Dancing in the spotlight of a burlesque stage taught Inga Poste that she could push limits elsewhere in her life too. Her journey is the latest in our Huck x HOKA series, looking at mavericks who found a new perspective through running.
A tiny stage in an intimate venue in Berlin. So tiny, in fact, the audience is within touching distance. The light is pink, not too white, not too red, exactly as Inga Poste told the technician it should be. Her act is about to start and she doesn’t know what she’ll get. If people are used to burlesque, or if they are first-timers who have no idea what to do and need to be encouraged.
“I love the first minute when you’re up on stage and you’re trying to see how people react, trying to engage them. It’s a very cool moment, because you need to open up completely but at the same time you’re playing a role. It’s a lot of fun to let go and be in that moment.”
Building up the courage
It also takes a lot of courage. Looking gracious, cool and mysterious on stage is one – pretty hard – thing, being brave enough to take your clothes off in front of an audience while still looking graceful is a special skill. But a very transferable one, according to Inga, whose second great passion is running. “Burlesque made me a lot more self confident, which transfers to running. You have to believe in yourself to be able to run a marathon. And the confidence that burlesque gave me made it possible for me to believe in myself.”
Inga, who has been running for a decade, has been focusing not so much on time, recently, but distance. She now runs marathons. Numerous medals dot her West Berlin apartment. They even adorn the dressmaking doll she uses to design her burlesque costumes. But she’s still reluctant to describe herself as a natural athlete.
In fact Inga hated phys-ed and always got picked last for schoolyard teams. But unlike other sporting Cinderellas, she didn’t use this common experience of childhood humiliation to push herself to be the hardest, the strongest and fastest. The opposite is true.
“I run for myself and I work very hard to keep it that way. When you train with other people you start comparing yourself very quickly, you see other times improving and want to improve your own time, all the time. I try to stop when I have pushed my body as far as it can go.”
Running as therapy
Running is therapy for Inga, a healthy outlet for feelings she used to suppress. She is a high achiever – she just finished her studies and works as a literary agent specialising in memoirs and in cinema. Growing up, she was always keen to meet the high expectations of others. Expressing her own desires and accepting things as they are was something she had to learn. “Through running and dancing I learnt that it can’t all be about perfection. That always makes you unhappy. After running 42 km you need to be able to be proud and say you did something amazing, even if you are somewhere near the bottom of the table.”
Inga doesn’t run to look good for others either. “I’m training my body to be fit, not for other people to like my body. It’s not about being thin, but about being strong for myself.”
A bit of extra strength obviously comes in handy for the highly athletic pole dancing she incorporates in her routines. But for Inga, dancing isn’t only about physical strength. It’s empowering for her to reclaim the rhinestones and the glitter; to take traditional notions of femininity and turn it all into something powerful by really owning it. “Burlesque taught me to be upfront with myself, when I’m on stage I’m in charge of everything.”
Powerful women
It doesn’t come as a massive surprise that a lot of Inga’s friends from the burlesque scene are also powerful women. They are strong “because they all went through something in their lives that they had to be strong for.” But there’s also a party side to burlesque, a “little girl side with sparkly things and makeup and hair.”
There is also a transgressive, challenging side to the scene. But Inga doesn’t get involved in blood, guts or gore — as do some of the more extreme artists out there. Her latest performance was all about chains. “I emerged from these chains as my act went on. I was freeing myself from something, becoming more myself. It’s like when you hit the wall in a marathon or longer run. You’re in pain; you feel trapped and as if you can’t go on. But you do go on and the feeling you get next is everything.”
Huck is a youth culture channel. It celebrates and explores independent culture — people and movements that paddle against the flow. Find out more about HUCK.
Check out the responsive and lightweight Hupana trainers Inga wears.