Dublin Core
Title
Montana St. Claire Oral History Interview, September 6, 2021
Description
Montana St. Claire introduces herself as a burlesque dancer and owner of Bend Burlesque Company. She produces and directs the shows, and runs all marketing and financial aspects of the company. She defines Burlesque as an art form and describes her style of Burlesque as a mix between Neo- and traditional Burlesque.
St. Claire states that she performs Burlesque as an artistic expression and as a personal form of growth and evolution. She loves that it's a vehicle of learning about herself and other people.
St. Claire shares the difficulty in achieving goals in diversity while in the very-White demographic in Eastern Oregon. She strives to bring in BIPOC teachers and performers as an effort in creating more diversity in the Bend Burlesque Company productions. She describes the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic on the Burlesque scene. Not only did COVID put the Bend Burlesque Company in the red financially, but also it had a negative impact on people’s mental and creative health.
St. Claire believes Burlesque is empowering and confidence-building, not only in the performance arena but also in the business and entrepreneurial skills it teaches. She states that Burlesque is definitely a force for social change in that it is personally empowering and can be a platform from which to present diverse ideas to the public. She acknowledges the challenge that some people look down on Burlesque as a fringe or lesser art form. She wishes the general public would understand how Burlesque is a powerful art form of personal expression and it creates a joyful community.
St. Claire states that she performs Burlesque as an artistic expression and as a personal form of growth and evolution. She loves that it's a vehicle of learning about herself and other people.
St. Claire shares the difficulty in achieving goals in diversity while in the very-White demographic in Eastern Oregon. She strives to bring in BIPOC teachers and performers as an effort in creating more diversity in the Bend Burlesque Company productions. She describes the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic on the Burlesque scene. Not only did COVID put the Bend Burlesque Company in the red financially, but also it had a negative impact on people’s mental and creative health.
St. Claire believes Burlesque is empowering and confidence-building, not only in the performance arena but also in the business and entrepreneurial skills it teaches. She states that Burlesque is definitely a force for social change in that it is personally empowering and can be a platform from which to present diverse ideas to the public. She acknowledges the challenge that some people look down on Burlesque as a fringe or lesser art form. She wishes the general public would understand how Burlesque is a powerful art form of personal expression and it creates a joyful community.
Creator
Montana St. Claire
Source
Oregon Burlesque Performers Oral History Collection (OH 49)
Publisher
Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries
Date
September 6, 2021
Contributor
Laurie Kurutz
Format
Born Digital Video
Language
English
Type
Oral History
Identifier
oh49-stclaire-montana-20210906
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Interviewer
Laurie Kurutz
Interviewee
Montana St. Claire
Location
Bend, Oregon; interview recorded over Zoom
Original Format
Born Digital Video
Duration
0:37:31
OHMS Object
Interview Format
video