feathers!

This is stating the obvious, mostly, but I'm really into stripping. It would be a hobby if it wasn't my profession. I'm interested in all aspects of it: its place in the sex industry, stripping as saleswomanship, as performance both in its modern form and as the current manifestation of exotic dance, as an entrepreneurial endeavor that can liberate women from capitalist wage slavery and allow them ownership of their time; I read its artistic, political, and economic meanings.

So it should be no wonder that I enjoy taking stripper class. This year I've had the pleasure of pole dancing classes with Summer of PDX Pole Divas and just this past Sunday made it down to the New York School of Burlesque for a fan dancing class with the Professor, no, the Dean of Stripping, Jo Weldon. I've never even thought about attempting a fan dance either at work or at a burlesque show, but when I saw it on her calendar, a big, warm, "I WANT" seized my brain.

Sunday was also a day for the F train to be, a ha ha ha, F'd up, and for a big thunderstorm, so I got to the classroom (the Slipper Room) a full 20 minutes late for class. I didn't want to presume to interrupt but luckily another student showed up, and we knocked on the door, both late for stripper class (imagine!). Luckily we hadn't missed too much and were told to grab a pair of small feather fans (think hand fans, not the giant performance ones) and take a spot in the class.

Jo is a fabulous instructor and I am so amazed that she's singlehandedly deconstructed and teased out the basics of burlesque in such a clear, concise way. I really hope she's working on an actual dance textbook, because if anyone is going to put carefully considered disrobing and teasing into the canon of dance as performance, it's her.

By the end of the class she'd given us at least a dozen basic moves (and that's without floorwork) and choreographed a short dance for us. I loved the feel of the feathers and the way holding a prop automatically made my movements more considered and deliberate, and immediately started fantasizing about doing a fan dance on the huge stage of the Fox Club.


A few weeks ago, the day I met up with Mimi, the guy getting my coffee at Liquid Planet noticed my Texas Burlesque Festival T-shirt and asked me if I was involved in "that burlesque-type thing they're doing at the Wilma Theatre." I of course was not, not being from town, but wanted to know more. "Well, it's supposed to be like burlesque but less racy." Less racy? I thought. Now, I supposed you can have burlesque without nudity, but without being racy? That's like a chocolate chip cookie without chocolate chips. It's not a chocolate chip cookie anymore, it's just a sugar cookie. I googled, but found nothing, so if there is indeed any Missoula burlesque going on, please email me so I can see the show next time I'm there.

Oh, and shortly after that I was in the parking lot of a grocery store in Missoula when I improbably saw a gorgeous, elaborate ostrich feather headdress in the back of someone's PT Cruiser. I should have left a note! I took a picture, though.

Glamour. It's where you find it, sometimes in the back of a Chevy outside of an Albertson's.

Catfight!

Austin burlesque troupe sues Bay area act over use of name.
Great minds, bad timing, or a sincere ripoff? Who knows why there are two burlesque troupes named Kitty Kitty Bang Bang? The first one I heard of was, naturally, the Austin-based one, with whom I've had the pleasure of sharing stages several times. I particularly enjoyed their Burlesque the Vote performance in 2004.

photo by antastik
The San Francisco troupe came to my attention on a Teaseorama schedule (definitely before 2006, when the Austin kitties say they became aware of it, but not before 2003, when I first heard of the Texas troupe) and I did wonder who came up with the name first, and why both continued to use it. Perhaps it's because they're separated by half the country that both troupes have kept it for so long. Regardless, I doubt the SF troupe has the assets to pay the damages requested. Maybe in sequins and feathers.

Tonight at Esther's Follies: The Texas Burlesque Fest Revue

And yes, it is a SXSW showcase, meaning badges and wristbands get in. There will be a cash cover at the door.

