)
12:30-2pm “Jetsetter’s Survival Skills Workshop… or How to Tour the World and Make it Count.” with Armitage Shanks (Seattle)
2-3:30 “Striptease Expertise” with Jo Boobs (NYC)
3:30-5pm “Marketing for Muggles” with Natalie Brown

Workshops at the Orange Peel
101 Biltmore Ave Asheville, NC, NC 28801

12:30-2pm “It’s a Veil! It’s a Fan! It’s Both!” with Ziah ($25)
2-3:30 “Glamour Wings” with Mavi ($25)
3:30-5pm “Ready to Fly: Aerial Sling for Beginners” with Sadie Hawkins ($25)

Class Descriptions

Striptease Expertise Jo Weldon’s Signature Class, Now More Strippery!
You’ll be a better stripper after you leave this class! You’ll learn how to make everything from slipping out of a button-down shirt to removing your earrings into a devastating act of theater. We’ll start with what you already know (and you may not even know you know it) and incorporate it into innovative and effective ways to handle any article of clothing. Though not a dance class, there are walking and movement components, so wear shoes in which you would like to perform. We recommend you bring a hoodie that unzips all the way down the front, or if you do not have a hoodie bring a cardigan or button-down shirt to class.

While both dance and theater training are excellent background for burlesque performance, the element of striptease is what makes burlesque unique. If you are looking for a better understanding of how to heat up your numbers, how to best connect to the audience, and how to create reveals that thrill them over and over, explore striptease with a master of the form. Be the performer that people remember! Jo is Vice President at Burlycon and Co-Executive Director of Education at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. Her experience in theater, readings, performance art, and exotic dance have contributed to her ability to connect directly to the audience. She has been a burlesque performer for over twenty years and has taken the stage at Tease-O-Rama, the New York Burlesque Festival, Coney Island, the New Orleans Burlesque Festival, and the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender, as well as headlining events in Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. She also regularly attends burlesque shows and maintains her position as a passionate audience member–a perspective which no instructor or coach can afford to lose.

Tassels Assels and Anarchy
For every level. Why and when should you twirl? Pasties are a unique part of burlesque costuming, and tassel twirling is a unique element of burlesque movement! The history of pasties and tassel twirling is just the beginning of a class that will have you doing things you never thought possible! We will work to find your unique ability and get you beyond the basic bounce. Learn how to twirl in every direction, and on every part of your body.

Marketing to Muggles with Natalie Brown
The alternative arts are often relegated to the hipster ghettos of arts scenes, cut out of the loop on funding, opportunities, and resources. It is time to break out of the box, get clout, get seen and get paid. Join Natalie Brown, director of Delirium Tribal Bellydance Company and up-and-coming nouveau circus Alternacirque, as she shares her experiences in engaging her local community and drawing larger and wider audiences to tribal bellydance and alternative art, even while stuck in the middle of the Bible Belt. Topics covered include: marketing for next to nothing, networking, finding allies and resources, partnering up the chain, strategy in show planning and scheduling for maximum domination, negotiating gigs and getting paid more than beer and falafel, the ins and outs of local politics, ninja-ing your way into good press coverage, and discovering the pulse of your city and what makes it tick. Consider this a crash-course in muggle infiltration life-hacks.

It’s a Veil! It’s a Fan! It’s Both! with Ziah Ali
…and should be treated that way. Ziah will go thru the details of how to deal with Fanveils that are a true fusion of two props. What can you do with it as a veil? What can you do with it as a fan? And what mind blowing possibilities are open to it being both?

Glamour Wings with Mavi
Fantasy alive! This class is all about exploring the allure of a favorite theatrical prop: wings! We will explore basic movement vocabulary, spins, poses, and stylizations particular to Wings of Isis and others, with a touch of sass and a whole lot of glamour. Open to all levels and performance style.

Beginning Aerial Dance on Sling with Sadie Hawkins
Explore how your body can dance in the air. Aerial sling uses the same fabric from aerial silk, but it is looped to create a cocoon.

This introduction to aerial hammock/sling will teach you the fundamentals, including ways to mount and get down from the fabric, simple postures, as well as an overview of form, technique and safety. You’ll mount, invert, and hang out in the air. Then we’ll sequence basic skills into short choreography that’ll work your core and upper body.

The workshop also includes a warm up and flexibility segment, cool down and some aerial conditioning exercises, as well as some exploration of aerial yoga poses.

What to Bring: Wear comfortable, close-fitting clothes that offer a full range of motion – leggings and a leotard are preferred. Please don’t wear lotions or oils on your skin the day of the workshop, as it will transfer to the equipment.

“Jetsetter’s Survival Skills Workshop… or How to Tour the World and Make it Count.” with ARMITAGE SHANKS

International Cabaret/Burlesque Performer Armitage Shanks has performed in over 12 countries and on 3 continents. With hundreds of credits worldwide, from major festivals-… London, New York, Berlin, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome, Vienna, Basel, Lisbon, Melbourne, Sidney and many more, to cabarets, nightclub, dinner theaters, circus tents and bars, he has gained a wealth of knowledge about how to travel the world and make it not only successful, but profitable.

Drawing on over 30 years experience as a performer, director, producer and & educator, Armitage also brings to the workshop his knowledge from years as a travel agent, and the insights from traveling the world almost non-stop for the last 20 years.

Going beneath the standard advice, Armitage will share with you his trade secrets for become a “Jetsetter”.

Topics will include:

• How to connect with producers, both national and international How to sell what you do
• How to create a successful tour
• Creating opportunities once you are there.
• Creating opportunities once you are there.
• Tips and tricks about the logistics of travel How to get the best prices and the best seats Thrive in style on a performers budget. What to pack and what NOT to pack
• Flying under the radar with customs agent have a look. Finding the city’s pulse and tempo
• How to recalibrate acts for touring
• Getting asked back and how.

If you aspire to see the world, and let your career take you there, this is the workshop for you!

Truth or Consequences Stagecraft with Armitage Shanks
Step right up! Step right up! The Carny is in town! Find and keep your performance real with the internationally acclaimed performer, director, cabaret singer and educator, Armitage Shanks.

Learn to create your performance and persona from a place of dynamic engagement and truth.

Tap into the wellspring of creativity that sets you apart and makes you shine!

Got a half-cooked new act idea but not sure what to do with it? Now’s the time!

Stuck in a creative rut and ready for a more unique stage persona? Come on down!

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to develop leading edge stagecraft for more character-driven performance!