A day with your sexy self

A burlesque workshop will teach you how to oomph to your seduction game. Pics for representation

Want to spice up your love life with a racy picture or a titillating dance, but unable to get over the awkwardness? You're not alone, and it doesn't have to be this way! Last year's Boudoir photography workshop, part of 2023's installment of Erotikama is 2024's Selfie Boudoir. It teaches participants how to take "Not Safe For Work" (NSFW) photographs to share with others. "Last year, there was erotic writing and narration with the photography, but we observed that many people are not comfortable or need guidance on how to pose for shots to share with partners," says Akshay Jha. He and Aili Seghetti are co-founders of The Intimacy Curator which holds the annual erotica festival. "The phenomenon of NSFW pictures is not as unheard of as it was a few years ago, and is now a part of sexting and how people are intimate with each other. There's still a large gap in wanting to send an NSFW photo but being awkward about how to shoot it," he adds.

Plonked right in the middle of the festival, the workshop is from 1 pm to 4 pm and costs Rs 2,500. The day begins at 9 am with a burlesque how-to conducted by celebrity choreographer Sahifa Shaikh. The three-hour workshop is one of the highlights of the festival this year. "Burlesque is an art on its own - it‘s theater, drama, stripping and suggestive dancing, all rolled into one," explains Jha.

The Selfie Boudoir workshop teaches you how to send "tasteful" selfies to your partner

The idea for the festival came to the founders with the recognition that people, though eager to shed inhibitions, were too shy to be comfortable in their own skin. "Burlesque takes intimacy up by a big notch as you learn how to not just be comfortable with your body but how to strip, how to sway sensually and how to seduce," says Jha. "We found that primarily, people do lack the skill but also do not know the full freedom that comes with owning your body." The burlesque workshop costs Rs 4,000 per participant.

If you thought that most of the participants would be women, think again. A whopping 60 per cent of the participants are men. "Although our space is safe and we do not ask the sexuality of the participants as a rule, most men, we suspect, are heterosexual," says Jha, who also moderates the event.

The final workshop is bodypainting. Even though the idea is for participants to paint each other, Jha explains that many choose to paint themselves if they are uncomfortable touching someone they've just met. "This too promotes a level of accepting one's body through a more forgiving lens," Jha adds. This session costs R4,000 and paints will, of course, be provided. He insists that this can be one of the most sensual experiences to share with a partner. Each activity has a limited 20 seats each, and availability is on first-come, first-serve basis.

Rs 4,000
Cost of burlesque workshop per participant

60%
Of participants were male

PRICE: Rs 9,000 for non-TIC members Rs 7,500 for members (whole day package)
TO BOOK: theintimacycurator.com