We recently connected with Jaimz Dillman and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaimz, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Yes, I absolutley would’ve started earlier than my mid-30’s. I learned a little too late to not care what people think. And everyone’s version of sexy is different. Every single show we have people asking us how they can be a part of what we do. It’s all about confidence, empowerment, and loving the skin you’re in. I think if I’d started earlier, I would have more years of performing. Not that I think there’s an expiration date or an age that will shut things down, but man, I see these 18-year-olds jumping in and taking control of the stage. I just wish I had the same outlet when I was younger. But I guess things happen for a reason and here we are!

Jaimz, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Sure thing- I studied improv here in Orlando with some of the best teachers in the country. That really gave me the base of reading a crowd, setting up show flow, really being able to steer everyone together on the ride. The burlesque part came about 10 years ago after doing a cabaret at a local arts festival. We sold out our entire run plus a bonus show- that showed me the community wants this. A friend and I decided to keep going and created Corsets & Cuties.
Being in a theme park town, you’re constantly judged by how you look against the very next person auditioning for the same role. We’d done the park roles for a while but there comes a time when callbacks slow down and you’re in the weird space of not quite a mom character but definitely not the ingénue anymore. This also applied to a lot of our friends who were mega talented but just didn’t fit a cookie-cutter mold anymore. So, since we couldn’t find productions we fit into, we made our own!
After the first year of selling our shows and added encores, my partner moved with her family out of state and the Cuties were mine. I like to think of the troupe as a collaborative though. Very rarely do we theme shows as I want the cast to have free reign to express themselves however they’re inspired on stage.
Burlesque is the art of the tease. That doesn’t mean every number is sexual in nature. We do a lot of comedy, showtunes, group numbers, live singing, aerialists, you name it! The stage we created is for those who have a passion to share their story with the audience.
We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the show seriously. Our main goal is to bring in the audience to escape the real world for a while and have a good damn time!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Since the beginning of the troupe we wanted to have an emphasis on giving back to the community. Without them, we wouldn’t have an audience to perform for. We’ve participated in Pride every October along with our extended burly family. We also perform for fundraisers, donate toys, toiletries, Christmas trees, etc. to local charities benefiting the Orlando area. That’s one of the most rewarding parts of having a little name recognition in town.

Another side of that has been giving opportunities to amateurs who want to try their hand at burlesque. We started the first show with 4 contestants. Last year, I cut it off at 15 and still had people wanting to enter. There aren’t too many opportunities for people to conquer stage fright, come back after a bad relationship, re-establish who they are. I like to think our amateur show does just that.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Oof- Covid. Not sure if anyone realizes but burlesque needs an audience to perform for! When all of our theaters and venues had to close, we learned real quick how to get things online to even just make some kind of money. Thankfully, our long-time fans did everything they could to support us and we never had to actually stop doing shows. They were just done a different way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.corsetsandcuties.com
• Instagram: @corsetsandcuties
• Facebook: facebook.com/corsetsandcuties
• Other: TikTok- @therealcorsetsandcuties

Image Credits
Main picture- Wings of Glory Boudiour Show photos- O’brian Photo