About
What is
Fitesque?
A fifty-minute, full-body workout built from burlesque-inspired movement, original music and a boa. It is designed to be fun first, bringing together fitness, confidence, self-expression and connection in a way that does not feel like a traditional workout.
The Fitesque
experience.
Strength, cardio and mobility meet burlesque-inspired movement, great music and just the right amount of sass. You will sweat, you will laugh, you will strut, and you might forget you came to work out.
There is nothing to rehearse for and nobody to perform for. Fitesque is about how movement makes you feel: stronger, freer, more confident and a little more connected to yourself.
Come for the workout. Leave with the feeling.
Same work, different feeling
You are still
doing the sets.
Fitesque is a real workout. Cardio, strength, mobility and endurance, structured properly. The difference is that it is set to music and choreography, so you get through the work without really noticing you are doing it.
Reps become routines
A gym gives you three sets of twelve and a rest timer. Fitesque gives you the same repetition inside choreography, set to music, so your body does the volume while your head is busy following the track.
Weights become a boa
Instead of a dumbbell you get a boa, and the reaching, lifting and controlling still loads your arms, shoulders, core and legs. Functional strength work that does not feel like strength work.
The clock disappears
Nobody watches the timer on a treadmill because they are enjoying it. Fifty minutes goes fast when you are laughing, and the session you actually turn up for is worth more than the one you keep skipping.
The founder
Mel spent years
being told she was
the wrong shape.
Melony Cherrett auditioned to be a showgirl for years. At five foot two, the odds were not in her favour, and she was reminded of it often. Then she got her chance and spent the next chapter of her life dancing around the world as a showgirl, proving that confidence matters far more than fitting a mould.
What stayed with her was not the applause. It was the feeling of backing yourself, taking up space and being completely comfortable in your own skin. After building Australia’s largest burlesque fusion company, she saw an opportunity to bring the fitness benefits of movement, music, confidence and community into the mainstream fitness world.
Fitesque is the answer to that. It takes the confidence, energy and freedom discovered through movement and turns it into a fitness experience for everybody. No experience required. No pressure to get it right. Just movement, music, community, and the boa reimagined as a fitness tool, creating a workout that leaves you feeling stronger, fitter and more confident than when you walked in.
Where it came from
Choo La La
came first.
Australia’s largest burlesque-inspired dance brand, and the place the whole idea started.
Choo La La
A twelve-week program that builds towards a real stage show. Confidence through performance. You work for months, then you stand under the lights and do it in front of people, and it changes something.
Fitesque
The same confidence, reached a different way. Fifty minutes, no commitment, no show at the end. Confidence through fun and play rather than through performance, so it is open to people who would never sign up for a stage.
Mel runs both. Choo La La is where the insight came from. Fitesque is what happens when you take that insight and make it something anybody can walk into.
What we care about
Six pillars
we stand for.
These are the rules the classes, the instructors and the brand are all held to.
- Fun firstJoy, play, music, movement, and a workout you will actually look forward to. Fun is the entry point that keeps you moving, elevates your heart rate and makes fitness feel effortless.
- Confidence through playConfidence built through movement, self-expression and achieving things you did not think you could. The more you move, the stronger and more confident you become.
- Everybody belongsWelcoming, judgement-free rooms for all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, ages and fitness levels. Whether you are starting your fitness journey or already active, there is a place for you here.
- Movement over perfectionIt is about how movement feels, not how perfectly you do it. Improve your coordination, mobility, flexibility and fitness while bringing your own personality, style and energy.
- Community & connectionCreating rooms where people feel seen, encouraged and supported. Fitness is easier, more enjoyable and more sustainable when you are moving alongside others.
- Science with sassPurposeful choreography designed to improve cardio fitness, strength, mobility, balance and endurance, wrapped in music, personality and unmistakable Fitesque energy.
As seen on
“Encourages strength & confidence.” Today Extra, Channel 9
Also seen in
For review: this page needs a proper portrait of Mel. Every usable frame of the existing founder video has the old “grip it, whip it, werk it” overlay burned into it, so there is currently no clean shot to use.
Two ways in
Take a class.
Or take the lead.
Come for the movement, music, fitness and fun, or step to the front of the room and be the one who creates that experience for others. Whether you are here to build cardio fitness, strength and mobility, or you are ready to lead, it starts with picking up a boa and giving Fitesque a go.
Minutes. That is the whole class. You will be surprised how fast it goes.