Interview with Burlesque Stripped Down

It's just what the image says: I revealed some facts and stories you may not have known on the podcast, Burlesque Stripped Down.  I want to thank Velvet O'Claire for the opportunity and for taking an interest in asexual awareness.  You can check out my interview here: http://www.burlesquestrippeddown.com/hana/

I also highly encourage you to peruse the site since it has many interviews with fabulous dancers and segments featuring helpful tips for performers of all types and levels.

Finally one of the subjects that I mentioned is my upcoming show at Oni-con at the Galveston Island Convention Center.  I'll be doing two super nerdy routines with Kiki Maroon's Comic Strip.  The show is on October 29 at 9 PM in Grand Ballroom C.

A Loss in the Community

I hate that I have to write a completely different post than the one planned with the news that the Dallas burlesque community received yesterday.  2016 has already seen us lose legends, and I've had to deal with some other deaths that affected me personally.  However, one of our own has departed much too soon.

Dr. Q was a long-time performer in Denton and Dallas, having been with the Vixens of Vaudeville and more recently the Lowbrow Lullabies.  I got to work with him and his dance partner Femme Vivre LaRouge when they were in the latter in one of my first stage kittening gigs with Clever Girl Cabaret.  They had such two delightful acts that brought the whimsy of Tex Avery to life.  They had such a great partnership and brought smiles to everyone who saw them.

Photo by The Companion

Our paths would cross again, as I kittened for them a couple more times.  Dr. Q and Femme Vivre La Rouge would go out of our way to make my job a little easier, and they were so kind to newbie like me.  I saw Dr. Q at other shows throughout the years, and both The Companion and I enjoyed his company.  One thing you have to know about The Companion is that he doesn't really think of burlesque as his world so he generally stays quiet.  However, he got along so well with Dr. Q.

We didn't know Dr. Q very well and had not seen him lately.  In fact, a couple days ago, I was wondering when the Lowbrow Lullabies would be reappearing and whether I could cast them in a future show.  Now I think about Femme Vivre LaRouge, Divertida Devotchka, Honey Cocoa Bordeauxx, other dancers who were close to him, and the people in his Muggle life.  It'll be some time before I overcome the shock, but the show must go on.  Rest in peace, Dr. Q; we will miss you.

Photo by The Companion

Pride at the 2016 Texas Queerlesque Festival

"Moon Pride
I want to be your power

Tears flow down a cheek, eyes burn red
Someone cries of love violently, like a flash of lightning
Even if you're in pitch black darkness, you're not alone, you know?
The Moonlight illuminates us" - "Moon Pride" by Momoiro Clover Z

I meant to make this post a couple weeks earlier, but lab life got really hectic.  On top of that, I've been working on shows.  In fact, my next one is tonight!

I also got interviewed by Asexual Artists.  It fills me with pride to have been able to represent both the burlesque and ace communities.  Click here to read the interview.

Photo by The Naked Lens

The Asexual Artists feature provides a good segue into the topic of my next post, the inaugural Texas Queerlesque Festival.  It was place where I could show off my pride as a genderqueer, grey-asexual burlesque dancer (who also does drag but Tony was absent).  Being cognizant of my straight-passing, cisgender privilege, I initially hesitated.  I didn't want to take another, more deserving person's spot.  Then I remembered that I belonged as much as anyone else because my identity is my own and my art clearly reflects the queerness that makes up who I am.  I submitted "Moonlight Serenade" since it had queer inspirations and got in! 

"Moonlight Serenade" had been previously rejected from other festivals so I thought about what needed improvement: less focus on doing actual tango steps, more face, more sparkles!  This all sounded good, but then I changed my anxiety medication right around the festival.  I went from one set of side effects to another.  At the same time, I can't completely blame my meds for the lack of preparation.  Even with a day off from work, I was behind on costuming and incredibly scattered-brained.  You could probably tell at the shots taken during the performer portrait session.

