Girlie Gushings about my new shoes

These are the Flamingo Peep-Toe Glitter Pump by Ellie. I of course will be adding to them, though they are fabulous as-is, they need some personal touches. I'm using these for one of my re-vamped acts that I will be doing at Kitty Nights on May 8th (Mother's Day!) All I can say is that if I get my wish and my act together just right, it will involve sparkles, "fur", and a little striptacular surprise... IF I can get everything I need in time...

Otherwise, the purpose of this blog was just to gush about how in love with these shoes I am and how they will be performing at Kitty Nights as well as myself. For those of you in the New York City area that haven't been to Kitty Nights, you should come because it's a really good time. Great acts with killer hosts all for only $5.00 every Sunday in the East Village. I hope to see everyone who can make it at Bar on A, May 8th at 9:00 pm SHARP! (Fem Appeal doesn't cater to late comers!)
http://www.kittynights.com/

The break is over!

So between November and April I took a blog break- but now I am back. I also prepped this blog last month... and never posted it so I'm posting it now.

The purpose of this blog was to show the growth from wanting to participate in burlesque to actually becoming a sought out performer, sharing my experiences along the way. So, most recently I did a show at Nurse Bettie, courtesy of Miss Honi Harlow. Two things I learned:
1. Know your venue.
2. There is such a thing as too much glitter. (I know... I didn't think it was possible either.)

What I mean by

know your venue

is, GO SEE A SHOW THERE BEFORE YOU PERFORM (if at all possible) and remain very flexible. Not all venues are created equal and they all have different rules that as a performer you should respect.

Some venues allow great sightlines as they have raised stages and cabaret style seating, others are a low small platform with standing room only, some are in the middle of the floor of a bar, it all depends. It's important to use a routine that works in the space and to know how to adjust it so that the audience gets the best views possible. After all... that who you're doing it for. They are paying to see you, so try your hardest to be seen.

Nurse Bettie, 106 Norfolk Street here in New York City, has a low platform and small working space with a small bar PACKED with standing people- so chair work and floor work aren't always the best idea though if you know what you're doing you can pull it off (as I have seen Peekaboo Pointe and Deity Delgado do). As these ladies previously mentioned are expert dancers with bookings out the wazoo they can adjust a routine at any time to fit the situation but, even they don't take every routine to every venue. As a novice performer I've found that it's best to develop at least one routine that takes certain aspects into consideration providing an act that will work no matter where you are.

That means:
1. No food, liquids, fire, props, or extreme nudity (which means it can be performed almost anywhere.)

2. It's specific and easy to remember. (too much choreography freaks me out and I forget it... I need more of a stripping outline.)

3. The costume is a no-brainer. Something simple and easy to take off. This may sound lame but it's way more sexy to watch a person take an article of clothing off with confidence and specificity than to watch someone struggling with their costume and getting stuck and getting lost and looking really frustrated while their music drones on. Remember, costume pieces can be added or subtracted if it improves the act later.

4. Movement that doesn't require great sightlines. i.e. a routine where you can be seen by most of the audience at all times. So in a standing room only you aren't laying down on the stage with your legs up because no one will be able to see all the hard work you've done unless they are one of the 7 people in front of the stage or the one lucky bastard who managed to grab a hold of the lighting fixture and is hanging from the ceiling.

All in all my experience at Nurse Bettie was utterly delightful! The cast was amazing, the producer a delight, the bartenders kind and the audience really excited to be there. The show was fun (though I did smack Darlinda Just Darlinda and Honi Harlow in the face with a glove full of glitter- so I've got to use less) and I can't wait to do it again.

DISCLAIMER: This has been my experience. Many people have successfully done all the things I just nay-sayed and had a spectacular performance, but we aren't talking about them because this is my blog about my experience so far, so we're definitely talking about me. This is by no means an end all be all as every performer is their own unique snowflake.

The Hunt for Red November

Before anyone reads this I am going to warn you that it's about lipstick. So, if you don't care about lipstick then move along because that is what this post is exclusively about.

