To Be A Kitten

Ah yes, the magical art of being a kitten. A "kitten", for those of you who do not know, is the beautiful individual who clears the stage in between numbers for next act. Usually a dancer in waiting... of sorts. So I may get to be a kitten for a very prominent dancer here in New York. I'm so excited my tassels are quivering... yes... I wear them all the time. She runs multiple shows here in the area, however, I simply can't reveal her identity until I'm absolutely certain I've booked it. Through meeting all these women in this field I've realized something, beauty comes in all forms and so does talent, quite frankly I think they are some of the most beautiful creatures on the earth... but that may be mostly due to my glitter obsession! Seriously, I'm obsessed with glitter... I like it... everywhere... and yes, I mean everywhere...

The Fan Dance

Today in my New York School of Burlesque Essential Series class, our headmistress, Miss Jo Boobs, showed us the fan dance. Feathers, I have recently discovered, are the most erotic thing I've ever experienced. (Especially when handled properly.) Whether watching someone else use them or using them myself. They are soft and luxurious, they hide and reveal at the same time and they are very flashy. If you are not aware... Miss Dixie LOVES flashy things. Rhinestones, bright feathers, glitter, and sequins are a few of my favorite things. I also LOVE touching things: hard, wet, smooth, warm ... mmmmmmmm I know what you're thinking... I'm thinking it too... I would love a Grey Goose, neat with lime.
I once heard Hugh Hefner say that with birds the males are ornate and the females drab and how he marveled at the fact that human beings are such a striking opposite to this reality of nature. I think that the work I learned today really hammered that home for me. Women are such beautiful creatures, we come in every color, shape, and size. Some of us more ornate than others - but all of us stunning in our own ways. Our bodies were designed to attract attention, our complicated minds developed to baffle, and the force of our presence meant to constantly distract. From our hair, to our delicate hands, to our smooth legs, and our dangerous curves. We are strutting, winking, undulating, preening birds of paradise. We are literally a distraction to go. I, for one, am so enamored with this feminine quality that it makes me wonder... why do men think about sex every 30 seconds? I would think it would be far more often than that... in fact, how does that poor gender even function at all?

Onward Movement

It's been a while since your little Dixie has written to all of you to share her grand adventures. So I have been working on learning some classic moves with Miss Jo Boobs and working on some audience connection work with Miss Darlinda Just Darlinda. This weekend we begin fan work! Ooo la la... I also met some of the most amazing people last night at NUDE. NUDE is a all nude band run by Bunny Love and a host of New York's most famous burlesque dancers. I met Miss Misty Mounds, a very comedian and two wonderful cross-dressers. It was a wonderous evening and there may be upcoming shows in the works so stay tuned ladies and gentlemen... Dixie is on the rise...

*** Please note that I had previously used the term Drag Queen erroneously, I was with two cross-dressers. I apologize for my mistake- I have since discovered the difference. ~ Dixie 8/15/10***

What truly matters

So far throughout my process I have been so blessed to be supported by so many of my friends and family. It isn't easy to choose this path. There is NO MONEY in this line of work and no real firm career but it is such a draw to me as an art form. It isn't easy to bare yourself in front of others, to bare yourself not just to them but for them. To peel off the layers of the self and reveal what is underneath in all its flaws and perfections.

It is a medium which I feel I can perfect and excel in with so much support from those around me and with the opportunities that have sprung up before me from luck as much as focus. I'm really lucky and I want to say thank you to everyone who is helping me in this endeavor. Teachers, other dancers, friends, mentors, parents, and other performers in other genres who are as thrilled and titillated by my adventure as I am. I applaud you all and am thrilled to have such an awesome crew at my back in this.

Acceptance

Lil' Dixie Rising is on the rise... moving onward and upward. It occurred to me in the last community class I took, that I am very VERY serious about this jazz. I have the capacity to be quite a good performer and the dedication as well. So when Jo "Boobs" Weldon's email came round from the New York School of Burlesque I knew it was time. I applied and made it in to the March Essentials Series of which there are only 10 slots. I was so excited I nearly burst! I've got a name and a mission and now guides to get me there. So watch out because the last weekend in March/First Weekend in April, Miss Dixie Rising will be making her debut. Sometimes all it takes is elbow grease and commitment. Let the work begin...

Thoughts on the art form

I have come up with some concepts for numbers. I'm getting mixed reviews upon sharing them BUT most of the thoughts are positive. I have learned that the word "Burlesque" actually means "an artistic composition, esp. literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity."

I really want to use this medium to express how different people or situations are from what one would assume upon first look. I want to stretch the audiences' mind and maybe bend it a little so that next time they look at the receptionist at the dentist office they say, "hmmmm, I wonder... could she be a freak?"

I think people get hindered by the boxes that others put them in. Whether it's a significant, or a parent, or a friend, or a boss. People make assumptions everyday about what they think is the norm for the people in their lives and in their surrounding environment. We constantly judge those around us, but what if... what if we got to see what was underneath. What if their deepest, darkest truths could be revealed. What if they are a thief, a liar, homeless, depraved, sadistic, an alcoholic, a sex addict, or any other number of strange combinations. What if the mean woman at the DMV likes to be tickeled with feathers? What if that power-crazed policewoman really wears pink satin under her kevlar? What if that pre-school teacher paints herself in black liquid latex at night...

What if I could show you these things in myself and in the people who surround you everyday? Would you mind if I took off this sweater? It's getting a little hot in here...

Dixie is Born

For several months I have been toying with an idea derived from a long standing desire, to become a burlesque dancer. I have always wanted to be one, though I wasn't ever really aware that that was what it was I truly wanted. I've been an actress for over 10 years and a dancer for most of my life. Pursuing acting has been a downhill spiral with very stressful results... especially here in New York City, but the one thing I am a virtuoso at is reinventing myself. So, a few months ago, it happened. I went to a burlesque variety show at Fontana's here in NYC, a show called Honi Harlow's Hideaway, and as I sat there I realized, this was what I had wanted, this was what I was equipped for. Dancing, comedy, and acting all in one, expressed through the body to music for the benefit of the audience. To tantalize and delight. To bring joy. I went to several more shows. Blown away each time, noticing the styles of the different performers, the nuances that made them who they were and the subtleties in their performances.

My appetite was now engulfing my entire life, everywhere I looked were girls dancing and expressing all sorts of things! Now, my mind made up, I went trolling the Internet to stumble across the New York School of Burlesque. There were two prerequisites: 1. pay $15.00 and 2. Come up with a name no one else in the performance industry had. I enrolled. That following Thursday I found myself in a studio with a red headed bombshell named Gal Friday in leopard print pants. Feeling a little conscientious I decided that my new dancing identity would not be able to feel this unless it was part of the act so I walked to front of the room and put on the brightest, reddest lipstick I owned. My Southern roots reached deep into the earth while I steadied my hand tracing my lips with the angled tip of my Benefit "Frenched" red. I heard her name rise up into my mind. Dixie Rising was born.