Swirling their feather boas and swishing their fancy frocks, a group of nine glamorous burlesque dancers have one thing in common – they are all breast cancer survivors
Aged from their 30s into their 60s, these nine incredible burlesque dancers will be giving their racy routine their all at a special Butterfly Ball next Saturday (Sept 13) to raise funds for a breast cancer charity.
Organiser Sarah Pickles, a 43-year-old teaching assistant, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at just 32, says: “I came up with the idea of the Butterfly Ball because going through cancer is very like the life cycle of the butterfly.
“When you come through cancer you have a new found beauty and strength that you didn’t know you had, like a butterfly.”
Of her fellow dancers, who will perform to This Is Me from the Greatest Showman at the ball at Chester’s Carden Park Hotel, she says: “They are glowing and all say they now have a new lease of life, which is wonderful to see.
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“Burlesque is about body empowerment, regaining confidence and giving these women the courage to say yes to something they probably wouldn’t have done before they went on their breast cancer journey.
“These women are embracing their scars, their bodies and their journeys and have really stepped out of their comfort zone to take on this challenge….we are creating something beautiful.”
Sarah, who lives in Sandbach, Cheshire, with husband Dave, 51, who works for a medical company, and their children Lillie, 15, Monty, eight, and Poppie, six, is particularly keen to ‘give back’ as, in 2016 after getting the all-clear, she developed concerning symptoms and feared her cancer was back.
Sarah, who had a double mastectomy, says: “I chose This is Me for us to dance to because the lyrics deeply connect to the changes a woman experiences after treatment and the scars they are left with physically and emotionally.”
Business bank manager Claire Spragg, 48, was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in her right breast in April 2021, after having annual mammograms because of a history of the disease in her family. Following a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy, she says burlesque dancing has helped her to regain confidence.
Claire, who lives in Northwich, Cheshire, with husband Paul, 55, a lift specialist, and has a son Matthew, 19, and daughter Amy,15, says: “It’s helped me so much. The other women really understand how I feel and we have all helped each other through the rehearsals.”
Nantwich accounts assistant Joanne Hackett, 42, who has two sons Jake, 22, and Thomas, 15, with her engineer husband, Eamonn, 42, was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in her left breast in August 2023.
Joanne, who had a lumpectomy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, before getting the all clear in April last year, says: “Burlesque for me is about letting your hair down. It’s very liberating after all we have been through.
“There’s no embarrassment, we can just be ourselves. I’ve never done anything like this, but going through breast cancer makes you realise life is too short.”
Divorcee Diane Williamson, 63, of Frodsham, Cheshire, who has a daughter Kimberley, 30, and son Daniel, 27, was diagnosed with stage two hormone receptive breast cancer in February 2011.
A leadership coach, she had two lumpectomy operations in her left breast, then six weeks of radiotherapy, before finally being given the all clear in 2017. She says the worry that breast cancer will return never leaves her, but adds: “Burlesque dancing gives us all a moment to forget about cancer and live in that moment.”
Something of a veteran burlesque performer, divorcee Toni Willow, 53, was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma breast cancer in her right breast in January this year. She had a lumpectomy and radiotherapy, which finished in April, so hasn’t yet had an official all-clear, but is feeling positive.
A personal trainer for menopausal women, Toni, of Ashton-under- Lyne, says: “I danced burlesque for 12 years and have done many shows. But breast cancer stripped away all my confidence, so to be able to do it again with these ladies is incredibly empowering.”
The friendships she has formed dancing have worked wonders for Alison Wilson, 62, of Gatley, Stockport, who lost her husband Stuart to a lung condition in 2021, two years after she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma breast cancer in her right breast.
Alison – mum to William, 40, and Helen, 35 – who works in security at Manchester Airport, had a mastectomy and was given the five year all clear in January this year.
She says: “It was such a shock when I was diagnosed on a routine mammogram, as I didn’t have any symptoms. The only good thing that came out of it was that Stuart and I spent more time together in his last 18 months because I had to stop work.
“Burlesque has given me a new lease of life. I didn’t have a connection with other women going through breast cancer, as I battled it through Covid, so I felt very alone. To be part of this and meet these other ladies has been so special. I always think of Stuart when I see a butterfly and he would have loved to see me doing this.”
Veronika Bubenickova, 42, who is single, is a breast cancer coach and has written a book, Diary of a Soul Reborn, which is out next month. Diagnosed with HR2 cancer in her right breast in 2023, Veronika had a mastectomy and reconstruction before being given the all clear in December 2023.
She says: “Burlesque is a celebration of the female body. Cancer strips women of every bit of their femininity – their breasts, hair, eyebrows – and dancing feels like a return to being feminine.”
Former supermarket worker Ceri Wainwright, 38, lives in Shotton, Deeside, with husband Jason, 35, a warehouse operator, and sons Harry, five, and Thomas, three. Diagnosed in March last year with HR2 breast cancer in her right breast, she had a mastectomy and radiotherapy and was given the all clear in September last year.
Looking fabulous in a red dress, complete with a feather boa she made herself, she says: “My breast literally tripled in size overnight. I was given four courses of antibiotics before it was diagnosed as breast cancer.
“Burlesque has given me my confidence back – I used to pole dance, but I can’t do that anymore as the surgery has left me with no strength in my arm. My husband Jason is so proud of my dancing.”
Lorraine Fellows, 56 – mum to Georgia, 26, and Stacey, 34 – lives in Tarporley, Cheshire, and owns a livery yard. Knowing she carried the ATM genetic mutation, which increases the risk for breast, ovarian and bowel cancer, she says she had been asking about having a preventive mastectomy for 20 years, before being diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in August 2023.
Lorraine, who says nine members of her family have had the disease, says: “I’d only had a hysterectomy two days before our first burlesque practise, so I wasn’t sure about it – but I’m so glad I came because everyone’s lovely.
“Normally I would never try anything like this, but now I get butterflies knowing I’m coming here. It’s really helped me get my confidence back and it also helps speaking to others who have gone through something similar. We ‘re like one big family.”
The Butterfly Ball at Carden Park Hotel, Cheshire, on Saturday September 13 will raise funds for Beating Breast Cancer with Success (BBCS) – a charity started by Sarah to help breast cancer survivors.
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