The Early Years
Keda Breeze was born in London in the late 1970’s to an Irish mother and English father. Her mother is an Irish fiddle player and her father an antiques dealer. She has many well known relatives of Irish descent including poet, novelist and playwright Brendan Behan, who has been referred to as one of the world’s first great media superstars..

Keda had a bohemian upbringing, and due to her father’s trade their family home was continuously changing, she grew up surrounded by old and beautiful things. Her parents often felt it was more beneficial for her to accompany her father to his work than go to school. From when she could walk her days were often spent in their South East London antique shop, or frequenting the other antique shops in the area.

At the age of Seven Keda’s family moved to the historic town of Bath. Still being taken out of school to experience the real world, little Keda often went on furniture buying trips in the south west country side. By the time Keda reached secondary school she had a vast knowledge of antique furniture and decorative art.

Weekends consisted of trips to stately homes and museums and being immersed in history and classical art. Watching old films was staple entertainment in her home, often with iconic female characters. Small Keda’s favourite films were any focussed around show business or with glamorous costumes. One film she particularly liked had a pretty lady who took her clothes off onstage, when Keda discovered burlesque as an adult she realised this lady was Gypsy Rose Lee performing Striptease

Circus and Burlesque
Keda was travelling India around the time of the millennium when she came across and fell in love with fire dancing. She picked it up quickly and on the returning to the UK began to immerse herself in the world of circus. She then moved to Bristol to attend Circomedia Circus School where she was taught to perform and create acts, as well as skills like trapeze and acrobatics.

On leaving at Circomedia in 2002 Keda felt she wanted to create something unique and unlike any other performance that was around at that time, and she became interested in the forbidden underworld of exotic dance. She began to combine striptease with her performances, and as what she was doing was way ahead of its time there was little market for it in the UK, so she went to Ibiza where her performances were well received at venues such as Cafe Del Mar and gay nights at Privilege, the world’s largest night club.

On returning to the UK whilst browsing American sites on the internet she discovered something called burlesque, and it seemed to encompass her performances which combined theatre, humour and striptease. Around the same time the London burlesque scene was burgeoning. Keda began to then create show stopping acts combining burlesque and her circus training which then quickly shot her to stardom as burlesque had a renaissance in the UK. She continued to ride the crest of that wave as the burlesque resurgence continued in the UK and then into Europe.

Hoochie Coochie Kabaret
Keda was becoming a star on the London burlesque circuit, but burlesque was still practically unknown in the rest of the UK, including her home town of Bristol. She decided to change this, and in July 2004 she hosted Cabaret Girlesque “an all girl line up of Bristol’s hottest music, circus and burlesque acts” At the wonderfully underground arts venue, The Cube Cinema.

Girlesque then evolved into Hoochie Coochie Kabaret which is now regarded a Bristol institution and one of the UK’s top cabaret variety shows. It hosts the cream of British cabaret artists, and for many of them it’s their favourite gig on the UK circuit. Keda has very a strong flair for theming and programming and also works as a freelance cabaret programmer.

Today
Keda has continuously forwarded her performance training since leaving Circomedia by studying theatre forms such as physical theatre and theatre improvisation and Stanislavski. She also has dance training in many styles including ballet, ballroom, contemporary and a very disciplined but little known dance form called tribal fusion belly dance which combines belly dance with popping and locking from hip hop dance.

She is currently continuing her love of learning new things by studying part of a dance theatre degree including choreography. Keda currently lives with several other artists in a vast fallen splendour and enchanting place which sometimes looks more like a film set than a home. It is crammed with art and old things, and reminds her of where she grew up as a child.

Image by Cirque Du Pix