What is the Rhody Q Mentorship Program?
Hello, Burlesque-Curious People! Today, we talk Burlesque 101 literally. A subject near and dear to our hearts: The Rhody Q Mentorship Program. This program was birthed from our most common question: “how do I get started in burlesque?” and us not having a distinct answer. Part of Rhody Q’s mission is to make burlesque in Providence and beyond more accessible to everyone, and we were falling short of the answer before we started the mentorship, which motivated us to find a real answer. This blog will answer questions such as “who?”, “what?”, “where?”, “why?”, and possibly most importantly “how?!”
Burlesque Beginnings
As previously mentioned, we get asked how to start often, and we understand why. We get that it can be challenging and scary to get into something new, and especially when that something new involves getting undressed on stage. In the modern world you cannot trust a simple Google search and you don’t want to waste time and money on scams. Lopez and Odette started their burlesque journey in classes that they would no longer recommend after growing up, and that is the sad truth for many artists. This awkward origin that we hold made us unsure of answering the “how” question. Sure, there are other great opportunities for newbies, especially Lucky 13 which is a long-standing institution in Boston Burlesque, but it fills fast and is based on singular showtimes. You may have heard that Rhody Q launched with a history exhibit called “Reclaiming Burlesque” (and if you haven’t you can read up here), and this led us to think about how we can reclaim the “how?”
The answer we came up with, believe it or not, is the Mentorship Program. We realized our community is very good at teaching Intro to Burlesque classes, but that doesn’t really cover the middle stage of growing and learning. I’m sure we can all agree one class does not make you a professional, so we needed something to help beginners flourish into the performers they were dreaming about.
Who Can Participate in the Mentorship Program?
Almost everyone! (People that don’t qualify are performers that have been performing for a long time.)
The mentorship aims to help individuals who are either just starting in burlesque and have never performed before, or people who have just begun and may have some limited experience performing but are still learning. The mission of the program is to help new performers learn the basics of burlesque and apply them to an act they perform at the end of the mentorship.
Spots are limited and we often have to narrow it down to first-come-first-served in the sign up list. We are working on expanding to include more people, but for now Lopez and Odette have six mentees each per Mentor Program cycle.
Who are the Mentors?
Our mentorship in currently the two Rhody Q founders- Lopez La Lopez and Odette Goode. Both started their burlesque journeys in 2021. Since their first classes they have expanded their burlesque repertoire.
Lopez La Lopez is a Rhode Island State recognized performer and community builder. She has always had a deep love for burlesque and hit the ground running when she finished her intro classes. She is an awarded fan dancer and instructor, has traveled to multiple states across the country to perform in festivals, and has completed her own mentorship with Bella Sin. Her favorite things to talk about is the history of burlesque and intentionality in performance.
Odette Goode grew up in a “theater house” and her background involves more live performance in various forms. Her first stage acting performance was when she was 8 years old, and from there continued to ham it up on and off stage, stage manage productions, and participate in dance classes (and even one series of clown classes!). She has also performed all over the New England. Her favorite things to talk about is making costumes and incorporating them into multiple places of your act.
What Do the Mentees Participate In?
The Mentorship is a 6-Week commitment where the mentees and mentors meet one-on-one virtually to discuss the topic of the week following this general timeline: Week 1: On-Boarding and Goal Setting; Week 2: Concept Development; Week 3: Costume Concepts; Week 4: Choreography and Act Structure; Week 5: Owning The Stage; Week 6: In-Person Workshops; and Show Day!
Each Mentorship Program cycle ends with a live performance at a Rhode Q produced burlesque show! Previous shows have included Ho for the Holidays and the Rhody Revue.
When Do the Mentorships Take Place?
The third iteration of mentorships start with completing an application on January 12th, 2026. Mentees will get notified in February and the meetings begin after that! Mentees and mentors will meet throughout the weeks of March and end with a performance on March 29th at AS220 in Providence.
Where Do the Mentees and Mentors Meet?
Mentees and Mentors can figure out times to meet virtually every week based on schedule together. There are not firm times to meet. It is important to meet every week to cover the whole curriculum. If you are worried about being a busy bee, don’t! Since meetings are virtual it is easy to work around times that mentees are available. It is however IMPARITIVE to be available for final show, if you know you can’t make March 29th work, please don’t sign up for this upcoming Spring 26 round.
How Do I Sign Up?!?!
Applications drop on Monday, January 12th 2026 for the upcoming mentorship! Links will be available on our social pages. You can follow and find Rhody Q here, and once the app is open it will be in our linktree! Easy-Peasy!
Did I Answer All the Questions?
If I missed one you can visit this page to learn more!
We are so excited to work with another round of mentees and welcome them to Providence Burlesque! We are so happy to offer this option to answer the broader question “how do I get started in burlesque?” We’re on a mission to expand burlesque community and knowledge, and the Providence burlesque community’s reaction to this program has been so uplifting for us. Thanks for reading and supporting Rhody Q!
