Sukki Singapora

Last updated

Sukki Singapora
Sukki Singapora Singapore Social Netflix.jpg
Sukki Singapora; October 3, 2019
Born
Sukki Menon [1]

20 October 1989 [2] [3]
Singapore
Nationality British
Occupation(s)Burlesque performer, Activist
Years active2011 – present
Website sukkisingapora.com

Sukki Singapora (born Sukki Menon, [4] in Singapore) is a burlesque performer and activist. [4] [5] She is best known for being the first international burlesque performer from Singapore. [5] [6] She was awarded "Asian Women of Achievement Award" for her views on freedom of expression for women in socially restrictive countries. [7] [8] Her television debut came in 2019 with the first docu series with an all Asian cast launching globally via Netflix, Singapore Social . [9]

Contents

Her career choice as a burlesque performer, despite her stringent cultural background, has gained her a large international fanbase, [10] leading to her founding The Singapore Burlesque Society in 2012 to protect primarily Asian women wanting to pursue a career in burlesque. [11] [12]

Early life

Singapora was born to a Singaporean Indian father with roots in Kerala, and an English mother, both doctors, and has two sisters. While young, her father moved the family to Cornwall, although she spent her childhood in a small Indian Singaporean community around the Goodman Road area in Singapore [13] and was brought up with traditional Asian values. [1] [4] As a child, she trained in classical ballet. [10] She became a British citizen at 18 and attended the University of Nottingham. After graduation, she worked in the IT industry. [4]

Career

In February 2011, she auditioned for a part in a cabaret theatre near Manchester and was hired as one of the dancers. She was slowly given more solos and was offered other gigs; "I was fortunate enough to be offered enough shows that I no longer needed a day job." [4]

Singapora's burlesque performances are noted for being lavish with elaborate costumes and a Bollywood-influenced style. [14] Her emphasis is on sensuality and fusing Western and Eastern styles with a particular nod to classic Hollywood glamour and inspiration from Barbara Yung, a 1950s American-Chinese performer. [8]

She gained global recognition appearing in Esquire as "Women We Love", [1] FHM India [15] and the front cover of international burlesque magazine Burlesque Bible [16] and in 2013 her performances were praised for their daring attitude.

In 2019 she made her television debut with the Netflix docu-series Singapore Social . [17]

She is also a passionate activist who campaigns for women's rights.

Burlesque as activism

Singapora became the world's first burlesque artist to be welcomed to Buckingham Palace for tea in celebration of her contribution to the arts as an Asian role model. [18] She has observed a taboo and dislike of burlesque among the Asian community and has attempted to overcome prejudices and misconceptions about the performance style and to inspire others to experience it. She commented on her activism for Asian women, "This is not just an opportunity to prove that Burlesque can make a difference, it is a responsibility.” [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>FHM</i> Mens lifestyle magazine

FHM is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. It contained features such as the FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which featured models, actresses, musicians, TV presenters, and reality stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chan Heng Chee</span>

Chan Heng Chee is a Singaporean academic and diplomat who has been serving as Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2012, Chairwoman of the National Arts Council and Member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights. She had also served as Singapore Ambassador to the United States between 1996 and 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eunice Olsen</span> Singaporean actress-politician (born 1977)

Eunice Elizabeth Olsen is a Singaporean actress, former Nominated Member of Parliament and the winner of the Miss Universe Singapore 2000 pageant.

Megan Zheng is a Singaporean actress & novelist who starred in two Singaporean movies: Homerun and One More Chance. For her role in Homerun, Zheng, then 10 years old, became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse Award, sharing her Best New Performer award with Wang Baoqiang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yip Pin Xiu</span> Singaporean Paralympic swimmer

Yip Pin Xiu is a Singaporean backstroke swimmer. She is a five-time Paralympic gold medallist and 5 time World Champion, with two world records in the 50 m backstroke S2 and the 100 m backstroke S2. Yip is Singapore's most decorated Paralympian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiona Xie</span> Singaporean actress

Fiona Xie is a Singaporean actress, variety show host, and was named as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in 2006, only the most famous of young actresses in Singapore could hold that honour. She was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 2001 to 2009. Xie is one of the Singaporean actresses to break into Hollywood, playing Kitty Pong in the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians. Xie is slated to play the same role in its sequel China Rich Girlfriend based on the 2015 international best-selling novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan.

Celest Chong, who also goes by the mononym Celest, is a Singaporean actress, singer and former cover model who is currently based in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alodia Gosiengfiao</span> Filipino cosplayer (born 1988)

Alodía Almira Arraiza Gosiengfiao-Quimbo is a Filipina cosplayer, model, TV presenter, singer, vlogger, actress and co-founder of Tier One Entertainment. She is also known as Senpai Alodia of the Philippines. As a celebrity endorser, she is one of the ambassadors and VJ for Animax Asia known as the "Ani-mates" and co-host of ABS-CBN's prank show Laugh Out Loud. She has been featured in various magazines, newspapers and TV shows locally and abroad. She appeared on the Filipino FHM 100 Sexiest Women poll, ranking No. 1 in 2009, No. 2 in 2010 and No. 3 in 2012; she posed as the cover girl for that magazine on its July 2013 issue. She was named by DOS Magazine as one of the Most Influential Women in the Philippines.

