Life & Work with Stella of Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stella.

Hi Stella, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It all began in 1993, when my mother gave birth to me. Hahahaha, just kidding, we don’t need to go back that far. However, I will say, my journey as a person in spotlights did NOT start as a child. I was shoved on stage a handful of times in varying school and church plays that led to sever panic attacks and crying. I had wicked stage fright. As a teenager I started to explore modeling in an artistic way with local photographers, and discovered I really enjoyed creating art and telling stories using my body as my tool. Around 19 I discovered flow arts and yoga, making new kinds of art through movement with my body.

My early-mid 20’s sent me stumbling into a Belly Dance class at a local studio in Denver, and that’s where things really took off. I fell in love with the training and the movement vocabulary of Belly Dance, it became a full blown obsession. Within 1 year I found myself on the performing company, within 3 I found myself part of the teaching staff. During that time I explored a gaggle of other movement styles and vocabularies, and every bit of training I’ve ever undergone can still be seen in my movement to this day. By 2020 I was undergoing large life changes and challenges that led me to step back from everything that I was doing and (accidentally) shift gears into Burlesque. A Burlesque career was not intended, I am very blessed to have happened my way into it in a professional manner. I started by taking a 6 week course at The Clocktower Cabaret as something fun to do, something just for me. From there, I was scouted by a producer and I started receiving bookings from a smattering of other producers over time.

I am now nearly 6 years deep in to my Burlesque career. I’ve added producing and teaching on to my resume. I’ve had a ton of fun and have grown immensely, not only as a performer but as a person.

I also now offer a full comprehensive online Burlesque course that has everything anyone could need to know on how to get started in burlesque! We talk history, character building, costume creation, movement and choreography, etc. Folks can easily find it on my website!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ha. What a question. I wonder if anyone has answered this with “yes, it’s been smooth sailing the whole way!”. Maybe that’s my negativity biased talking.

Anywho. It has been a fascinating mixture of intense self growth, community discovery, so much fun, surprising levels of creativity, heartbreak, deep embarrassment, financial hardship, and immense frustration. First and foremost, I have to acknowledge how wildly blessed I am to do what I do at all, it’s a massive privilege. And, sometimes, it is really hard.

I’ll focus on this particular challenge, performing is really hard on the body. Especially as one ages and even more so in moments of pushing too hard for the sake of the ego. Last summer I was performing an act with a high kick in it, with someone in the audience who I wanted to impress. I made the massive mistake of not warming up before my act and then the even bigger mistake of high kicking too hard and injuring my right hamstring. I was laid up for about 7 days, could barely walk for weeks, and had to pull out of a couple of other shows. It took about 7 months for my hamstring to fully heal and feel normal again.

The combination of soul love, ego, vulnerability, and physicality that goes into performing is insane. It’s a constant balance check with yourself and when you get out of balance you get humbled. That was my most recent getting humbled, and I now make a point to warm up before every performance AND I make a point to not know who is in the audience.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My focus the past (nearly) 6 years has been Burlesque. I do fall into the category of Neo Burlesque, which means modernized and fused with other things. I am known within the industry for my professionalism and my ability to shape shift.

Burlesque for me is not as much about the tease and reveal as it is about the opportunity to shape shift. I LOVE the spaciousness to become wildly different characters every time I step on stage. The full process from concept, to costuming, to character building, to story telling, to embodiment, to performance. I have always been something of a shape shifter and having the space to do so in a way that I get paid and witnessed in it makes me really happy. I shapeshift from character to character so hard that a lot of people have met me multiple times and don’t realize it’s me, it’s a lot of fun for me.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I try to minimize my app useage for the sake of my sanity. The only social media app that I have is Instagram, and I do use it as a tool for connecting, promoting, and learning as best I can. With that, I’ve recently purchased the BRICK device and downloaded the free app that locks you out of apps you want to use more mindfully. It’s super simple, user friendly, and customizable. BRICK has been super helpful in getting me out of mindless scrolling and doing other things with my day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thestellaluna.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestellaluna/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheStellaLuna
• Other: https://www.thestellaluna.com/onlinecourse

Image Credits
Hthr The Photographer
D2o Photography
Marcia Davis
Jordana Sturaro
Hack The Light