Texas Burlesque Festival on MySpace
Official SXSW showcase info

Showtimes
Doors for show at 7:00pm
Show at 8:00-11:00

Featuring
Miss Maulie
Susan Wayward
The Jigglewatts
Shangri-la
The Amazing Buffy West
The Lollie Bombs
Carousel Cabaret
Kitty Kitty Bang Bang and the No Salvation Army Band

with special guests
Luna Tart
and Rudy Ramirez

Following the revue will be musical performances by the Asylum Street Spankers and Har Mar Superstar.

SXSW and Burlesque

Unless gyrating to The Black Angels counts, I'll be at a couple of burlesque performances in Austin during South by Southwest.

First, there's South by Burlesque, a Hollywood-themed night at Emo's. It's a fabulous bill and you should read all about it. That will be during the film festival on Saturday March 8th, with shows at 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Tickets available here. I'll be reprising my Anna Nicole number from the Texas Burlesque Festival.

As for the Texas Burlesque Fest, they'll be presenting a revue at Esther's Follies on Thursday, March 13th at 8 p.m. This will be a SXSW event which means badges and wristbands are admitted free, and I'm assuming there will be cash tickets available at the door. This will be a very special and fun performance for me. I'm grinning wickedly right now as I contemplate.

I learned how to take off my clothes!

Jo Weldon has burlesque classes; actually, she has a whole damn School of Burlesque. Last Sunday I had the pleasure of attending her The Art of A-Peel: Glove and Stocking Removal and Costuming and Choreography classes. I believe it was the first time in my whole life someone actually gave me instructions on how to take it off, and I've been removing my clothing for my whole life; I've been removing it professionally for 13 years now.

The class was fabulous. There were seven women in attendance, some of whom had never so much as seen a burlesque show in their lives. Yet they all enthusiastically followed Jo's detailed instructions on how to control movement, present your body, and involve the senses in the simple act of peeling a glove from the arms and hands. I also really appreciated how she taught the way to unsnap garters and remove stockings in a visually appealing manner as actual dance moves and an essential part of stripping choreography. She argues for the legitimacy of exotic dance, burlesque, and striptease as forms of dance with codified moves, something I agree with in principle, but her classes really put it in action.

Anyone watching an experienced dancer performing a classic striptease understands they're seeing something thought out and choreographed. It's very different from the more spontaneous dancing we do on stage in a strip club, but stripping has its own list of moves that are common to dancers all over the country. I don't know what the names are -- what do we call it when we put our hands on our knees and toss our hair? And when we spin backwards around a pole holding on with one hand? -- but you see the same moves used over and over.

I suppose that makes modern stripping more of a folk style, since it's not taught formally in dance class but informally, on the job, as you need to learn. I sure would have loved to have someone teach me movement, though. It would have lessened the period of time I was an awkward new girl. For any strippers passing through Manhattan, I endorse the School of Burlesque classes. They're fun and useful. And tax-deductible continuing education!

From the fabulous folks who brought you lucky Austinites Burlesque for Peace and Burlesque the Vote, coming this October 12-13:



The Texas Burlesque Festival is a two-day hoedown and showdown celebrating the raucous revival of burlesque, vaudeville and the accompanying et cetera.

Aimed at (but not exclusive to) the growing Southern community of ecdysiasts, this weekend overflows with opportunities to refine your bump and grind including parties, a panel discussion, and performances. So pack your pistols and your pasties—it's gonna be [a] wild ride!

I'm planning on being in Austin for this, probably performing at some point, and I hope everyone spreads the word throughout the state.

I loved the Burlesque for Peace shows because they aren't full of professional or polished performers, rather, often it was the first time for some of those performers to dance in public. It's a very DIY burlesque, if you will, coming from a bunch of Burning Man attendees who like to make their own entertainment. I did sometimes get nervous that they'd get busted for nip/g-string slips, but every one of those shows was great fun.

This should bring in some really varied talent, though -- it should be a fabulous mix of fancypants troupes with great choreography, Lone Star performance art, and amateur stripping. Texas has some very gifted performers on the fringe (and wearing fringe) who don't get nearly enough opportunities to come together.

Oh, and the big Saturday night show will be at Antone's. I wonder if they can do anything about that stage?