Sometimes, burlesque is more

By Gretchen Ammerman

Oregon Coast TODAY

If we met on the street, you definitely wouldn’t think I looked like someone who would feel comfortable practicing the art of burlesque.

But that’s the beauty of Rebecca Sinnhuber’s Burlesquercise classes. By the end, you’re bumping, grinding and shaking like no one’s watching.

Except people are watching, and that’s half the fun. In the class I joined, there was a lot of laughter because let’s face it, some of it wasn’t pretty. But we were all laughing with, not at, each other.

Mixing classic workout and burlesque moves and set to a soundtrack of classic swing tunes, the class was pure fun with a side of sweat.

Sinnhuber, owner and operator of Passionflower Fitness, has been practicing burlesque for more than a decade. She describes the class, one of several different types she teaches, as where exercise and art meet.

“I was very self-conscious as I was growing into a woman and wasn’t very assertive,” she said. “I wasn’t totally sure what to do with this body I’d grown into. Burlesque was an avenue for me to meet other fun, creative women and work on my confidence and self-esteem— and to not be afraid to be fabulous.”

Sinnhuber has deep roots in the Newport area, though the majority of her burlesque background took place in San Francisco. She moved to Oregon in 2018, hopefully, she said, for good.

“I practically came out of the womb eating crab and oysters,” she said. “My grandpa was a professor at OSU and when he retired he became an oyster farmer. My grandparents lived in Oysterville; that’s where we are living now.”

“We” is Sinnhuber and her husband, fellow performer Matt Bouvier, aka Molotov the knife thrower. Sinnhuber’s stage name is Dixie DeLish and, with their talented pup Dually, they have performed for the past two summers as the Commander Salamander Super Circus Sideshow in venues like the Newport Bayfront and the Primaltones event space in Aquarium Village.

With a degree in kinesiology from San Francisco State University, a personal training certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a certification for teaching barre, or ballet based, exercise, Sinnhuber is more than qualified to be offering classes, but it took a beat before she started doing so.

“Once I got my training I ended up working as a deckhand for Newport Tradewinds for two summers,” she said. “They hired me because I come from a fishing family. It was an amazing experience.”

She next began offering personal training and worked at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital.

“I was in the cardiac rehab department,” she said. “So I got deeply into how the body performs during exercise.”

During the pandemic, Sinnhuber was “running and gunning;” teaching classes online and loving it. But the whole time, was percolating on having her own space specifically for Passionflower Fitness.

The inspiration for the name was mostly pragmatic.

“It wasn’t taken,” she said. “I like it because in burlesque we are always putting flowers behind our ears, and though it doesn’t exactly go with the coastal theme, passion flowers are bright, colorful and a little loud.”

Currently teaching at the South Beach Community Center, Sinnhuber offers Burlesquercise, Barre Fusion and Floor & Core.

And sometimes, she conducts her classes sitting down.

“Burlesque can actually be done with a chair,” she said. “In the Chairlesque class, we learn parts of a routine, then do it from start to finish. We’ll have a new one coming up early in the new year. If people learn the chair dance routine, they have an opportunity to perform it live, but only if they want to.”

And, she assures the curious or trepidatious, there is no actual stripping.

“Our routine is very family-friendly,” she said. “If we can get it down in time, we are planning on performing at this year's Seafood and Wine Festival.”

Sinnhuber is motivated to make a positive influence in the lives of her students that goes beyond basic fitness.

“I like exercise to also be a social activity and entertainment,” she said. “I run my classes like a party and like building a community for my students. If people form friendships with people in the class, I love it.”

Other skills in her quiver that she’d love to pass on are dancing with fans, with boas and even, if there is any interest from students, pasty making.

“My goal is to build a burlesque troupe, so I’m looking for women that want to join,” she said. “There is no requirement other than a desire to have a lot of fun. And learn the routines.”

Ultimately, what Sinnhuber practices is preventative health.

“I believe in taking care of ourselves now so we can do all the things we want to do,” she said. "If I can help boost a woman's confidence, make her stronger and help her kick ass, it’s all worth it.”

Classes are currently held at the South Beach Community Center, 3024 SE Ferry Slip Road. For more information, go to passionflowerfitness.com.