What made me even more agitated was that I was the second performer in the line-up.  However, once The Companion delivered my forgotten items (to which I owe him greatly), I buckled down and got in the zone.  I steamed my cape, fixed my false eyelashes, put on Glam Jam (which feels good even on sunburned skin) and slipped on my ace pride socks (a special addition to my costume, inspired by the desire to show that asexuals do belong in the community) with enough down time to chat with fellow performers to wind down from all the anxiety.  Then it was showtime.

Photo by The Naked Lens

I don't know if it was the magic of my ace pride socks or the sound of fellow Sailor Moon fans screaming over the rest of the audience, but I felt a great adrenaline rush that matched my solo debut.  It was my best performance of "Moonlight Serenade" to date.  Even with a few rushed spots, I was very happy.  The cherry on top was Lady Lola LeStrange's utter excitement over the fact that I was portraying Tuxedo Mask.  Moonies unite!

The upside to being second on the first night of the festival was that I could now chill and enjoy everyone else's performances.  And boy were there a lot of awesome ones!  It made me proud to be a part of the queerlesque community and inspired to work even harder for next year.  On top of that, the people were so friendly that hands down, this is a festival I will recommend over and over again.

I was on such a high that I actually drove to Sue Ellen's by myself for Jeez Loueez's Twerk and Jerk workshop.  Driving is a great source of anxiety so this is a big deal.  It was a scary experience, but the workshop and wind-down party made me forget about it until I had to go home.  I have to mention how cool it is for Jeez to include the history of twerking in her class.  It's both necessary and fascinating.

Sunday Wind Down Party

The inaugural Texas Queerlesque Festival was amazing, and so many people worked hard to make that happen.  I thank each of them for their efforts, and I'm proud that despite its conservative image, Texas is able to have a space where queer performers from all around the country can show their art.  I came away knowing where I need to improve as both a performer and an individual, and hopefully I can come up with something worthy to be in the next show or at least find more ways to be involved‒ be it socializing, attending more workshops, or volunteering.

Upcoming shows: Glitterbomb and Tuesday Tease

As you can guess, I've been busy as a bee.  Tomorrow (or I guess technically tonight), I am debuting a very special and personal number about hair and my contentious relationship with it.  So please come out to Glitterbomb.  It won't be all tears though as Tony Fo-Hawk is bringing back his fun tribute to our Snowboard Slopestyle gold medalist with fabulous hair, Sage Kotsenburg. It'll be an unforgettable night so please come out to Mable Peabody's!

For Tuesday Tease, I will be stage managing/kittening for the next show on September 27.  Then I'm producing the October 11 show.  The flyers haven't been released yet, but mark those dates down!

I promise I'll get back to blogging.  The next post is about the Texas Queerlesque Festival, and there's a lot.  In fact, I don't think I can fit all the pictures in so here's one of them.

TXQF16: Sequins and Sass cast and crew
Photo by The Naked Lens

 

Upcoming shows: Tuesday Tease and Rockers for Knockers

I meant to work on more blog posts, but just as I was done with Super Smash Tease, I had another show to produce.  That's what I get with the "promotion" (not that we actually have a hierarchy in Tuesday Tease, just responsibilities).  In any case, you'll be seeing more shows produced by yours truly, and I won't be in them with the exception of special occasions.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't come because we always have stellar performers, and this week, we've got some pretty special guests.  Hope to see you at Sue's!

One show you can catch me in is Rockers for Knockers on October 1.  It's a charity show with a live band.  I've got another show lined up this month, but I wanted to share this one because it is for a good cause, My Hope Chest, so mark your calendars!

Becoming a Sophisticated A.I. (and Airship Pirate)

"DIGITIZE THE WORLD. (A new life awaits you)." - Cyberpunk Dada Manifesto

When Tuesday Tease decided on a retrofuturistic theme, I knew I had to get in on the action.  After all, I love cyberpunk, steampunk, dieselpunk, all the past-meets-future mash-ups.  We had originally called the show "Robo Renaissance", and I took things literally.   The Renaissance version of steampunk is called "clockpunk".  My friends do a really great interpretation of that sub-genre's aesthetic.  However, that wasn't what I was looking for.

