2015-01-11: The Candy Box Review

Tonight was the inagural show of The Candy Box Review. at Smith's Olde Bar.  I was supposed to perform, but due to personal circumstances I ended up in the audience taking pictures instead.  I was able to get some amazing photos of almost all of the acts except for Tora Torrid's routine because I literally made it about three notes in to her song before I cried my eyes out.  With everything that has been going on I wasn't ready to see that particular number.  Please know that she did an amazing job and it was absolutely beautiful which is why I broke so hard.  I was very lucky to have Lola Le Soliel there as my friend holding my hand as it started because I told her I didn't know if I was ready for it.  She held my hand, handed me tissues and put her head on my shoulder and just let me cry it out.  I'm not big on sobbing in public, but it was both a blessing and a curse.  I needed to let it out and I needed to do so with someone that I trusted.  It was very hard for me, so I got a drink right after her routine, but it was also very good for me because I have been trying to hard to control my emotions (which ends up exploding in a hail of crazy when I try to just suppress it) that it really meant a lot that I felt safe enough to just cry and let go of a lot that I've been storing up this past week.

The show, over all, was amazing and I am super proud of Ursula Undress.  I mad the joke that I was England and I've had a lot of colonies over the year but she was my America.  I've fucked up and drawn lines where they shouldn't have been, but she figured out how to make it work.  I am so very proud of her and honored to call her my friend.

I have a lot of amazing photos you can see HERE, but as I didn't take a single photo of Tora's number I'll post the YouTube link so you can maybe understand why I broke if you've been following my blog.

August Performer Spotlight: Ursula Undress

1. How did you come up with your stage name and tag line?  Does it have a special meaning to you?

It actually just popped into my head one day, and I mentioned it at the meet-up and told everyone "Don't steal that! I am sitting on it a while", then, as you well know - Chrystal Shawnda Leer died a quiet death while performing at an Unknown Hinson show, and was reincarnated as Ursula 

2. How did you get started in burlesque?

Before I moved here, I had already been looking at the scene and within a couple of months of moving, I went to a meet-up and met some amazing ladies! You (Katherine Lashe), Talloolah Love, Sadie Hawkins...you guys made me feel so welcome! It was nice to have an outlet for my love for the theater.

3. What has been your best moment as a performer so far?

Hrm....I think it was the first time I performed at the Texas Burlesque Festival...it was so awesome to have friends drive in to see me and be in my home state as a real performer. 

4. What is your favorite act to perform?

I think it is my Star Trek one just for the sheer joy of hearing the audience....they love the costume and the stoic face....and the Trekkies are awesome about it! 

5. What is your burlesque dream show?

OH MY STARS!!!  It would have everyone! Michelle L'Amour, Dirty Martini, Trixie and Monkey, Jo Boobs, Indigo Blue, The Jigglewatts, Ruby Revue, Perle Noire...so many more that I can't list here. And of course Satan's Angel would be there, and I would choreograph the largest strip tease that included EVERYONE in the Atlanta/Athens scene!!!

6. Where do you see your self in the next five years?

Hopefully still running The Atlanta School of Burlesque and producing shows regularly. I would also love to perform in Europe. 

7. Tell us something outside of burlesque that you are involved or interested in.

I actually have an art degree, and love to paint & draw. Currently, I sometimes design handwritten fonts. I am also getting into doing DIY stuff in my house. A pallet-wood headboard is in my near future!

8. What do you think is your greatest skill, not including burlesque?

Other than sex? (HA!)I think I am good with people.... 

9. What are you most looking forward to this year as a burlesque performer? As a civilian?

As a performer, I look forward to some collaborations that I have in the works. As a civilian, I look forward to taking up yoga again and working on my house.

10. Who is your favorite performer to watch? 

I could watch Lola LeSoleil all day! She's always interesting and innovative and so well poised. And all of her numbers are completely different!

