Bourbon Street Burlesque

Last month, the Texas Burlesque Peepshow put on a New Orleans-inspired event: Bourbon Street Burlesque.  Hosted by Ben Wisdom, the night included classic burlesque and live music.

Sugar McQueen

The Lyric Laveau Band

The Pistolettes brought in some New Orleans bounce, and May May took everybody on a gender-bending journey.

The Pistolettes

May May

There was also burlesque done to live music, as members of the Viva Dallas Burlesque Showgirls teamed up with The Lyric Laveau Band.

Sweet T

Headliner Jolie Goodnight combined the two with her signature sing-and-strip routines.

Jolie Goodnight

It was a fun opportunity to re-live the excitement of Mardi Gras.

Click here for more photos.
Flickr-restricted images can be found here.

Lab teching my way through striptease school: The Road to Queen

A little over two years ago, a burlesque fan boarded the light rail in her cosplay, prop meteor hammer and camera in tow.  I was determined to check out the Quentin Tarantino-themed burlesque show in my Gogo Yubari costume.  Little did I know that it would play a huge part in getting me into the Dallas burlesque scene and set me on the road to competing for a crown.

Villains and Villainesses
By Mr. Photopix
(www.mrphotopix.com)

When Appaloosa Red announced that there would be a sequel to the Tarantino tribute, Pulp Friction, I knew I had to submit an act.  I chose O-Ren Ishii instead of Gogo because I'm not a fan of the Asian school girl stereotype (even if Gogo is a subversion) and I wanted a challenge.  I decided to play upon her mixed heritage since I could relate.  As an American-born Taiwanese with Chinese ancestry and a love of Japanese culture that people mistake for being my ethnicity, I wanted explore the layers of identity and show that there's more than what meets the eye.  To make the concept more O-Ren, I decided to represent the cultural identities as personas she adopted for assassinations.  It helped tie all the looks together because regardless of what she's wearing, she's still a badass.

Of course, this complex idea meant another complicated costume—or rather, three costumes.  To my great fortune, Black Mariah had an old kimono and I was able to use the ties from my yukata.  I decided to get a real obi, which led to me having to learn how to tie it and figure out of it without being a tangled mess.  Equally questionable was my choice to use a G-string that I happened to have (yay lingerie sets).  It saved me from buying another costume piece, but I had my apprehensions about baring that much.  I reminded myself of the insecurities I had already overcome and went into Pulp Friction with the "Go big or go home" mindset that had gotten me this far.

Pulp Friction
By DV8Photo
(dv8photo.com)

I really have to thank Appaloosa Red for having this high maintenance routine in her show and the stage kittens for lending a hand.  Despite a little mishap, I had a successful performance and probably the best obi removal I could ever wish for.  I was happy to have been able to show a different side to Hana Li, and I was inspired by all these different interpretations of Tarantino films and characters.

The PistolettesA Go-Go were in Pulp Fiction as the Crazy 88s, and they wound up talking me into auditioning for the Texas Burlesque Peepshow's Villains and Villainesses show, which was also a competition for Evil Queen of Burlesque.  They had the idea of having me enter with them like in the movie and then do my solo after their routine.  I hadn't planned to audition due to a friend's wedding being the same day.  It was an afternoon wedding so with some help, I worked out a schedule that allowed me to do both if I was cast.  It sounded good in theory and The Pistolettes and I were selected.  Then I had a week of the worst luck ever— which included my bus to the Texas Theatre not showing up.

Villains and Villainesses,
with the Pistolettes A Go-Go
By Samuel Hsu

The Companion, who already skipped some of the reception by waiting out in the cold with me, came to the rescue.  The Pistolettes were also extremely helpful in getting me ready to go, especially Coco Dependent who worked magic on my wig.  Things seemed to be looking up, but the bad luck reared its ugly head again.  There was a technical error (it's theatre; it happens), but we made it work.  And I really do mean we since the stage kittens and The Pistolettes played big roles.  This was a test of my capabilities as a dancer, which could use some improvement yet I should not doubt.

Villains and Villainesses
By Mr. Photopix
www.mrphotopix.com

I hadn't really thought much about the competition aspect until I saw photos of the crown.  Then the reality of being a contender for Queen sunk in.  In a way, all the unrelated stresses I had to deal with kept me from becoming too competitive.  Being among such talented dancers was enough of an honor for me—a big congratulations to Blaze for becoming our first-ever Evil Queen of Burlesque.  I did my best with what is only my second solo act, and even if I'm not Evil Queen, I still got to be the Queen of the Crime Council.

More photos can be found in my "Performances" album.

Villains and Villainesses Burlesque

Extend your Halloween fun by attending the inaugural Evil Queen of Burlesque competition

The competitors are Blaze, Femme Vivre Le Rouge, Goldie Candela, Hana Li, MayMay, Pashionata Fair, Siren SaintSin, and Vivienne Vermuth.  There will also be performances by the Dallas School of Burlesque Dancers, Pistolettes a Go-Go, and Iris Le'Mour as Maleficent.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Roaring 20s Burlesque

Sat, August 30: ROARING 20s BURLESQUE

Welcome to a lavish burlesque evening of 20s fashion, feathers,and glittering jewels.

Join the party as gorgeous performers take the stage and bring you a world of speakeasies, striptease, and art deco fantasy.

Saturday, August 30 at The Historic Texas Theatre.

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW

Doors at 8. Show at 9.

Sat, Aug 30

Texas Theatre

231 W Jefferson Blvd, Dallas, TX, USA

Lab teching my way through striptease school: Spectacular Lessons with Penniless Writers and Pink Feathers

My recap of Texas Burlesque Peepshow's Moulin Rouge- inspired show actually starts two months before the show.  That was when I decided to put together a routine.  Plenty of time, right?  I failed to realize that my "Black Glasses" act had been brewing in my mind much longer than the month it took to put it together.  There was also the issue of making a complicated costume, which I couldn't have done without the help of my wonderful friend Mandy.

