Rhinestones and Whiskey

Top 10 Horror Movies: Dolly Berlin

2011-10-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

Dolly Berlin is merges cute with weird. A crowd favourite with Great Canadian Burlesque . Stealing hearts and chomping on them, see more of her at Grindhouse Ghoulies, Oct.27th at The Revival Night Club.

1. Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) - A B-Movie blast, very campy! There's blood, guts, showtunes and a gothed-out Paris Hilton dry humping a ponytailed necrophiliac in a fur vest. What more could a ghoul ask for? It was filmed in Toronto and has a TO-based shadow-cast performing an interactive show quarterly, so you can still catch it in theaters. (http://reposhadowcats.com/)

2. Shaun of the Dead (2004) - To some this movie is a comedy. But it actually gave me a mini anxiety attack and heavy heart palpitations along with the giggles. Amazing combo.

3. The Hills Have Eyes (2006) - I love stories about genetic mutation. This movie was great because it was "reality fiction;" the monsters were just people gone wrong. Reality makes it all the more frightening. The scene with "Big Brain" especially terrified me.

4. The Ring (2002) - I wanted to be Samara after seeing this. Children are scary enough as is, let alone crawling out of a well into your living room through a tv. Ringu is unfortunately still on my "to watch" list, but I hope to make time for that and other J-Horrors like "Carved" this Halloween season.

5. Dead Silence (2007) - This is probably the cheesiest movie on my list. But I have fond memories seeing as a senior in high-school and being ID'd at the ticket booth. It was a PG-13 release. Bonus: stars True Blood's Jason (I knew I knew him from somewhere)!

6. Attack the Block (2011) - The monsters/aliens in this film are a bit dissapointing, but it has a great soundtrack if you are even mildly into dubstep or that KRS One song. Bonus: set the projects in South London, a neat an fairly original backdrop for a sci-fi thriller.

7. Donnie Darko (2001) - So it's not exactly a "horror" movie... either way that bunny suit is s-c-a-r-y!

8. Pan's Labyrinth (2006) - A beautiful movie. I sometimes had to go back and re-watch the subtitles bwcause I was too busy looking at all the inticate and realistic fx.

9. Psycho (1960) - I really haven't seen enough classic horror films! Again, this is another one of those "fractured human" tales that I find scary due to their ability to actually happen.

10. Saw (2004) - Just go ahead and try to tell me you did not burst out with an "oh shit! oh shit! holla!!" at the end of this movie.

Buy your tickets here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2118700089

So get a sneak peek of Dolly watch this:

Top 10 Horror Movies: Lily Lemonpie

2011-10-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

Lily Lemonpie burst on the scene as 1st Runner Up for The Toronto Burlesque Festival's Strip Search in 2010. Her mix of good girl/bad girl acts have audiences transfixed. Catch her as a special guest for Grindhouse Ghoulies, Oct. 27th at Revival Night Club.

10. Cube Not a horror movie in a gorey way but I love the concept and how clever the plot is.

9. Funny Games (both versions) Just insanely well done.

8. The Fly Jeff Goldblum terrified me as a kid. I thought that's just how he looked all the time. Which he kinda does really....

7. Arachnophobia I am deathly afraid of spiders and somehow I still have watched this movie over & over. There's just something about it.

6. The Exorcist A classic.

5. Misery Do I have to explain?

4. The Crazies I think this is the future. Just saying "Phantom of the Paradise" at #4 (tie with The Crazies). Just a dark twisted tale of love and horror. Love it!

3. The Lost Boys Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Haim, vampires. Come on! :)

2. The Saw series I love mind games. And torture.

1. Rear Window I am so scared for them every time I watch this thriller. Still my favourite of all.

To see more of Lily, buy tickets here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2118700089

For Lily in action:

Top 10 Horror Movies: Aviva The Mirage

2011-10-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

Aviva the Mirage is an accomplished Belly Dancer and burlesque performer. She performs regularly with Great Canadian Burlesque. An avid horror movie fan, Aviva will be doing some Graveyard stomping at Grindhouse Ghoulies, Oct.27th. Here's her Top 10 Horror Movies.

10. Day of the Dead (1984)- Tom Savini's Zombie makeup special effect masterpiece!

9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2- Dennis Hopper and Bill Moseley!

8. Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - "In my dreams, I'm the wizard master"

7. Slumber Party Massacre 2- The murderer is a rockabilly psycho who kills teenagers with his guitar

6. The Wizard of Gore- A Herschell Gordon Lewis classic. blood splatter galore.

5. Haute Tension (High Tension) - One of the great French horror films that has come out in the past 10 years, its creepy and twisted and very bloody.
4. The Ammityville Horror (1979)

3. The Abominable Dr. Phibes- Vincent Price at his best, also the craziest set design ever.

2. The Shining-Wendy, Darling, Light of my life, I'm not gonna hurt you...I'm just gonna bash your brains in

1. Evil Dead & Evil Dead 2 & Army of Darkness- I love Bruce Campbell, what can I say?

To see more of Aviva, buy your tickets here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2118700089

For a sneak peek, watch this:

Top 10 Horror Movies: Ms Chaos Divine

2011-10-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

Ms Chaos Divine, though relatively new on the scene has made a big impact on the scene with her highly creative performances with Great Canadian Burlesque and Vaudeville Tattoo Revue.. See her get down and gory at Grindhouse Ghoulies, Oct. 27th!

1. Army of Darkness - This is the quintessential horror film. It combines traditional artistic effects, comedy, and fantasy into a terrifyingly hilarious story. Bruce Campbell is the king, baby. I also have to sneak in Evil Dead & Evil Dead 2 - This is one of the few series' where (in my opinion) the third tops the rest... but not by much. A-freakin-mazing.

2. Pet Sematary - This really shook me as a young adult, but it absolutely terrified me after I became a mother. Bow down to the master Stephen King, kids.

3. The Host (Joon-ho Bong 2006) - One of the few slightly lesser known to make my top 10 list. The monster was so well done and the premise was totally viable. I actually had nightmares after watching it.

4. The Descent - This one is really a movie for women, and anyone who understands how strong and adventurous women have been accused of madness throughout history. Just when I thought it couldn't get any more terrifying, a whole new element of insanity is thrown in at the end. If you really like suspense with a realistic element, peppered with psychological horror, see this movie.

5. A Nightmare on Elm Street - Yes, the first one is probably my favourite (ahem... Johnny Depp anyone?) but the whole series has to sneak in to the list under this title. Anyone who knows me well has teased me about my lasting infatuation with Freddy Krueger. This series had a formative effect on me. Knife fetish anyone? lol

6. Friday the 13th - Again, the whole series. Can you really have too many machetes being thrust through a mattress, plunging into the flesh of unsuspecting youth?? I rest my case.

7. Dawn of the Dead (remake) - I have to give respect to the original Dawn of the Dead, which was groundbreaking... however, this one stands out as a truly well done remake that pays homage to the original, and takes the fear to a whole new level. After seeing this movie, I thoroughly articulated my zombie survival plan.

8. 28 Days Later - THIS. COULD. HAPPEN. Need I say more??

9. Alien Resurrection - Although the entire series of Alien movies is fantastic, from effects, to script, to acting, to cinematography, Resurrection is my favourite in the series because of the rich connection of Ellen Ripley to the Alien species. It takes the enemy to a whole new level with the need to destroy and the maternal desire to protect. It makes the destruction so much more deliciously horrific.

10. Poltergeist - "Stay away from the light Carolann!!!!" AHHHHHHH!!

Honourable Mentions: From Dusk 'Til Dawn - Two movies in one! Classic Quentin Tarantino storyline, and Robert Rodriguez insanity - one of my favourite film making teams. Return of the Living Dead - Remember the '80's guys?! Dancing naked on gravestones, a zombie dog cut in half, terrible acting, and 1980's punk. YES. Zombie (Lucio Fulci - 1979) - Zombie island!!!

Buy Tickets here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2118700089

See more of Chaos here:

Top 10 Horror Movies: Mena Von Fleisch

2011-10-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

Skin Tight Outta Sight's Mena Von Fleisch lets you in on what gets her gore on. See Mena Oct. 27th in her in all her undead gory , I mean glory for Grindhouse Ghoulies.
10. The Last House on the Left & I Spit on Your Grave (originals) - HORRIFYING reality and serious revenge
09 - Sleep Away Camp & Nightmare on Elm Street - twisted parents, under age drinking and teen massacres...adolescents exemplified
08 - Lost Highway & The Blair Witch 2 - sexy, mysterious mind fuckery
07 - Creepshow 2 - THANKS FOR THE RIDE LADY!
06 - Pet Semetary - Herman Munster and killer babies....cuuuute!
05 - White Zombie & The Creature From The Black Lagoon - my favorite black and white monsters
04 - The Hills Have Eyes (original) - Who isn't afraid of inbred mountain men feeling rapey?
03 - Halloween & Black Christmas (originals) - strong, silent killers
02 - Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 - Bill Moseley at his finest
01 - CANDYMAN, CANDYMAN, CANDYMAN, CANDYMAN...CANDY.......