I've always said that I was more "punk" than "steam" since I like the tech and the sci-fi more than the retro aspect of steampunk.  So I decided to Google "cyberpunk Renaissance" in hopes of finding some works that were less gears and more robotics but still had Renaissance fashion.  Miraculously, I found Deus Ex:Human Revolution.  I played a little bit of the original Deus Ex (for a college class actually) and enjoyed the themes of the game.  As I did more research on the characters, I became very inspired by the symbolism of the Renaissance fashion.  Eliza Cassan, in particular, jumped out at me.  I like wearing black, and the many layers of her identity as a celebrity and an artificial construct provided a wonderful narrative.

from Eidos Montreal Community post
by Valerie Bourdeau

Eliza's jacket was going to be the centerpiece.  I couldn't make it on my own so I wound up commissioning it from Dahl Parts Designs.  Although I thought the dress she wore underneath would be simple enough to alter from existing lingerie pieces, I hit a roadblock with the stretchy material and the zipper.  However, it's the first zipper I've installed on my own (and by hand too!) so I think I'm slowly making progress as a costumer.  The boots provided a different challenge.  They were a lucky acquisition from Missy Lisa of the Ruby Revue and the highest heels I have ever worn.  After some practice, I was able to walk confidently (or at least fake it) in them for the amount of time needed in my act.

Captain Tony Fo-Hawk

The possibilities of the theme made me unable to settle with just one act, even if it was an ambitious one.  In the beginning of my steampunk days, I befriended the vocalist of Marquis of Vaudeville, and they're one of my favorite bands.  I've always wanted to pay tribute to them before I even started burlesque.  Levi des Peu-Chapeaux has an act to the song of theirs I used to belly dance to, "Ordinary Day", so I chose another track, "Dear Isabella".  It's their tribute to Airship Isabella, a highly influential group in the Texas steampunk scene.  That made it perfect because I could pay homage to the entire community who have helped me grow as an individual and fall in love with living in Dallas.  Plus I never got to be an airship pirate (my "steam-sona" was a dancer and scientist) so this was my chance.  I gave the song to Tony Fo-Hawk because I could see him take the skies and not be limited by the rules of society.

Both acts were hits even though Eliza could still use some work.  The show, Steam-Tease, was a lot of fun to be a part of because everyone in the cast was geeky and the producer really encouraged many different interpretations of the retrofuturistic theme.  It was heavily steampunk, but as I've learned, there are a myriad of ways to interpret that sub-genre.  I also finally got to meet fellow Loki/Bucky/vampire-loving nerdlesquer Vita DeVoid in person.  I have to thank Tasseled Squirrel for believing in my two visions, Jessica Dahl for her impeccable work on the jacket, and Oliver Clothesoff for videoing my routines.  Several people complimented me on the jacket, and I want to do the act a hundred times so that I can strut around in it some more (cosplay may be a more feasible alternative).  This was a good start for Eliza; I'm excited to keep tuning her up so that I can bring her back to the stage.

In the meantime, I get to debut another video game act at one of my own shows.  With the help of Vivienne Vermuth, I'm bringing a Smash Brothers-themed Tuesday Tease to Sue Ellen's this week! A lot of extra care has been put into this show because The Companion is one of the long-time members of the competitive Smash scene in Dallas.  So please come and nerd out with us!

Upcoming shows: Tuesday Tease and Mustache Envy

Tony Fo-Hawk has a busy week ahead.  You have two chances to see him at Sue Ellen's: first at a musical-theme Tuesday Tease and then at Mustache Envy's drag show on Friday.  Although he'll never admit to being overwhelmed, I might just have to give the guy a hand on Tuesday.