This is the face of a tired
penniless writer.

The premise of my act was inspired by Christian at the beginning of the movie and "Nature Boy".  While I liked the song, I thought I would go with something less obvious and more adaptable.  I'd been wanting to dance to "Hurricane" by MeByMe, an old music project from a college acquaintance.  That must have been a strange facebook message for him to have received.  With the time crunch, precise choreography, and monster of a costume, I started to become distracted from other aspects of my life.  In a way, I was turning into my character with the frustration and lack of sleep.

When I first considered performing, I read a lot about needing to have a thick skin.  I've never handled rejection well, but being a writer and constantly reminded myself that I was doing burlesque for fun steeled my soul.  Nevertheless it still hurt to learn that I wasn't cast.  What really got me was knowing that I could've done much better had I not procrastinated.  To regroup, I decided to put that routine to rest for now, but I did continue to go to dance class.  There, another opportunity presented itself.

Black Mariah had been putting together a fan dance for Spectacular Burlesque!  Since I wanted to focus on my solo act, I wasn’t sure about joining in.  However, the routine, which was set to Valeria's "Rhythm of the Night", was too irresistible to not learn.  It gave me a chance to work on my fan dance technique, and I finally was motivated to buy proper ballroom shoes.

Las Tentadoras Plumas Rosadas

I was stoked at how our routine had come together by show day.  We had different experience levels with both the dance and performance in general, yet we all came together on-stage and backstage with putting on costumes and make-up.  I did almost have a meltdown two acts before ours because one of my false eyelashes had started to fall down.  I had been struggling with them all day and with another pair the night before.  Since there wasn't enough time to reapply, I ripped the other one off and got ready to step out.  With all the gorgeous fans and even more beautiful ladies, I don't anybody noticed.

I think the false eyelash failure was a sign that I'm not really classical at all.  That's not to say they're not a staple for all of burlesque, but I had struggled to come up with a pink and black costume too.  Then there was the realization as I watched the other performances that the routine I submitted really did not fit in with the show at all; that is, my vision of the Moulin Rouge— the free, bizarre Bohemian spirit— wasn't the vision of Spectacular Burlesque!  Although I've had the inkling for a while, I didn't want to pigeonhole myself as only a neo or nerdlesque dancer.  Now I know I shouldn't force things to happen.  Group numbers can be where I get my taste of classical, and I have an idea of how I can improve my writer routine.  At the after-party, Jay Scarlet did a Tarot reading for me that told me to stick to my guns with whatever I'm working on.  I think that summed up the major takeaway from this experience pretty well.

For more photos, visit my facebook.

Lab teching my way through striptease school: The Rocky Horror Texas Peepshow

I have a confession: I am a Rocky Horror Picture Show virgin. I've seen the movie, but by that time, everybody around me had already gone to a show or had no interest in going. Thus it was a little strange to stage kitten for a Rocky Horror-themed production. Doing the show doesn't count apparently.

Spyke Styletto bestowed a pearl
necklace upon me and a veil upon Kitty.
Photo by Cher Musico/Roots

The Texas Burlesque Peepshow put on its first production, "Oh, Rocky", two months ago. I was still trying to recover from All-con, but I wanted to help out. Lily LeCroix supplied a clipboard with notes for Kitty Martini and me, which kept me from completely stressing out. I was feeling off my game and had nearly lost it when I discovered that I put the wrong contacts case (the empty one) in my bag.

Due to Dallas' two shadowcasts being invited, "Oh, Rocky" had an unusually large number of people backstage. They took care of themselves, but it was a little different. It was different but fun, as I enjoyed getting a taste of the Rocky experience and the shadowcast members enjoyed the new setting. And everybody enjoyed the presence of Mr. Gorgeous. Never have I seen so many heads turn when a person walked by, but at a fit 6'5" plus heels, he strikes an impressive figure. He's also really nice and assuaged any concerns we had about setting up the rigging for his aerial routine. Kitty and I did have to work around the height issue, but the cables were lowered just enough to where I could reach them.


The show had begun on a somber note with Black Mariah explaining the situation with Lola LaRue. Whether they knew her or not, everybody in the cast and crew wanted to help her. That was really heart-warming to experience, and I think that created a positive energy that propelled the show forward.  Everybody wanted to do their best for Lola, and I was really happy to be part of such a supportive community.

To put things into perspective,
I'm 5'1" plus 3" heels.

While Kitty and I were running around, I made a mental note to make sure my shoes for the after-party were super comfy any time I did a show at the Texas Theatre. I had opted for a goth look and wore my three-inch platform boots, which are usually comfy.  After climbing lots of stairs in heels, that was no longer the case.  Lesson learned.

"Oh, Rocky" was a HUGE success. Never have I heard a crowd that cheer that loudly at a burlesque show; I felt like I was going to go deaf by the end of the show. After hanging around a little bit to talk to people and try to not be awkward, I decided that it was best to avoid the shuffle out of the dressing room and head out to the after-party, where The Companion and I wound up eating pizza with La Divina and Diamond Jim first and then with some of the "Oh, Rocky!" cast.  I was suddenly glad I ran up and down those stairs.  I didn't take too many photos, but you can see a couple more on my facebook page.

Also, don't forget to reserve your tickets for the Texas Burlesque Peepshow's next production, Spectacular Burlesque!: a Tribute to Moulin Rouge. I am fan dancing with the producers and my classmates from the Dallas School of Burlesque.  You don't want to miss this show!