Buy tickets for Grindhouse Ghoulies Oct. 27th here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2118700089

Sneak peak here:

Top 10 Horror Movies! Blonde Moxie

2011-10-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

In honour of our 6th Annual Grindhouse Ghoulies Show Oct. 27th, A Tribute to Cinematic Sleaze w/ Great Canadian Burlesque, I'm are running Top 10 Horror Movie Lists of some of our cast and crew. The first guest is Blonde Moxie Skin Tight Outta Sight's amazing stage manager, performer and insanely talented makeup artist.

1. The Exorcist
2. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

3. The Shining
4. The Ring

5. Pet Semetery

6. House of 1000 Corpses

7. The Devil's Rejects
8. Hellraiser
9. Halloween
10. Inside

#1,2,3: the classics! How can you not love these? The Exorcist had some of the most groundbreaking makeup effects in it thanks to Dick Smith.
Jack Nicholson's frozen look at the end is one of the best frostbite effects I've ever seen. And who can forget the old decomposing lady?!
And the good ol' Sawyer family. Using another human's face as a mask is (sickeningly) genius. This same thing is revisited in The Devil's Rejects- another reason why it's a favourite of mine.
#4,10: Two modern films that managed to freak me out. "Inside" is one of those gross out movies that managed to turn even the strongest of stomachs (mine) - I can't look at pregnant women the same way since seeing this.
#5: Toddlers getting killed, animals coming back from the dead, talking corpses and a freaky sister. TERRIFYING
#6,7: Modern sleaze by the one and only Rob Zombie. I love a good scalping. And the one liners! Tutti fucking fruity indeed
#8: Many think that Hellraiser is a cheesy choice, I don't blame them. But seeing someone literally be torn apart, a human regenerating from bone to muscle to skin is a feat in effects that I could only dream of achieving. The best part? Cenobites. Doug Bradley had to sit in the makeup chair for 6 hours to be transformed into Pinhead. That is true dedication, and he is now a part of horror history. I have no words for Chatterer except for, I love you.
#9: A silent stalker with a straight face and a big knife, who can't be killed? Original gore at it's best (and some boobs!)

Don't miss our October 28th's Grindhouse Ghoulies at The Revival Nightclub. Buy tickets here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2118700089

Behind The Garter Belt: Melody Mangler

2011-07-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

I met Melody Mangler years ago at the very first Vancouver Burlesque Fest and I was immediately taken by her fireball style and sexy yet comedic approach to performance. I wasnt't the only one noticing as The Burlesque Hall Of Fame awarded her "Best Debut" in 2009 for her breathtakingly beautiful Venus act. The 4th Annual Toronto Burlesque Festival is very excited in having her headline this year on the Saturday night Gala.

1. What is the importance of costuming to the burlesque performance.? Do you come up with the act or the costume first?

Costumes are an essential part of Burlesque. The costume can set the character and mood of a particular piece and can inspire fantasy and draw an audience into the world the performer creates. Costumes are a burlesquer’s dance partner. For me, I create numbers from many different start points but the costume is always one of the first elements.

2. When did you realize that your costumes had to be custom made and not off the rack?

I made the very first costume I ever danced in. I don’t think I ever danced in something that wasn’t either vintage, altered or made especially for the performance. I think it’s very important for every act to be unique and it can be challenging to do that with an off the rack outfit.

3.What inspirations do you draw from?

I draw inspirations from a lot of places - old musicals, John Waters films, classic Burlesque – generally anything really camp or really gaudy..

4. Do you get inspired from vintage burlesque photography, movies or performers?

Absolutely. I am just in love with panel skirts and soft bras right now. I also love all the wacky and strange costumes from the Ziegfeld girls.

5.What are your favourite costumes that you've made? What was the most challenging?

I love my serpentine cape that I debuted recently in Vegas, it is so fun to go “swish”! One of my most challenging was a Victorian dress with giant side bustles for a vampire number. The bustles were constructed so that I could hide girls in them. The girls would creep along with the dress and emerge part way though the number.

6. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while
making something?

I can’t say that anything particularly funny has happened while making costumes, but I have gotten into a lot odd and sometime ridiculous conversations while sewing on film sets.