I get more questions about my lipstick from people on the street than anything else- particularly when I have red glitter lips. So I'm doing a blog post about it.

One of the most important accouterments in a Burlesque dancers bag of tricks is a great lipstick! I am partial to red but many dancers use an array of pinks and peaches.

Speaking of red lipstick, I have been in hot pursuit of enriching my red lipstick collection. Originally, I started with a Benefit Red lipstick (which gets EVERYWHERE!). Then I upped the ante with a purchase at MAC of Russian Red. Though I find Russian Red to be a fabulous red I wanted something less drying and a little deeper... Lo and Behold! I found a great one by Makeup Forever... Moulin Rouge. It is the most fabulous red! A little deeper than the Russian Red and a better texture I think.

There is another statement I would like to make- quickly- some of my friends have expressed to me their desire to try a red lipstick, but they don't want to spend a lot of money on a lipstick that they may not like/wear. I have the solution, NYC Color's Retro Red, also an emergency red lipstick that's cheap and found at any Duane Reade, and it's $0.99. Can't beat that! Great texture, very true red (tends a little toward the bright side, but a berry lip-gloss will balance it if you need that), and a great lipstick to use for transfer into a vintage tube for first timers- which I just did and highly recommend. Nothing makes you feel sexier than a beautiful lipstick tube, ha ha ha!

So, now I have six red lipsticks: British Red Coat (which is ugly on my and I don't recommend it), Benefit's Red (they don't even make this anymore, but it got everywhere), NYC Color Ruby (kind of a weird hot pink/red shimmer), NYC Color Retro Red (which I really like!), MAC's Russian Red, and Makeup Forever's Moulin Rouge. But I always have room for one more...

**Please feel free to comment or add your input- I love to hear about other people's makeup collections.

Also a note, if you follow this blog please feel free to friend me on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter @MissDixieRising, and if you are on pinuplifestyle.com feel free to contact me there as well. See ya'll around :)

Doin' Time

So many people in the performance arena are aware that you have to work your way up from the bottom to enjoy the cream at the top. Burlesque is no different. As a new performer you need to be mindful of other dancers that have been doing this longer than you have. That means being helpful, respectful, and out of the way (i.e. if you aren't performing- don't block the mirror/light/or dancers from changing)... and above all, if you don't know a dancer's name or haven't heard of her, DO NOT point that out to her. Just because you may have no clue who she is doesn't mean the rest of the Burlesque world does not and it may also mean that you don't attend enough shows. If you are working or performing- BE ON TIME. I have learned that this early in the game you have to put a lot of work into networking, listening, watching, and just plain good old fashioned being pleasant. This world is about women supporting each other, which quite frankly, doesn't happen as often as it should.

With that out of the way, let me share an amusing moment from when I was working Honi Harlow's "Harlow's Hide-A-Way", which is currently every Thursday at Fontana's on Eldrdige between Broome and Grand right here in New York City. It's August so audience can be fickle, so I was tickled 12 shades of pink when I walked into Fontana's last Thursday and saw about 60 people in the bar and Chandlelier room. Upon my arrival I also discovered that there were bands performing downstairs. As the people in the bar began to funnel between our show and the bands performing in the basement, I was charged with the task of separating and directing them where they needed to go based on what they were there to see. For about 5 minutes of this, it seemed that everyone was headed to the basement and becoming tired of that (I love music too but stripping women dancing to music vs. bearded sweaty men standing around listening and bobbing their heads... hmmmmm) I decided when a delcious quartet of men walked up to me to try to persuade them to stay upstairs.

So I asked them,

"Are you guys here to see the Burlesque show?," as brightly as I could,
"Or the Bands downstairs?" and I was 50% less bright with that last question.

All four started laughing at me and one cute one (out of the other four devastatingly handsome men) in a plaid shirt looked at me and smiled,

"We are the band."

The hilarity of this was not missed on me so I thought, oh sweet now I can hit on all them! Which I proceeded to do. Some of the banter continued as follows:

Me: "Oh well, you're gonna miss all the gorgeous naked women!"

Band: "How about we play and when we're done we'll come up and see the naked women."

