DIY Weight-Bearing Burlesque Cane for $10
By Melissa
Props are one of the most fun aspects of burlesque, so of course we want to enjoy them in our burlesque classes! You've probably seen the plastic hooked canes that look so cute in performances, but in a fitness class, it helps to have a solid wood cane for additional support – especially during the songs where we work on balance and alignment.
Dance Life has a small collection of wood canes, but it's easy to create your own that's cut to fit your exact height. All you need is $10-15 and a trip to Home Depot, Menards, or a similar hardware store. We'll use links from Home Depot in this post. Many hardware stores post the exact aisle and bin of their products online, so be sure to make a note before you head to the store so you don't get overwhelmed trying to find items.
Step 1: Pick out your dowel rod.
A dowel rod is a versatile cylinder of wood that's used for hidden furniture joints, closets, and DIY projects like this one. It comes in different widths, but for a cane, we suggest the 1" diameter. Hardware stores offer dowel rods in different types of wood for aesthetic purposes, but it really doesn't matter for a cane. Choose the weight, look, or price that suits you the best. To save money, choose the shortest length that's taller than the distance from the floor to your hip. More on that in the next step.
Step 2: If needed, cut the rod to suit your height.
Hold the dowel rod next to your body. You want the top of your cane to be right around your hip bone. (If you dance in heels, add extra inches to account for the height of the heels.) The dowel rod may already be a good height for you, but if not, you'll need to cut it yourself or ask an employee for help. Don't worry; most big hardware stores have a station for this. It's okay if the end of the dowel rod is a little rough--you can fix it with some sandpaper, or just cover it with the chair cap in the next step.
Step 3: Grab your chair caps
You're almost done! You just need one more item: rubber chair caps for each end of your cane. These are designed to go on the bottom of chair legs to keep them from sliding around or damaging the floors, but they're great for keeping canes from slipping when you're leaning on them during dance. They usually come in packs of four, so you might want to team up with a buddy from class, or you can have extras. The Dance Life canes have black caps, but you can use whatever color you want on your own cane.
Important: make sure the diameter of your chair leg cap matches the diameter of your dowel rod! If you got a 1" dowel rod, you want a 1" chair cap. Any other size isn't going to fit right.
Step 4: Put it all together.
Before you use your cane, run your hand or a cloth carefully over the whole dowel rod to make sure there aren't any splinters or rough patches that might hurt your hands. If you want to paint your cane, this is also the best time to do that. When your dowel rod is ready, simply put the chair caps on each end of the rod. Really push the cap down (it's a good idea to brace them against the ground to make sure they're on tightly) to prevent any slippage when you dance.
And that's it! You've got a bespoke dance cane that's ready for burlesque!
Join Melissa for Burlesque Fitness for Any Body and put this cane to work!