Bold & Beautiful: Violet Ends

Burlesque is a captivating art form that incorporates storytelling into every performance. Violet Ends, an artist and instructor, has found her calling within the art form. Ends uses drama and darkness to create a combination of heels dancing and burlesque. From the stage to the classroom, Ends has taken the necessary risks to pursue her dreams. 

Violet Ends: Burlesque Artist Transforming Heels Dancing

Ends discovered burlesque through heels dancing, a form of solo dance that involves multiple genres performed in high heels. While at her heels dancing studio, Heel in a Heel, Ends learned about various forms of dance, which eventually led her to burlesque.“It was just a really natural progression, because to me, burlesque is very much storytelling through dance,” Ends says.

Ends says William Shakespeare and her great-grandmother inspired her stage name. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, there is a line that reads, “these violent delights have violent ends.” Additionally, Ends’ grandmother, who was a lingerie model in San Francisco in the ’30s, was named Opal Violet. She says that her great-grandmother was a real trailblazer in that era.

Dramatic Aesthetic and Performance Style

The aesthetic that Ends goes for is dramatic and dark. She identifies as a spooky person, and she feels that Violet Ends is a fitting name. “I really like to be dramatic,” she says. “And as much as I can, I always try to have a little bit of a dark, romantic, goth spin.”

While Ends is open to experimenting with different styles, she loves slow-building performances that allow her to take her time and be dramatic. As a burlesque artist at Prohibition in Salt Lake City, she incorporates a lot of jazz into her acts and produces her own thematic burlesque shows.

Along with the overall mood, costuming plays a crucial role in burlesque, often designed by the performers themselves using self-funded materials. Ends describes designing a costume as putting together a puzzle to “tell the story of your character.”

“I think Violet is my truest self. I think I am the most myself when I am performing as Violet,” she says. Ends’ passion for burlesque turned into a dedication to teaching the art. She teaches what she describes as an intersection of heels and burlesque, creating a style defined by “sensual, intentional movement.”

Teaching and Opening Hexxed Heels Studio

Having taught for four years, Ends recently opened her own studio, Hexxed Heels, earlier this year. She believes that owning her studio and teaching have improved her skills as a dancer. She feels a strong connection to her students and loves watching them perform her choreography. “It’s always really lovely to see when you choreograph something, and it looks good on a bunch of different bodies,” Ends says. 

Ends says that she would give up anything before she would give up teaching. While it can be hard work and time-consuming, she says that she has made some of her best friends through the community. She feels blessed to have the opportunity. 

However, Ends notes that she would not be where she is now if she had not raised her hand at various opportunities. She emphasizes that she has always taken every chance presented to her, and while it can be nerve-wracking or scary, amazing opportunities have emerged from it. 

Community Impact by Violet Ends

Ends encourages aspiring dancers in the community, saying that they are always excited to teach others, but it’s essential to take the first step and put oneself out there. From there, the opportunities will snowball into even bigger and better ones. “If anyone ever asks you if you want to do something and if you feel called, just do it. Just do it scared. Close your eyes and do it,” Ends says. 

See more of Ends and find her show schedule on her Instagram @the.violet.ends. 

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