Warning: This video contains discussions of self-harm.
All the world might be a stage, but for Jake DuPree, the stage is their entire world. Nothing makes the nonbinary burlesque performer feel more themself than slipping into something sexy and dancing “bare-ass, all glistened-up” (their words) for an audience. “I hope that I inspire some type of confidence when people watch me on stage,” DuPree says. “If I can get up there and do that, you can do it too.”
With years of gymnastics and dance training under their belt, DuPree has shimmied and strutted at the Crazy Horse in Paris, London’s Windmill Soho, and as a part of Dita Von Teese’s legendary show. All of it has lead to this moment: DuPree was selected to perform as an opening act for Christina Aguilera’s Las Vegas residency at the Voltaire Club. “I don’t know where it’s going to go [from here], but I just trust the process,” they say.
As part of ELLE’s Affirmed series exploring gender-affirming care, DuPree took time between rehearsals with Aguilera to discuss the intersection of movement and gender identity. Below, DuPree on living freely, performing loudly—and doing it all on their own terms.
“The way I perform validates and reaffirms how I feel on the inside. I got into this art form, because I was in a very, very depressed place. I started going to therapy, because I had thoughts that were scaring me. But being on stage—presenting the way I want to, dancing the way I want to, having ownership of everything I do—has been the most reaffirming thing in my entire life.”
“When I’m up there, I feel like a superhero. I don’t have to think. My body takes over. It taps into this part of me that, as a little kid, would hide or put things into boxes or compartmentalize—anything just to get by, especially [growing up] where I’m from in Arkansas. Now I get to be that little kid again and let them live as freely as possible.”
“There are no limits. There are no bounds. I don’t have to fit in this box or that box. I can be anything, everything, and all of it in between. It’s this weird, convoluted story of me coming to terms with myself. The fact that it was brought on by being on stage and trusting myself is really validating.”
“When I’m on stage, I’m very intentional about everything I wear—makeup, hair, all of it. I’m really trying to show all the admiration I have for these women who paved the way for me to get up there and parade around the way I do...I have to trust myself and believe in the vision I have in my head of me as this androgynous kind of statue of David that got stuck in his mother’s closet.”
“I want to have this masculine body type that’s muscly and wet-looking, but I want the movement and the makeup to allude to this feminine aspect that I think is the most powerful thing in the world.”
“Burlesque is this pure acceptance of your body, your self, your spirit, and it’s the artful removal of clothing. One of the biggest misconceptions is that we are all just super-sexual people. People assume because of the way you perform, or if you take your clothes off for a living, that you’re going to be easy or up for sale. That’s not the way it is at all. A lot of us have fought very, very hard to have the freedom to get out and do what we want to do and present the way we want to present.”
“This art form has really given me everything. I was in a really, really dark place before I started performing this way. Some of the things I’ve been able to do, the spaces I’ve been able to inhabit, and the people I’ve been able to meet wouldn’t have happened had I chosen a different path or let that darkness speak loudly.”
“I want people when they see me on stage to be really impressed. I come from a gymnastics background and got into dance later in life, so I use all that physicality in my performances. Nobody can be like, ‘Oh, that’s not cool,’ or, ‘That’s not impressive,’ because some of the things I’m doing, especially in heels, it’s like, you try it....You might not want to get up on stage and take your clothes off for strangers or present the way that I do, but I think the confidence I try to exude on stage is something anybody can take and run with in their own life.”
“I am pushing for something I really want to change in the world, which is for people to be accepted for who they are, no matter how they identify. And that takes time. Progress is incremental. As frustrating and annoying as that can be, it’s worth it. I’m hoping my queer ass can pave the road, so these babies behind me can really run. I’m excited to see what people will continue to do.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Top photo by Max Bronner.
If you are in crisis, you can reach out to The Trevor Project at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386), The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255), or Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860.
This story is part of ELLE’s Affirmed series, helmed by guest editor Tommy Dorfman, which explores gender-affirming care in all its many forms. All stories were done with support from GLAAD, and all illustrations were done by Anshika Khullar, an Indian, nonbinary transgender artist.
