A senior citizen from the UK is speaking out about her passion for burlesque dancing and claims she could be Britain's oldest performer.
Marilyn Bersey, 71, who performs under the stage name Foxy La Mer, became entranced by the seductive artform shortly after her 70th birthday last year.
Take at look at Foxy La Mer's very provocative moves:The grandmother-of-two was hoping to regain her confidence, following years of weight issues and the tragic death of her husband back in 2014.
"Burlesque encompasses everything I want to do," she said. "From the first day, I was hooked. I suddenly felt feminine and so glamorous."
But Bersey had no idea just how dramatically burlesque dancing would transform her life.
It all started when the Isle of Wight native stumbled across a burlesque class on Facebook.
"I'd just moved house and was looking for something to do in the community. I was scrolling through Facebook and up popped burlesque dancing. I thought that sounds quite interesting. I thought maybe at my age it's not something you do but I'll give it a go. I rang the instructor and she said nobody's too old. You just come along and enjoy it."
Bersey felt she had lost a huge part of herself following her husband's death and the classes very much helped to fill the void.
"The group of girls are so supportive," she gushed. "We're like a family. I so look forward to classes."
The mature performer also credits the provocative performance style with helping her to lose weight. Since she took up the hobby, she has shed an incredible 98 lbs.
"It's a keep-fit regime so it's healthy and you go out of the room buzzing," Bersey explains.
"We learn a new routine every four weeks and at the end of the four weeks, we perform the routine and we record them but that's for the closed group. During the year, we do charity events as a group. Some of us do solo routines like myself."
