Razzle dazzle – Ibiza Burlesque Festival

Expect sequins, synchronised swimmers and sophisticated seduction at this summer’s Ibiza Burlesque Festival, taking place on Saturday September 16, 2023. Now in its seventh year, the captivating celebration of the centuries-old art form is set to feature incredible, world-class performers from over 10 countries, all coming together on stage in an expertly choreographed poolside display designed to inspire and amaze. The one-day-only extravaganza also features a pool party, cabaret performances, and live music from the island’s best DJs, in addition to a much-anticipated appearance from festival founder and the mastermind behind World Burlesque Day, Sapphira.

Counting Dita von Teese and Richard Branson among her slew of high-profile supporters, Sapphira is a world-renowned burlesque performer who has poured heart and soul into building a community of fellow dancers from the ground up as part of her enterprise, Sapphira’s Showtime. On a mission to bring the joys of burlesque to the world while championing the untold benefits of performing, her goals include showcasing the world’s best performers and using state of the art production to wow her audience. She also aims to enhance the lives of her students by using burlesque as a gateway to powerful self-expression.

Sapphira’s burlesque journey has been at the root of her own personal transformation. The art form proved pivotal as a tool in helping her to overcome a difficult childhood, and then 20 years ago, a traumatic bipolar episode. Since then, every carefully considered movement on stage has played an integral role in her recovery, and she aims to share this positive nugget of wisdom with others. “Above all, I hope that Ibiza Burlesque Festival is testament to the fact that one’s life can always be turned around,” she says. “And that anyone can rise above adversities.”

Sapphira has chronicled her own life’s path — including her arrival in Ibiza — in her published autobiography, Burlesque or Bust, and has tapped into her other, seemingly endless, creative channels to produce an original song. Entitled Tease, the tune was first debuted as the curtain call at the 2017 Ibiza Burlesque Festival, but after a slinky reworking by her husband and festival co-producer, DJ Tonestepa, a big band-inspired re-mix is scheduled to make a return for this year’s festival outing, with Sapphira herself on dazzling performance duties, emerging from behind a shield of shimmering feathers.

The 2023 Ibiza Burlesque Festival promises to be the best showcase yet, with support from a range of well-known brands and personalities, and Sapphira’s characteristic tenacity and vision evident in in every sultry stare and flirtatious flick of the wrist. Through burlesque, Sapphira invites everyone to enhance their lives by embracing empowerment, and in doing so, has created a positive environment in which everyone — both performer and guest — can thrive. Set to unfold on the sun-soaked Aperture Terrace in San Antonio Bay on Saturday September 16, 2023 – everyone is welcome to attend and see for themselves why the free-spirited backdrop of Ibiza is the perfect match for the unbridled expressiveness of burlesque.