How To Transform Oneself Through The Art Of Burlesque With Kellita Maloof

This interview with Kellita Maloof is part of the TEDxFolsom Reimagine Series, showcasing global changemakers, innovators, and thought-leaders who will speak at the upcoming TEDxFolsom event. 

Share with us a little bit about your background and what inspired you to apply to speak at TEDxFolsom? 

For more than twenty years, I’ve been helping women express themselves with greater confidence, presence, and radiance…through the art form of Burlesque. My background in dance and performing has taken me to stages all over the world, including as a five-time finalist at the Burlesque Hall of Fame, but it is my work with kind, soulful, highly sensitive helpers who’ve been over-editing, over-managing, and over-giving that has led me to the TEDxFolsom stage. 

My experience as a performer and choreographer dovetails with my experience as a tender and safe placeholder.  And the transformative modalities I practice, which include Transformational NLP, EFT Systemic Constellations, and Interpersonal Neurobiology.

My mission is to support folks who dust off the fountain of Self-Love that is hiding right in the center of their very own shimmy, and I am excited to share more about this in my upcoming TEDx talk.

Without giving away too much – Can you provide a short summary of what your topic for Reimagine is about? 

My talk is about how in our world today, few of us are truly seen and the implications of that. When we are truly seen and acknowledged by both ourselves and others, it can transform our experience of every part of our life.

Burlesque, which was originally a form of titillating cabaret dance performance catering to the male gaze, can, when utilized consciously, be a practice in healing the pain and implications of not being seen and acknowledged. The philosophies it is rooted in are a pathway back to wholeness, authenticity, and full-hearted living. 

Not only for those performing but as an audience members. Watching conscious burlesque can enable us to connect not only with the performer but also more deeply with ourselves. It can help us uncover parts of ourselves we may have edited out and learn to express them more fully in our lives.

What was your inspiration or reflection point to generate this idea worth spreading? 

This work and my philosophy have been cooking for a long time. I’ve spent the last twelve years articulating the beautiful transformations I’ve witnessed again and again, of women blooming directly in front of me while performing conscious burlesque and how infectious the transformation can be for everyone in their orbit. 

What are you looking forward to most with your talk? 

Sharing where these unlikely topics intersect: burlesque and the healing of relational trauma. It is a potent combination and one I sense most folks won’t have come across before. My hope is that it opens a door for people to explore the concepts I share more fully.

How do you foresee your TEDxFolsom talk impacting viewers both locally and globally? 

There’s no need to perform burlesque to put into practice the philosophy I’ll be sharing. My talk is about how to genuinely see another human, and the impacts of that all around, for both the seer and the seen. If folks run with the ideas and practices I share, it could transform their relationship with everyone in their orbit and themselves.

If there is one nugget of information you want someone to walk away with that views your TEDx Talk, what would that be? 

That every day we each have the opportunity to see one another into existence. It is the greatest gift we can offer one another.

What’s the best way for people to reach out to you to learn more about your TEDx talk topic? 

They can email me at kellita@showgirlawakening.com or visit my website showgirlawakening.com.