Wohoo! A month of teaching!

The Boston Academy of Burlesque has a slew of great classes this month.  We're celebrating Pride this month, and many of our classes are aimed at men who want to celebrate the spirit of Burlesque in male or female style.

Mina is doing her usual great job as a teacher with Burlesque for Beginners - with a class open to either gender.

I'm doing In These Shoes - a class for people born as men to learn the art of swaying, dancing and strutting like ladies.

And - for 4 weeks running, I'll be teaching Belly Dance with a Twist.  This class, too, is open to anyone.

I'm really excited about that last class.  A not particularly well kept secret is that my background in dance is both belly dance and Bharata Natyam (a Southern Indian classical style).  For years, I've informally blended the two at dance circles and gotten asked if I teach.  For years I've taught one or the other style.  This time is a madcap experiment in building and blending both.  It's done with a spirit for improvisation - many folks I know will be looking to dance at summer parties and fire circles, so I'm planning to throw more time and attention at improvisation concepts than at learning and excuting a choreography.

Classes start this week!  So get going!

Life in Betty land is fast and furious these days.  The Babydolls performance schedule may be on a break, but our classes are in full swing.  We're also doing some great inter-troupe work, with practices and sewing nights coming up and more Babydoll Bonding time (not Bondage time... get your mind out of the gutter!)

It's been a fun, frenzied weekend of being out and about - I hit Xmortis on Friday and saw way more people than I expected.  I hit Pride and flyered today and posed for lots of pictures, including pics with Miss Teen Massachuesetts. :)

Now I'm advertising and putting finishing touches on my costume for tomorrow - I'm performing with the Shimmy Collective in celebration of my new class series!

Running, running, running

Yo!  The Expo needs volunteers!  We especially need them Friday morning for theater setup and Sunday night for tear down.  I'll be there helping, but we need more than just the one Amazon!  If you're willing and able, sign up here:

http://www.i-volunteeronline.com/burlesque-expo.asp

There's a lot of great things happening do - checkout our AWESOME class schedule and shows April 2-4 2010 - www.burlesque-expo.com

Scratch tells me..

That if I can get people to teach on cheese, monkeys and armidillos, I can have my own class track on cheese, monkeys and armidillos.  He doesn't think I'll post about this .. but  I will.  So, if you have a class that relates to cheese and/or monkeys and/or armidillos and how it relates to Burlesque - drop me a line.

Or just check out our website and see the new class postings - www.burlesque-expo.com.

I AM looking for teachers - mostly for Business classes and workshops - so drop a line here, or to my email, if you're interested.

And VOTE FOR US!  http://thephoenix.com/thebest/boston/vote/DanceTroupeSexy/

And come see V for Vixen on Sunday a week from today.

Writing Exotically

Hi gang!

Would you believe it!? I'm writing from India!! I came to to Burlesque by way of the Orient - my most serious training in dance has been in Bharata Natyam, and I'm in India right now rounding out my dance education and buying a frighteningly large amount of shiny stuff. It's a Burlesque dancer's dream here - Indians may be the best shiny thing makers on the planet, and the prices are fantastic. Also, spas are super cheap, and so are maids. It's a wonder I'm coming back at all... but it's my of beef and the Boston Babydolls that brings me home!

Speaking of the Boston Babydolls, we have a TON of new shows coming up.

I'll be whirling into town on the 5th and performing on the 10th in LAFF your Pants Off. Stay and here great stories of my travels! I'll be performing my two most popular and funny numbers, and I hear that the troupe has cooked up some hilarious new material while I was gone, so it'll be a great mix of old and new favorites!

When:  Wed, Feb. 10th, 10:00 PM
Where:  Improv Boston, Cambridge
How much: $12

Buy tickets here: https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?e=78927ae5f5adfeabc31d1c671d44b2ef&t=tix

Brace yourself!

Two blogs in two days!

Promise me you won't have a heart attack! Because I would be seriously bummed if anyone missed V for Vixen!

We had our first rehearsal in Oberon last night, and it was the normal amount of stress and chaos. Scratch has finished the stage craft planning, but moving around 8 dancers, 6 lindy hoppers, one singer, 3 stage hands who are so active they might as well be cast, and 2 lighting people with follow spots -- that's some craziness right there.

But we sorted it out with good cheer.

The numbers are looking great. They need more time in the space - but they'll get that tonight.

I can't honestly say, there's not a weak one in the bunch. Even the number with lots of challenge that I choreographed very late in the game is looking good.

Wrapped up the night with a salad and half a lobster at Eastern Standard. Which just rocks. Their kitchen is open until 12:30! They have a limited menu that fits more into the realm of light snack than late dinner, but it was pretty easy to assemble a decent dinner. And I would gladly pay more for small portions to be able to eat late at night but like a grown up. Being ensconced in their posh leather couch with a marble top table and a half lobster in front of me had me feeling like a true starlet.