“The reason I started doing burlesque and pole dancing is one of my friends was a dancer, and I went to see a showcase she was in and it was the first time female sexuality and performance had been presented as not for the male gaze. It just seemed so lovely to be in this environment where we could celebrate this on our own terms for ourselves rather than trying to impress someone else.”

For the first time ever, this is probably not someone you’ll see at one of our hygge locations if you ever stop by. Meet Ruby Skyscraper, the burlesque alter ego of one of our #hyggefam. Ruby has been doing burlesque and pole dancing for a few years now. It all started when she was in Germany, but since then she’s brought her performances here to the Queen City. We were lucky enough to have her on the Zero to Ten podcast with Mary Johnson to hear all about the burlesque community and how she got into it. As a woman in a male dominated industry, Ruby found burlesque – which is very, very different from stripping, btw – was a way for her to feel empowered as a woman and in touch with her sexuality.