July Performer Spotlight: Nikki Nuke'm

Photo by Trent Chau Photography

I met Nikki Nuke'm almost a year ago at the open house for The Atlanta School of Burlesque.  She was an amazing teacher, a wonderful person and with Ursula Undress's recommendation I began hiring Nikki for Tease Tuesday shows that evolved into her having a open invitation to perform with Syrens of the South whenever she was available.  She's a great addition to the Atlanta Burlesque community!

1. How did you come up with your stage name and tag line?  Does it have a special meaning to you?

I came up with Nikki Nuke'm while I was driving in my car coming home.  I was thinking about my persona...whacky, daring, almost cartoonish.  Nuke'm (like Nuke Them!) holds a special place in my heart from my love for the Fallout franchise and all things post-apocalyptic themed.  

2. How did you get started in burlesque?

I was first introduced to burlesque by Ursula Undress, Lola LeSoleil, and Fonda Lingue!  I saw them perform at the South East Mosaic Festival last year and became enthralled with this fabulous art and dance form.  Within a month of moving to Atlanta I was performing in local burlesque shows as a fire eater and snake dancer and before I knew it...I bought my first pasties!

Photo by Lisa Eckman June Tease Tuesday

3. What has been your best moment as a performer so far?

Honestly it would have to be when I was stripping for the first time and my tearaway pants got stuck in my butt cheeks.  I was SO scared all night that my butt was going to grab hold of those pants and I was going to be so embarrassed.  And it happened.  But it really wasn't as dramatic as I thought it would be.  Everyone laughed and cheered anyway and no one died and I relaxed way more with my mistake.  Mission accomplished.

4. What is your favorite act to perform?

I really love eating fire and it's the act I perform the most.  I love the "rise" I get out of the audience!  But honestly...I would have to say my favorite act to perform is anything with my ball python Mordecai.  A lot of people have misconceptions about these gentle creatures and at EVERY SHOW I bring him to, I get to show people just how sweet snakes can be!  Some people who were too scared to be near him will have him around their necks by the end of the night!

Photo by Broken Skulls Productions

5. What is your burlesque dream show?

Oh gosh...I don't really know!  I'm still so fresh to the burlesque scene I haven't even witnessed a fraction of the possibilities!!  I guess...I would be tickled pink if I could see an all "legends" show...I have a love for classics and to see women who ruled the stages then, take those stages yet again, would be really amazing to me.

6. Where do you see your self in the next five years?

TAKING OVER THE WORLD!  But no seriously, I see myself getting more involved and more brave and going on tour--with fire, snakes, swords, canes, and more!  And of course...making more and more sparkly costumes for people I adore!

7. Tell us something outside of burlesque that you are involved or interested in.

Outside of burlesque, belly dancing is actually my main source of income.  But I could talk about dancing all day!  My actual hobbies include:  swimming (recreational and dance, of course), exercise and weight lifting, video games, and drawing.

8. What do you think is your greatest skill, not including burlesque?

I'm a pretty great swimmer, not gonna lie.  Not just swimming laps I mean, but modeling underwater, inversions, free diving, coaching, etc.

9. What are you most looking forward to this year as a burlesque performer? As a civilian?

As a burlesque performer, I am most looking forward to learning!  There is so much history and knowledge for me to access that I can barely contain myself.  It's like entering a huge cave system--but instead of stalactites, it's tassles!  As a civilian, I love how many shows there are in the area that are so easy for me to access.  As someone who performs constantly for a living, it's very refreshing to have so many options to just put on a nice dress and grab a cocktail and see a show.  

10. Who is your favorite performer to watch?

Photo by Trent Chau Photography

That's a tough one...there are so many I love to watch!  But I'll go ahead and choose the latest celebrity performer I saw--Franki Markstone.  Her muscular isolations, her smile, her costumes... everything!  She's funny and has a great stage presence.  And she's super sweet to boot!  She's definitely someone I look up to now.

Spot light on Sunny Midnight (or why I suck)

So back in March for her (our) birthday month I asked Sunny Midnight to do an interview as I would like to keep spotlighting performers from around Atlanta much like I interview all the Burlesque Legends whenever I get a chance.  She turned it in on time, I got slammed with doing all the things for Mass Transit Muse and never bothered to post it.  Better late than never, right?