7. What materials do you get the most excited about working with?

Tulle!! And stretch sequin fabric.

8. Explain the importance of closures and fastenings on costumes for the burlesque artist?

I find that the closure you use will set a tempo for your dance. If you want to glide, use a long zipper. If you want to bang your head, use snap tape..

9..What was your most bizarre costume?
I made a 30ft penis and balls that got puppeteer like a Chinese dragon. We went through the whole crowd and then ejaculated seven dance ribbon sperm girls.

10.What tips can you offer those who aren't crafty?

Don’t be scared to try. I didn’t know anything when I started but with help from my husband and others I have been able to figure out a lot. If you don’t have the time commission a local burlesque dancer or designer to make your costumes, or even just hire them to help you. They’ll appreciate the work!

11. If you had an unlimited budget what would you make? The sky's the limit!

A huge ballroom gown that when uncovered and flipped inside out would turn into a giant chandelier that would attached to the ceiling and I could swing inside of. That has been my dream for years!

12.There's a recent insider controversy about how many Swarovskis one can put on a costume.

I say the skies the limit but no matter how many crystals you use, it’s still you up on that stage that has to have an act to go with them.

13.What batteries fuel an outfit? (eg. Charisma, smile, non tangible thing)

I feel making the outfit dance with you. Really using your costumes potential and finding interesting and surprising ways of taking things off. I’m a big fan of making my costumes so that they turn into surprising things.

14. Where can we learn to make our own costumes- what workshops do you offer?

I offer ‘Craft Time with Melody Mangler’ on occasion when I have the time. I go over fun things like , making mini top hats, tulle boas, feather curling and shaping, making your own applique's and many other fun projects that will help spruce up your wardrobe.

Any other info I should include?
I will be bringing booty shorts and my hand stitched pasties to the Toronto Burlesque Festival, and I am taking custom orders if anybody wants anything made specially for them.

Behind The Garter Belt: Fionna Flauntit

2011-01-06T13:49:00.001-08:00

Fionna Flauntit is an all around Action Girl, she's a member of Great Canadian Burlesque, a tireless gogo dancer for The VonDrats and a hostess extrodinaire. You can see her on "Come Dine With Me". You can catch her next w/ Burlesque Legend April March and New York's Amber Ray at Girlesque 6- Great Canadian Burlesque Showcase , Jan.27th at Revival Night Club. Click here for details: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages#!/event.php?eid=160226654006352

1. What is the importance of costuming to the burlesque performance.?
I think costuming is an essential part of any burlesque performance. This is what distinguishes you apart from not only the performance itself but other performers.

2.Do you come up with the act or the costume first?
It really depends; sometimes I think of an interesting concept for a costume and wonder “what act can I build around this idea?” Other times, you may here a certain song that speaks to you and the act writes itself. For my birthday I received a painting of Tretchikoff’s ‘The Chinese Girl’ and the next thing I knew I was hell bent on creating a tribute act! More recently I saw these Santa Claus “heads” that you hang from a door knob, they had these 3’ long white, tinsel beards, and I thought to myself “what can I use those beards for?” I ended up cutting the beards away from the heads and using them as a “grass hula skirt” for my “Tiki Christmas Island” act.

3. When did you realize that your costumes had to be custom made and not off the rack?
I think I realized that your costumes had to be custom made within the first few performances I did. Your audience pays good money to see you perform; therefore you should continuously be raising the standards. You’re costumes shouldn't look like they can be purchased by anyone at the nearest costume shop, or worst still, the nearest Dollar Store. I’m not saying that everything must be custom made, but if you do buy off the rack, you must do some sort of tailoring to the garment (adding crystals, fringe, etc). If someone in the crowd can easily be wearing what you’re wearing on stage, then you’re not wearing a costume!

4.What inspirations do you draw from?
This list could be endless, so here’s a few…
-pin up photographs
-music
- vintage clothing & history

5. Do you get inspired from vintage burlesque photography, movies or performers?

All of the above.

