Metropolitan Studios, Inc.

Working our as one of our amazing Desk Divas - Shea can help you register for classes, get you some of our merch or answer any questions you may have about the studio. She is here to help!

Zara Estelle has been gracing the burlesque stage for a decade. Starting in the dance circuit they quickly fell in love with the world of theater and dance. Using more than 20 years of technical dance training and performing Zara is now a burlesque performer giving the audience a taste of everything. Zara got their start in Milwaukee, their hometown, with the Brew City Bombshells. They quickly moved to Chicago to start a burlesque career with Vaudezilla Productions, where they had the opportunity to hone in on their craft teaching, rehearsing, and performing on a weekly basis. Zara is now very excited to be joining the southern queer burlesque community of the south in Atlanta where they will also be teaching classes with The Atlanta School of Burlesque.

This high-energy, high-kicking dance phenom shocks you, some even say are “simply electrifying”. From ballet and tap, to hip hop and jazz, Zara Estelle will bring down the house with sheer dance technique. They also will sing you the blues and make your heart flutter.  From choreography and costuming for the lavish eye; to chair dance, footwork, and twerking for the fun of it.

Graceful as a gazelle, Zara Estelle is not a performer easily forgotten and leaves the audience wondering “what's next?”

Jo is currently on medical leave. If you would like to show your support, please click HERE for more information!

I strive to create work that communicates our interconnectedness. Using physical form to explore the nuance and complexities of the universal human experience, movement patterns may range from sculptural to gestural, frenetic to still, athletic to controlled, and vary in energy and tone. My goal is an ever-evolving desire to expose how we relate to one another, to our environments, and to ourselves.

I work closely and collaboratively with my student movers to accurately embody and illuminate the experiences driving our investigation... Naturally occurring gestures and physical responses become the basis of movement patterns which elaborate on the physicality of our emotions. This requires the dancers to invest in the work with honesty and transparency in order to create material that is relatable, vulnerable, familiar and authentic. Ultimately, I want the work to feel immediate, and to spark empathy in the viewers as they connect to the layers of emotional truths contained in the performance.

“Burlesque as I interpret it, is an art plied through aspects of intention, engagement and a range of emotions. It is an active interplay where the performer holds the viewer in their hands. Therein lies much power. My purpose is to inspire students to be comfortable, confident, and composed and to radiate that energy off or on any stage they find themselves.”

“Recognition of self and body acceptance is the focus of my teaching philosophy. It is important for me as a dance educator to engage with students in a way that allows them to truly see themselves; to learn to accept the current iteration of their body and begin their journey toward redefining their relationship with their physical and emotional selves. I am continuously building relationships with my students of all levels, who are reaching toward a common goal while creating a classroom of respect and trust. 

As a dance educator, I strive to keep a positive perspective in class by encouraging uplifting communication and the ability to accept praise and thoughtful critique. I teach to connect, communicate, inspire and impart knowledge. Not just of movement and sexuality, but of self realization and acceptance.  My joy is found in joining students in their journey of transformation; finding their creative voices and the courage and strength to find beauty within themselves.”

Roula has been performing and educating for years, both outside and inside the world of Burlesque. With a Master's Degree in Theatrical Production and Performance she has taken her love of theatre and the art of storytelling and made it a cornerstone of not only her persona but her Burlesque instruction at the Atlanta School of Burlesque.

Roula is most known for her performances that embody body positivity, sex positivity, self love and sexual exploration. With her work as a community organizer and activist, she has become a common name in the Atlanta scene where she has had the pleasure of working with women of all backgrounds and body types, preaching the gospel of self acceptance and love.

“My mission as a teacher is much like my mission in my personal life: to be a an inspiration to others by being confident, individualistic, sexy, and strong. I believe in balance in all things. Finding life's balance comes not just in the physical realm of dance, but in the mental, the spiritual, and in the emotional. Besides being a dance instructor, I am also a yoga teacher. In my yoga practice I speak about digging deep within and finding your authentic truth. As a performer, I don't think you truly become great until you find that authentic voice and deign to show it to your audience with your story or your act. My classes are about how Burlesque can and should be a statement of personal truth. Whatever that truth is. The goal in my class is to get my students out of their heads and back into their bodies, and show them that that their body can be the tool they use to tell their own unique stories. ”

“This business is my passion. Finding other people who want to be a part of a group that works hard to make performance happen is something I have dreamed of! I love showing people that their bodies are capable of so much more than they believe, and I love showing women who have reached a certain age or size that they can still be sensual beings who revel in their own sexuality, grace, and skin! If you are open to the experience, you will find a comfort within yourself that you never expected.”

“My main goal as a teacher is the same as on stage- to share the wonderful, kinda weird mixture of dance and music-making that is tap dance. In the classroom, this means teaching a strong technical foundation (how to move to get your feet to make the sound you want) with a little smidge of music theory (how do the tap sounds fit together with the music) and a smattering of tap’s rich oral history. Tap doesn’t fit squarely into one box or another- it’s both a dance form and a musical form, and in teaching tap, I hope to help my students combine their bodies and brains to tell stories to the ear and eye.”

Working our as one of our amazing Desk Divas - Jamie can help you register for classes, get you some of our merch or answer any questions you may have about the studio. She is here to help!