Hélène De Joie
PAUL OSBORNE speaks to Burlesque dancer, model and club promoter Helene De Joie and finds out about her forthcoming night to celebrate MOOF magazine’s first birthday
“I was definitely born with a love of music and rock ’n’ roll and the desire to express myself through dance and fashion,” explains club promoter, model and burlesque dancer extraordinaire Helene De Joie. “I went on to study dance and take classes in various disciplines. When I moved to London in 2010, I started a course in burlesque (with Burlesque Baby) and then started performing a year later.”
Helene has been wowing audiences over the last seven years with her unique take on the Burlesque art form, and it’s an approach which means she’s able to combine all of her influences. “My performances are heavily influenced by roc k’n’ roll and come from the soul, rather than being over-choreographed.”
It’s this connection with her rock ’n’ roll roots which has seen her collaborate with several musicians, most notably when she joined the recently reformed Thee Hypnotics on stage at their London show. “That was a FUN night and an amazing opportunity! It actually came about when I had mentioned to a mutual friend of Ray’s that I was looking for a ticket to the show, and the next thing I knew, she had told him about me dancing etc. and he got in touch asking me if I wanted to dance with them. I obviously didn’t need to think twice!”
Helene added further strings to her boa when she decided to bridge the gap between her performances and musical influences and promote her own events, and following her initial foray into promotion with an evening dedicated to Nick Cave, she eventually set up Factory de Joie, her very own night of live music, burlesque and hedonism. “I wanted to bring together the music scene and the burlesque/cabaret scene (both of these are passions of mine and I felt there were not enough nights combining the two) and create a night that was immersive, hedonistic and visually stimulating. I was inspired by Warhol’s Factory and the sounds and aesthetics of the ’60s/70s, and so Factory de Joie was born on the 28thJuly 2016!”
Saturday, 4thAugust will see Helene collaborate with Melanie Xulu, founder of the excellent MOOF magazine, to celebrate the magazine’s first anniversary under the name A Playground Of Psychedelia. What can people expect from this exciting meeting of minds? “You can expect the usual Factory de Joie hedonism and rock ‘n’ roll psychedelia with added folky obscurity and tripped-out occult vibes” explains Helene. “And because it’s our BIRTHDAY PARTY we have gone all out and booked Twink (The Pretty Things), who is playing with The Lysergics, to headline! We also have Velvet Candy coming down (or rather up from Portsmouth!) to put on a full-on psychedelic liquid lightshow!”
Sound good readers? Well there’s MORE! “We also have Factory’s resident garage band, The Pacers, Wax Machine (from Brighton), The Mason Dixon Brothers, a sitar set by Rod from Flare Voyant and spoken word and a rare acoustic set from Tim Briffa of My Drug Hell. PLUS burlesque and Go-Go dancers, three DJs playing ’60s/70s vinyl, tarot readings and a few more birthday treats thrown in for good measure!”
Tickets for Factory De Joie and Moof Mag Present: A Playground Of Psychedeliacost £8 in advance or £10 on the night and are available here
For more information visit the Factory de Joie and Helene’s Facebook pages. The night also celebrates the Factory’s second birthday