Shaped Light Photography

1. How did you come up with your stage name and tag line?  Does it have a special meaning to you?

The lovely Ursula Undress helped me come up with it when I was in classes(ABC &123s of Burlesque). I didn't want to get "trapped" or pegged with a name that wouldn't allow me to explore different avenues of my persona. I.E.-something too sweet/nice that would not necessarily be able to do something dark, etc. So Sunny is my bubbly, extroverted self andMidnight can refer to the sexy/dark/mysterious things that can happen at that time. It's a nice juxtaposition.

2. How did you get started in burlesque?

I went to a show at The Masquerade and saw some awesome performances that piqued my interest so I inquired about classes. Next thing I knew, I was signed up for classes with Syrens of the South. Best.Idea.Ever.

3. What has been your best moment as a performer so far?

Performing at DragonCon (one of my favorite conventions) in front of roughly 1200 likeminded nerds. It was mind blowing.

Lucky Pinup Photography 

4. What is your favorite act to perform?

My housewife number to Etta James's I Just Wanna Make Love To You

5. What is your burlesque dream show?

Ooooo...hmmmm. A show filled with all my favorite performers from all over the world and me being front and center to take it all in. I know it's probably weird I'm not in it, but I so love to watch without the burden of getting prepped for the show or watching backstage.

6. Where do you see your self in the next five years?

Hopefully, more involved. A title or 2 under my rhinestoned belt and more travel for festivals.

7. Tell us something outside of burlesque that you are involved or interested in.

I am a huge nerd. I love going to DragonCon, the East Coast's answer to San Diego Comic Con, and am getting more in to cosplay. I also am a contributor for both Shauncastic (shauncastic.com), a nerdy podcast on pop culture and Traumatic Cinematic(http://traumaticcinematic.com/), a podcast/website that focuses on horror mostly.

Richard LaMarre
Tara Hymen, Sunny's 70s blaxploitation alter ego

8. What do you think is your greatest skill, not including burlesque?

My ability to empathize and see most issues from all sides. Also, my uncanny ability to name most songs in 3 tunes. I wanted to be on Name That Tune when I was younger

9. What are you most looking forward to this year as a burlesque performer? As a civilian?

As a performer: Improving my craft and making quality/entertaining routines. As a civilian: Continuing getting better from my health issues from last year and seeing more shows/traveling as a civilian.

10. Who is your favorite performer to watch?

Perle Noire. She is such an inspiration and a beauty to watch. Full of so much grace and talent. You can't take your eyes off her. I wanna be her when I grow up.

Marc Turnley from BCC - Pinkie Pie!!

Discount Dance Shoes

 So Ursula Undress gave me this magical website called Lightinthebox.com that had discounted ball room dance shoes.  I couldn't resist the lure of cheap shoes!  Especially since you could pick the color, heel height, etc...

So I decided to purchase two pairs of shoes.  The very shiny rhinestone pair on the left for only $39.99 and the strappy purple on the right for only $29.99. The black came as is, but I was able to get the purple with a lower heel for rehearsal purposed.  This seemed like an amazing deal as with shipping it was less than $90.00 which considering most ball room dance shoes are $150 per pair, I was pretty happy to get two pair at almost half price.  Plus, you get reward points back for purchases on the website and if you have eBates (which I do) you also get 6% cash back that will later be deposited into your Paypal account!

They were supposed to ship in 4-5 weeks, to my happy surprise it only took like 2 weeks to get both pairs of shoes.  I was very excited about getting them since I have a show this weekend.  They gave me tons of tracking alerts and were very easy to stalk on the DHL website.

I was a little disappointed by the rhinestoned ones as one entire row of rhinestones on one of the straps came off.  (see picture)  However they were still cheaper then what I would have spent on the stones and then a pair of shoes and then taking the time to rhinestone them, so it's a small fix for a reasonable price and since I have all the stones that came off and a bag of extra stones that came with the shoes I will make it work!  The purple ones are awesome and I love them, period the end!  Glad I ordered the lower heels for rehearsal and teaching as I wanted something comfortable and pretty.  Totally an excuse to wear all the purple!