Me: "By the time you're done playing all the naked women will be gone. We are a fleeting thing you know. We don't stay naked forever."

Band: "Are you sure? We love naked women and would love to see them but we have a show."

Me: "Well that's what happens when you put music first. All the naked women dissappear."

The slightly bearded, blue-eyed, dream boat in the plaid shirt threw back his head and laughed. "That's the truth!"

Then the fabulously handsome foursome made their way into the basement and for one brief moment watching sweaty bearded men play instruments was overwhelmingly appealing. Then Honi walked up in her fantastic red dress with a gorgeous rhinestone necklace. The sparkle from it called me back to the land of half naked women and glitter. Whew! That was a close one.

My First Performance

I had my first performance last night at the Delancey. It was at Wham! Slam! Bam! Variety Show! with Juliet Jeske. I had such an amazing time! Coming from a varied background involving many years of dance performance coupled with many years of acting experience I found this to be a new and wildly thrilling adventure. It was so different from either of those experiences:

1. It wasn't choreographed/directed by someone else. It was all done by me, so luckily only I knew that I almost completely forgot every single piece of my choreography and practically fell and was trembling through the whole piece.

2. It was a completely different style of audience. I was in direct connection with them. In most dance/theatre pieces, you are a different entity from the audience and only on rare occasions do you address them directly but it's even rarer to actually interact with them.

It was almost like a improv/dance/strip/character exercise. It was one of the most challenging things I've done in a long time and I think I did pretty well. I tend to be a perfectionist and want to constantly fix every little tiny detail down to the stitches I use on my costumes. I want all the information and pack my costume bag days in advance (because I, apparently, am crazy.) I cannot wait to get booked again and finally get my website going so people actually KNOW when I'll be performing and I think I should probably get some cards made... hmmmmmmm. I feel a photo session coming on...

Rehearse Rehearse Rehearse

Making time to rehearse is so difficult at times. However, magical things happen in rehearsals. You learn that if you don't stretch you can't move the next day, that sometimes you can really only do a move in your mind and that certain songs seem like a good idea until you begin working with them. That sometimes you have to cut props, stage business, and other non-essential bric a brac when pulling a piece together. That glitter does not always do what you envision and when that happens it's best to sweep it up and try again.

For instance, I wanted to blow glitter out of coffee cup for my "poison", to remind the audience that I did actually poison someone in the beginning of the number in case my breasts made them forget. When I rehearsed it the first time I blew the glitter out of the cup and most of it slid up the side and straight back into my face. Not exactly what I was looking for - me blind in 5" heels is not what I want to happen onstage if it can be avoided. So I had to stuff the cup with foam and create a cardboard "tray" of sorts and put the glitter on it (btw it made the cup look like it was FULL of glitter onstage) this was finally successful.

Creating a story isn't always easy and burlesque is really a way of telling a story through music and disrobing- eloquently. I want to tell my stories with specificity, finesse, and most of all surprise. I want the audience to get as excited about me taking something off as I am about taking it off and as excited as the music is about it as well. I've always viewed dance as a way of losing oneself a way of letting go and letting the music speak through the body. A physical manifestation of music or even just sound. But Burlesque isn't quite like that. It's highly aware, conscious even. A self-aware conduit of music and ideas.

Technological Frustration

So as you can see, it's been months since I've posted. Not that I haven't wanted to, I just relied on my PHONE to actually POST what I've written. Sigh. So to catch everyone up to speed, I've been building numbers. Most recently I was invited to Wham! Slam! Bam! Variety Hour with Juliet Jeske at the Delancey on August 3rd. It is an assassin/spy themed show and I am very excited to whip something up for her. This will be my first performance and I am - quite frankly- terrified. Not of failing so much as of letting down all the women before me who put so much of themselves into this artform. To let down all those that sacrificed and gave so much for so little in return, that would be... very bad. I'm sure I'll do fine and I'm just nervous but I really want to do well and I really want other professional dancers to watch it and say... huh, not bad. I've been working really hard through the whole thing and I really want to not suck so I can pay tribute via my hard work and precision...