Burlesque As Self-expression and Sexuality
In this episode of Your Diagnonsense, I talk with Jake Dupree about the experiences he has had throughout his life with gender, sexuality, and performing.
Raised in Arkansas, Jake DuPree competed in gymnastics from an early age and eventually began dancing in college at the Savannah College of Art & Design in Savannah, Georgia. He moved to New York City after college, and then he came to LA. In LA he became a highly sought-after fitness instructor and dancer. His online workouts for PopSugar Fitness have garnered over 30 million views. As a host and personality, he became Cosmopolitan magazine's first ever unicorn correspondent, Glitter Fantasy. After starting out with Cosmo, he also did many roles as a host for The Doctors, Afterbuzz TV, Clevver and Seventeen.com’s show “Today IRL.” As a dancer, he has traveled all over in various productions and tours of musicals, such as CATS, West Side Story, Peter Pan, and A Chorus Line. Last September he made his dream come true of becoming a burlesque dancer. He was hand picked by his idol, Dita Von Teese, to do her giant martini glass act in her “Von Follies” show. Now he travels all over performing his spell-binding, androgynous, and acrobatic burlesque acts, including in the “Party Like Gatsby” tour and the massive burlesque show, “Tease If You Please” in LA.
Find out more about Jake on instagram @jakedupree.