So in conclusion, I probably won't order a pair with stones again unless I'm just feeling moderately lazy since there's a good chance I would have to repair the stones, but I will definitely order some other pairs for stage and rehearsal.  They have a huge selection of dance shoes including ballet, jazz, modern, etc... So this will probably be a regular thing for me.  I, in fact, already have my next two pairs picked out!

2013-02-02 PinUp Girl Cosmetics Photoshoot

So back in January, Pinup Girl Cosmetics was offering a special Valentine's photo shoot for only $150.  The $150 included hair, make-up and eyelashes, styling, props, 2 edited photos plus champagne and tasty snacks which would normally have been over $200 and you wouldn't normally get snacks!  Did I mention there was cheese and shrimp?  SHRIMP!!!!  Sorry, I don't eat shrimp very often because of the cholesterol so I get excited!  So yes, with my Christmas money, I bought the package so I could have some new pin-up/burlesque publicity photos since my last ones were done in Jan of 2011 when Ursula Undress and I did the cover of Pin Curl Magazine.  I love that thanks to burlesque these are BUSINESS EXPENSES!!!  There are perks to everything!  It was as if the stars were aligning to help me out for the shoot, Secrets in Lace was having a 30% off all their clearance items which is wear the amazing out fit I am wearing in the photos came from.

So day of photoshoot, I get up super early (9am) so I can dye my hair to make sure that my color is even, bright, shiny and new!  I get done dying my hair JUST IN TIME to jump in the car and haul butt over to Studio Burlesque so I can teach my 11am Go-Go Shimmy Shimmy class, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to teach.  You should come see me for it sometime, it's silly!  Anyway, after class I fly back to the apartment to gather up my clothing choices for the shoot.  I had a few ideas in mind, but then realized that I couldn't remember what the back ground color was going to be and the last thing I wanted to do was clash or blend in, so I just packed everything.  Everything consisted of: 2 bullet bras, 3 garter belts, 2 demi cup bras, 3 pairs of stockings, 4 pairs of shoes, 3 pairs of opera length gloves, and 6 pairs of panties....all by Secrets in Lace because I have a love of pretty lingerie and honestly I was packing light, that is what happens when you are unsure of what you're walking into.

After the packing it was time for the nail salon!  I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about acrylic nails, myself included, but I am going to explain why they're important.  My world, 90% of the time, consists of school and work.  Neither of those things requires, or even encourages me to have long beautifully painted nails.  However, look at the top picture, look how well my nails pop against the white on the garter belt.  The picture at the bottom, it would look weird if my piggies weren't painted with those open toed shoes, even with the stockings on.  If you're going to go for a look you should go all the way; especially, as in my case, since these are professional publicity photos.  So yes, I got a mani/pedi, a foot and leg mud wrap, a full set of acrylics and an eyebrow wax, it takes a lot of money to look this cheap!  Finally, I was ready to go have my picture taken!

Pinup Girl Cosmetics is a well oiled machine.  One girl was having her pictures taken as another had just finished hair and was going to go get in costume so I could plop myself directly in the chair of hair goodness.  Kellyn, the owner, is the Hair Whisperer.  If you see a picture of me with amazing hair it's either Lee Press On Hair (what I call my wigs and pony falls) or Kellyn did it!  She got me in curlers and then sent me to make-up.  Gina did my make-up, she was super sweet and very efficient!  After make-up I was sent back to Kellyn so she could finish my hair and then I scampered off to change.  I was being a bit indecisive  Kellyn helped me pick out my outfit and then loaned me the necklace and earrings since I had forgotten accessories in my rush.  I went from off the street to a fully realized pin-up in around an hour.  Seriously, they have the transformation down to a science!  One of the things I loved is that the other girls and I all looked like individuals.  We were not all done the same way, we had hair and make-up that showed our personalities and that was flattering to each of us as individuals.  To be that efficient and still keep each girl fresh is what was truly impressive.  My shoot itself was about an hour of well directed poses to make sure that I was comfortable.  I got to do some with and with out my gloves and some with and with out the super awesome gold antique phone they had.  It was fun, relaxing and they took requests!  This was my third photo shoot with Pinup Girl Cosmetics and I highly recommend them.

