Bare - A cabaret dancer's life.

'The du Maurier Festival, Fowey - May 12th 2012

Du Maurier slide show and talk at Fowey Town Hall, Saturday May 12th 2012 at 10.30am

'Sunnyside' Polruan Festival - May 19th 2012

Performance and interview at Polruan Village Hall, Saturday May 19th 2012 at 5:00pm

'Penzance Literary Festival, Penzance - July 28th 2012

Penzance Literary Festival, Acorn Theatre, Saturday July 28th 2012 at 6.30pm

Recent Reviews

As featured in 2012: Essentials Magazine, The Daily Mail and ITV's This Morning.

October Cornwall Today
'Tessa wears her heart on her sleeve'
'Shocking but always fascinating'

Curtain Call - October 2011 (British Music Hall Society)
'She contrasts the sheer pre-occupied joy of dance and its maintenance of her self- esteem with her unremittingly grim working environment.'

But what is it really like for artistes?

Tessa Skola, a girl born to dance, was part of this scene for twenty years. In this honest and shocking account she tells it as it was, both in her professional and private life. Working as a solo act within the often seedy and dangerous cabaret circuit, she travelled the world alone, in pursuit of her dreams.

Paperback available from Lulu here.
Paperback available from Amazon here and Kindle edition here.

Also available at independent book shops and Waterstones, Truro, Cornwall.

About the Author

Tessa Skola was brought up in Fowey, Cornwall by her mother who, six months into her pregnancy, left her Latvian husband in Australia to return alone to England. Tessa was never to meet him.

Born to dance, Tessa studied classical ballet and flamenco. Having developed a unique style of acrobatic cabaret, she went on to produce her own solo shows, devoting her life to travelling the world performing in every type of venue.

It was when her career took off in the late 1970's that she began to write notes for her autobiography as a record of life on the road in the entertainment industry and a tribute to the acts she worked with.

Throughout her twenty-five years on the cabaret circuit, she jotted down incidents wherever she happened to be, often writing back stage in lip liner on beer mats and napkins. She kept work diaries, took photographs, collected publicity material and (”leaving out the more gruesome details so as not to upset her!”) wrote regularly to her grandmother, who she later discovered, had kept every one of her letters.

It was this mass of material which provided the basis for Bare which took her five years to write as she concentrated on carving out a new life for herself as a yoga/ gym instructor.

Tessa's final MS brought her some flattering comments from several leading international publishers, such as “Tessa's story was fascinating – at times harrowing, often shocking, but still entertaining” and “the author has lived an unusual life – she has a remarkable story to tell”. However, attracted by the immediacy now offered by the various new Internet publishing options, she has decided to self-publish.

As for her choice of title, Bare reflects both the 'baring' of her soul through her dancing and her writing, and the fact that her cabaret contracts often required her to appear completely nude at the finale!

Dancing remains central to her life. She appears on TV and film and is much in demand locally as a dancer and choreographer. Her level of physical fitness also makes her a valued member of HM Coastguard Search and Rescue team for S.E. Cornwall.

In conclusion, Tessa`s message is: “I hope that whoever reads my book receives a positive message about the importance of following your dreams, working hard, sticking to your principles, forgiving your mistakes and, above all, treasuring love and friendship."

Tessa is available for interviews and signings.