6.What are your favourite costumes that you've made? What was the most challenging?
I love my mermaid costume and “Vintage Vegas” costume. For the mermaid costume I actually made a ‘foam rock’ pedestal that I sit on. At first it was a challenge how I was going to make a pedestal that would be able to support myself, be light weight, and most importantly not cost a fortune. I didn’t want to use wood because I worried it would be too cumbersome and expensive. Eventually I ended up using two milk crates staked and duct taped together for the base. By no means does this sound glamorous, but you don’t see the interior frame! I covered the base with foam and built 3 sections of staked ‘foam rocks’ that fasten to it with Velcro. This way the whole prop breaks down into 4 sections, easily carried in a suitcase, and I even have extra storage in one of the milk crates! My ‘Vintage Vegas’ costume is made up of layers and layers of gold beads, billowing satin and a fur stole. This costume is directly influenced by traditional burlesque costumes with a mix of Vegas showgirl. I added a contemporary twist by using sparkler in stead of tassels on my pasties.

7. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while
making something?
Well it was funny at the time, but after you read how harmful E6000 is when used incorrectly, it really isn’t funny. One word=ventilation! That’s all I’m saying.

8. What materials do you get the most excited about working with?
I love working with different fabrics, preferably vintage, I just find that vintage prints are like nothing else out there.

9. Explain the importance of closures and fastenings on costumes for the burlesque artist?
Ah, this is extremely important. You want to make your costume as easy to remove as possible, nothing is worse than struggling to free yourself and it looks bad too! Snap tape, Velcro, ribbons that you can un-tie in place of fasteners are a gals best friend.

10. What was your most bizarre costume? Discuss.
I think my most bizarre costume would have to be my ‘Demon on Vacation’ act. I’m painted solid teal from head to toe, wearing a neon scarlet wig with matching make-up and I have a prosthetic ‘third boob’ (complete with tasseled pastie) glued on my chest between my real boobs. (special thanks to Larissa from Blonde Moxie Makeup)

11.What tips can you offer those who aren't crafty?
Seek out other performers that make costumes, perhaps you’re a talented graphic artist, musician, etc and maybe you can trade your talent for costumes and/or alterations! Experiment, a lot of trimmings you can do yourself! Pick up a glue gun, rhinestones, fringe and some sequence and go to town! Find your comfort zone and go from there, with a little practice it’s amazing how far a few simple stitches will take you. You can source great sewing tutorials online as well.

12. If you had an unlimited budget what would you make? The sky's the limit!
I would love to re-create the set, dancers and feel of the 1930’s short film ‘The Devils Cabaret’.

13.There's a recent insider controversy about how many Swarovskis one can put on a costume.
I haven’t heard this controversy personally but I don’t think any performer would shy away from copious amounts of Swarovskis, however covering something in Swarovski’s doesn’t make it better, think of the saying “too much icing on the cake.”

14.What batteries fuel an outfit? (eg. Charisma, smile, non tangible thing)
I think the batteries that fuel an outfit are confidence, charisma, sex appeal and smile! Always let the audience know they’ve been appreciated.

*Photos may not be used without permission

Behind The Garter Belt: Immodesty Blaize

2010-12-06T17:40:00.000-08:00

I'm not alone when I say I've been dazzled by the sublime opulence that are the costumes of international showgirl, Immodesty Blaize. Throwing out my usual questions for Behind The Garter Belt, I was honoured to be privy to Immodesty's sketches for some of her signature show's costumes and you, too dear readers, will get a peak from the drawing board of one of the most talented Ladies of Tease

1. What is the importance of costuming to the burlesque performance.? Do you come up with the act or the costume first?
The costuming is so crucial to the act and theme, I think of them as a whole.

2. When did you realize that your costumes had to be custom made and not off the rack?
I would have made my own costume at first if it weren’t for the fact I’m so terrible with a needle and thread – I tried to master the sewing machine but we fought the whole time. That was why I had to find costumiers to work with so they could follow my designs!

3.What inspirations do you draw from?
Any kind of sculptural forms, paintings, high fashion, nature, architecture, fabrics, or whatever cultural reference point that inspired the act - anything, really. Having a general knowledge of historical and theatrical costuming is also useful to know what’s possible in terms of engineering.

4. Do you get inspired from vintage burlesque photography, movies or performers?

No, much like I can't read other books while I am writing my own, I don’t look at other burlesque performers or see other acts to research my pieces. I have no interest in being like another performer or taking or ‘borrowing’ anything from other performers. I stick to my own style which develops as my artistic interests and passions change, and my own range of primary source cultural reference points that are personal to me.