I was chatting with everyone after my shoot since the girls scheduled after me were running behind and they had a moment.  There are approximately 200 pictures taken for each girl.  200!!  You are given the choice of a proof sheet or trusting Kellyn to pick out which ones she thinks are best.  I always let Kellyn pic, she's never let me down.  The photo shoot came with two (the ones posted here) and in a few weeks I'll have the additional 3 images on a disc with the ones shown for a total of five.  It was only an extra $25 and I feel it's worth getting the extra 3 pictures.  You've already gone through all the hair, make-up and costuming, you might as well get the extra shots.   They do a few special shoots like the Valentine's one I did with them a few times per year so keep a look out to get the extra bang for your buck.  If you're super lucky you'll find a Groupon on Living Social deal which some of my students bought for me a while back which is how I got my Dracula photo shoot I did back in October.  So keep your eyes peeled and let them make you look and feel like a princess...and maybe eat some shrimp and drink some champagne while you're at it!

Studio Burlesque Atlanta

Back around the end of November, beginning of December, I'm sitting in Ursula Undress' kitchen and she's about to explode with excitement.  For a few months she had told me that she'd been working for a new client, what I didn't know was that the client was going to change the face of Atlanta burlesque.  She had been approached by a gentleman that wanted to start the first all burlesque studio in Atlanta and she had many meetings and had become the Artistic Director of what would end up being Studio Burlesque Atlanta.

She said she was a little nervous about talking to me as I've been running the ABCs and 123s of Burlesque Classes through Syrens of the South for years and have trained a great majority of the Atlanta Burlesque scene at this point.  However, we no longer had our own dance space and relied on other studios to allow us rental time in order to be able to have the classes.  I spent a great deal of time working on classes schedules, wrangling teachers, press, and having to try to wrangle up students.  I love teaching, I really do, but I got paid just like all the other teachers, any additional money went to studio rental or in the kitty to make sure that we had money in case a class came up short.  It was very stressful.  The idea of just getting to show up somewhere and teach was wonderful.  So I closed up shop and threw my hat in with Ursula and hoped for the best as she began collecting additional teachers.  (I do still offer private one on one classes and group classes for parties and stuff, I'm just sayin')

One of the things that Ursula and I have been pushing for is a greater sense of community in the Atlanta burlesque scene.  That was one of the reasons we've worked so hard over the years to get the Southern Fried Burlesque Fest up and running and now she had the opportunity to bring in performers from all over Atlanta and give them a home in which they could teach their individual styles of burlesque and give students and opportunity to find the teacher that suits them best since not every teacher and every student are going to be that perfect mesh.  People teach differently and people learn differently and you need all types to get everyone in the game.  I think this is going to be an amazing opportunity for not only the students, but for the more experienced burlesque performers in town to share their love and knowledge and to give out of town guests a place to teach when they pass through.

The studio opened on January 7, there is currently a Living Social deal for 5 classes for only $29 (saving you $46 or 61%) if you get it before Tuesday, January 22nd.  Some take some classes for cheap and find your burlesque style!  Wednesdays I teach Beginning Burlesque at 6:30pm and Fun and Flirty at 8:30 (Sadie Hawkins' GoGo class is sandwiched between) and Saturday at 11am I teach GoGo Shimmy Shimmy (I tend to go more Shimmy and Sadie's more GoGo) which is sandwiched between Ursula's Fun and Flirty at 10am and Beginning Burlesque at noon, so you can come take from me or one of the other amazing teachers at the Studio.  Personally, I'm addicted to Fonda Lingue's Ballesque class at 6:30pm on Mondays.