'Dusting Off Your Sensual Self' - Lisa Fasullo sensual dance part 4 - Denver Sex and Romance

Lisa Fasullo (Photo by Justin Fisher)

This is the fourth and final installment of a multi-part interview with Lisa Fasullo. Lisa is a sensual dance instructor who teaches at Core Movement Studio in Boulder, Colorado. Her next dance class is a three week Burlesque class starting September 11. Contact her atlisafasullo@mac.com to sign up.

How does your family feel about you teaching these classes?

My kids think it is great that their mom loves what she does. I teach other dance classes where students learn specific dance or Burlesque routines with no stripping. My kids love watching me choreograph dances at home. It brings me such joy to watch our 4 year-old dance around playfully and full of zest when we put on music and dance together. As I’ve said before, sensual dance as well as any type of dance is about playfulness and vitality, and does not have to have anything to do with stripping whatsoever. She is my greatest teacher as I watch her revel in her own joyous self-expression.

Does your husband benefit from your talent?

What man would not love to watch someone they love dance soulfully and perform a personal striptease for them! Like many students who might be nervous when first dancing for their partner, I also felt this way. After learning some of the fun moves. I loaded him up with a couple of stiff drinks and kept asking him if he was drunk yet (I don’t drink, or would have downed a few myself!) Suffice it to say, all my nervousness was for naught as I felt immediately at ease, and he got a show he’ll remember for a quite a while!

Tell us about your burlesque troupe, who are they and when/where do you perform?

Our neo-burlesque troupe is a group of about 8 women, many of us moms. Neo-burlesque is kind of sexy jazz dance that does not include stripping. We perform at local cabaret shows and fundraisers.

You are in amazing shape. What's your secret?

Thanks for the compliment! I tend to have a very muscular body naturally. We do some body-sculpting exercises in class and doing the dance moves is a terrific workout for the legs and abs. I play tennis and I guess just running around with my kids all day helps to keep me in shape!

Tell us about what you might typically eat in one day.

I know I should eat breakfast, but I never seem to be hungry at that time. For lunch, I usually eat a turkey sandwich or salad and eat cashews and walnuts as a snack during the afternoon. I love McDonalds’ cheeseburgers and french fries and will stop in once in a while to indulge! For dinner, my husband makes great pasta, so I will eat that or have chicken or steak and veggies. I always have a dessert (or two!) later on in the evening. I love brownies and cookies and muffins!

What are the all-important key things you have in your "sexy" arsenal? In other words, what do you pull out when you really want to spice up that strip tease or feel extra sexy... a pair of black gloves, a boa, matching undergarments?

I have all sorts of fun clothes and shoes that I like to wear. I would have to say that a mini skirt, cute tank top, thong and 5-inch pair of heels is my favorite outfit to wear for a striptease. I have many different colored and styled high heel shoes I’ve collected, the higher the heel the better!

During burlesque dances, elbow-length gloves, a tight-fitting, sexy dress and a boa are a must. The fun thing about sensual dance is that any type of clothing that a woman feels sexy in is what works best for her. The possibilities are endless.

Many women enjoy having an imaginary alter-ego to their daily routines and self. Perhaps, an elegant, Park Avenue seductress, a sexy cowboy/biker leather-clad chick, a purring pretty-in-pink sex kitten or any number of other sensual selves a dancer can imagine. Whether she dresses the part during a striptease or just holds that image in mind, it definitely adds to the experience.

How do your students react when they find out you are a mom of three in your 40s? Do you think this makes you more accessible to your students?

I think teaching sensual dance classes as a 45 year-old mom does indeed make me more accessible and a role model for students. Our culture tends to predominantly recognize younger, beautiful woman as sexy and many of us who are older can sometimes feel that we are not entitled to feel, dress or act sensually. Feeling, acting and dressing sensually looks like something different in every woman, the common denominator being an inner sense of playfulness, softness and confidence.

The greatest lesson I learn from teaching the classes is that we are all kindred spirits, and we are all on a continuum - single, married, thin, full-figured, with children and without, career-driven or on another path in life. No matter what our walk in life, I’ve found that feeling alive, self-expressed and sexy is something most women love feeling.

We all wear different hats in different parts of out lives, I know that I wear different ones when I am reading with, or picking up my kids from school, when I am out to dinner with my husband, when I am at the grocery store or the gym, or when I ‘m having coffee with a girlfriend. The hat I wear when I am dancing or teaching seems to infuse all the others with playfulness and grace. Women who have taken the classes echo this.

“I was in Whole Foods today and a song that I've been considering for my solo dance came over the speakers. It was so funny, because I had to suppress breaking out into the routine, but I did swing my hips while walking down the aisles. I felt amazing.” Sarah, 44 author and mother.

There is a saying, "Every woman should have a little black dress, a scent she feels divine wearing and know how to do a kick-ass strip tease!" Perhaps you have all three, if not, perhaps there is a dance class in your area just waiting for you to join and have some sexy, uninhibited fun. May your sensual self frolic beside and within you daily. She’s just waiting for the invitation!