Fu Mingtian is a Chinese-born Singaporean badminton player.

Yee Ming Innes Bridges is a British-Singaporean singer-songwriter, actress and model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Chan</span> Singaporean swimmer

Patricia Chan Li-Yin, popularly known as Pat Chan and the "Golden Girl", is a retired swimmer from Singapore. Between 1965 and 1973 she won 39 gold medals at Southeast Asian Games, which was the best achievement for a Singaporean athlete in any sport until 2005. She competed in eight events at the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games and won 3 silver and 5 bronze medals. At the 1970 Games she set a national record in the 200 m backstroke that stood for 23 years. At the 1972 Summer Olympics she was the flag bearer for Singapore and competed in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke events, but failed to reach the finals. Chan was named the Best Sportswoman of Singapore for five consecutive years (1967–1971). In 2002, she was inducted into the Singapore Sports Council Hall of Fame and ranked fourth among Singapore's 50 greatest athletes.

Dato Jannie Chan Siew Lee (曾秀丽), also known by her married name, Jannie Tay, is a Singaporean entrepreneur and former president of the Singapore Retailers Association and the ASEAN Business Forum, in both cases the first woman to hold the position.

Teo Shun Xie is a Singaporean sport shooter. In 2014, Teo set a final meet record in the women's air pistol to claim her first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Checha Davies</span>

Checha Davies (1898–1979) was an Indian-born Singaporean social worker and women's rights activist. In her younger days, she was an educator but after her move to Singapore she was active in church work and social service organisations, serving as president of the YWCA on two separate occasions. Davies was instrumental in the committee which drafted the rules for the Singapore Council of Women and served on its executive committee. Davies received the Public Service Star in 1970 and was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame in its inaugural year, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeo Jia Min</span> Singaporean badminton player

Yeo Jia Min is a Singaporean badminton player. She is a former World Junior No.1 and the first Singaporean in either the junior or senior categories to made it to the top of the BWF's ranking system.

Violet Oon is a Singaporean chef, restaurateur, and food writer known for her food columns, cookbooks, and restaurants specializing in Peranakan cuisine. She has been the food ambassador of Singapore since 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthea Ong</span> Singaporean politician

Anthea Indira Ong Lay Theng is a former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) for the 13th Parliament of Singapore. Ong is also a full-time entrepreneur and social advocate, and founder of social organisations including Hush TeaBar and A Good Space.

Singapore Social is an unscripted docuseries set in Singapore and broadcast by Netflix. The Netflix Originals television series follows the lives of young successful Singaporeans as they defy expectations and traverse the tricky terrain of career, romance and family in Singapore and briefly, Los Angeles. It is notable for being the first docuseries with an all-Asian cast based in Asia for global release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrie Tan</span> Singaporean politician

Carrie Tan Huimin is a Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Nee Soon South division of Nee Soon GRC since 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelle Li</span> Singaporean table tennis player (born 1994)

Isabelle Li Siyun is a Singaporean table tennis player who was part of the team that won the women's team event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She won a gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, a silver medal in the women's singles event at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, and multiple medals in Southeast Asian Games events.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Prodigal. esquiresingapore.com, (2013)
  2. ↑ Sukki Singapora|LinkedIn. linkedin.com
  3. ↑ Interview: Sukki Singapora. timeout.com(24August2015).
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Staff writer (23 April 2013). "Burlesque babe: IT support by day, burlesque dancer by night". The Straits Times - Entertainment. The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  5. 1 2 Morrison, Sarah (23 March 2014). "Role models: Asian Women of Achievement". The Independent (UK). Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  6. ↑ The Asian Burlesque Spectacular w/ Sukki Singapora. lepoissonrouge.com, (2013)
  7. ↑ "Role models: Asian Women of Achievement". Independent.co.uk . 24 March 2013.
  8. 1 2 Nazir, Asjad. "Sukki Singapora: The art of burlesque". Sri Lanka Weekly. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  9. ↑ Acute, TV. "First Look: Watch the Trailer for Netflix's Singapore Social". www.tvacute.com. TV Acute. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  10. 1 2 Diva Magazine, "A breed Apart", EUROPE (printed) December 2012, DivaMag.co.uk. (2012), Accessed: 2014
  11. ↑ My Paper Newspaper, "Bring on the Burlesque", SINGAPORE (printed) (2011)
  12. ↑ LoveIt Magazine, "Real Life Stories", UK (printed) (2013)
  13. ↑ Singapore, Time Out. "Sexy burlesque artist Sukki Singapora talks about her art". www.timeoutsingapore.com. Gwen Pew. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  14. ↑ The Burlesque Company "Sukki Singapora. burlesquecompany.co.uk, accessed 2012
  15. ↑ FHM, India. "FHM Girlfriend Sukki". FHM India. FHM India. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  16. 1 2 SUKKI SINGAPORA…. burlesquebiblemag.com, (2014)
  17. ↑ Singapore Social, Netflix. "Singapore Social Season 1". www.netflix.com. Netflix. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  18. ↑ Chester burlesque star Sukki Singapora has been invited for afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace. chesterchronicle.co.uk, (2013)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.