"Learning to be Naked" Film Screening

LEARNING TO BE NAKED is an award -winning documentary that reveals the HEALING, TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF BURLESQUE. It’s hard to imagine a more vulnerable act than getting naked on stage–yet for many, it’s precisely this experience that profoundly changes their lives.

CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES ABOUT WHICH BODIES DESERVE TO BE SEEN AND CELEBRATED, the film follows extraordinary and unconventional performers as burlesque helps them strip away their shame, gently peels off layers of insecurities, and slowly undresses their pain.

Among them:

AN AMPUTEE/BREAST CANCER survivor who proudly performs with her prosthesis and does not hide her scars

THE STROKE SURVIVOR who found her way from wheelchair to the stage

A PLUS SIZE, BLACK, NONBINARY performer who fiercely advocates for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists.

Like a caterpillar metamorphosing inside a chrysalis, BURLESQUE PROVIDES A SAFE SPACE for the performers to transform, spread their wings, and land on stage feeling more confident, beautiful, and free.

OUR SOCIETY IS SATURATED WITH NARROW, DAMAGING STEREOTYPES -ESPECIALLY THOSE AIMED AT WOMEN, AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES - Telling us we’re not enough. Not the right size, shape gender, race. Not pretty enough, smart enough, sexy enough or talented enough to be loved or valued. Who hasn’t, at some point, felt diminished by these impossible standards?

In LEARNING TO BE NAKED, the performers discover that burlesque is about far more than stripping off clothing. It’s about stripping away the roles and masks we’ve been taught to wear. And in doing so, FINDING COMMUNITY, JOY AND LIBERATION THROUGH CREATIVE EXPRESSION AND DANCE. 

The film is a celebration of courage, connection, and transformation. Our goal is to challenge social standards and remind audiences that EVERY BODY AND EVERY PERSON IS WORTHY OF LOVE, VISIBILITY AND ADMIRATION.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Phoenix Theater