5.What are your favourite costumes that you've made? What was the most challenging?
I don’t really have a favourite, I only think about what’s next, not what I‘ve already done. The most challenging by far has been the costume I’ve just created, but I’m not spoiling the surprise before it debuts on stage so I can’t say too much about it other than I’ve been working on it for around 3 years and ripped up 2 of my designs along the way until it worked properly for the act! The red horse costume was pretty hardcore to produce, by the time you counted all the craftsmen working on it- pattern cutters, feather suppliers, jewelers, solderers, welders etc, it came to a team of around 35. I had 5 fittings for the headdress alone, and milliner Stephen Jones had to make 3 trips to his Parisian artisan just to get the angles of the inbuilt wireframe right to take the weight of a combined 20 foot drag of 32 ply ostrich feather. It’s also still the most challenging costume to move in!

6. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while making something?
I don’t sew the costumes! My stitching abilities wouldn’t be fit for a dog blanket. I can just about manage to sew myself into my dance tights if I have time before a show.

7. What materials do you get the most excited about working with?
I get most excited by the initial design phase as there’s a huge blank canvas waiting to be filled and anything’s possible. I come up with my script after listening to my music over and over, then figure out how I need the costume to work and come apart in order to create the vision in my head, and for the parts to work with the physical movements I want to do. Then I do pages and pages of drawings and keep referring back to the music and my script until they all meet.

8. Explain the importance of closures and fastenings on costumes for the burlesque artist?
Well they can make or break your act! It’s amazing how much faith we must place in these little catches, snaps and hooks. Everyone has personal preferences but whatever you decide on, fastenings have to be planned carefully and you have to work with them a lot before you debut the act so you’re comfortable making it look effortless. And I think all Velcro should be banned, it’s a dirty word.

9. What was your most bizarre costume? Discuss.
I suppose it’s about context. I don’t consider any of them to be bizarre as such, as my style tends to focus on classic glamour... although maybe wearing a giant powder puff on my head and one in each hand for the year I won Reigning Queen? Not sure it’s bizarre, but if I rocked up at Walmart like that you’d look twice. Or maybe my old Victorian pony girl ensemble as it was the most fetishistic I’ve ever gone, with the harness and tail - if that even counts as bizarre….

10.What tips can you offer those who aren't crafty?
Exactly the same as me, find good seamstresses or costumiers who can help you to bring your vision to life. Although I do frequently rhinestone my own pieces as I find it therapeutic and meditative.

11. If you had an unlimited budget what would you make? The sky's the limit!
I would dearly love to pay homage to Liberace’s last act which he would have performed had he lived on. He was having a cape made so vast that it was to be on wires, so once he was on stage it would be lifted at the corners and turn into the stage curtains. So his costume was basically the stage set! To create my interpretation of that would be my respectful homage to one of my dear showbiz muses.

12.There's a recent insider controversy about how many Swarovskis one can put on a costume. Discuss.
I don’t think a Swarovski makes a performance. They are wonderful and yes I have pieces that are top to toe rhinestone, but that doesn’t make the act. Not every single theme/style/historical reference in the world suits encrusting with rhinestones…. I guess not every recipe needs seasoning! There are some really rich and wonderful fabrics, textures and effects that are equally exquisite on stage too. So for me, density of Swarovski is a side issue.

13.What batteries fuel an outfit? (eg. Charisma, smile, non tangible thing)
In my opinion, you should wear the costume, it shouldn’t wear you. So I believe it’s best for your costume to simply add fuel to your personality, not the other way round. Plus it needs to work for you and not behave badly! So you must be a good Master, tame it, and have complete control over it!

14. What designers do you enjoy working with?
Anyone who can make my vision and drawings into reality.

Stuff your stocking with Immodesty's latest book "Ambition" http://www.amazon.ca/Ambition-Immodesty-Blaize/dp/0091930073/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291951559&sr=1-2

*All images property of Immodesty Blaize and may not be used without permission

Unpublished Interview w/ Sauci Calla Horra and Tanya Cheex ( Montreal Burlesque Festival)

2010-11-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

Skin Tight Outta Sight includes several performers and collaborators. What’s the process like for developing a show? Does a show evolve out of collective ideas?

Tanya: Usually I come up with the concepts although Sauci came up with Biblical Burlesque. Then we will pitch the idea to the troupe and see what ideas they can come up with in a brain storm fashion. We want to see if the troupe has existing acts that can fit into the theme and then work on developing the new ones. We usually workshop the new acts together. Even though we're a troupe per se, there's a lot of personal homework.

Sauci: Our process for developing shows has evolved over the years as well. When Skin Tight Outta Sight started performing burlesque in 1998, there was nothing else out there. We could have a generic theme and each performer could work on their own to develop a number. Tanya would sometimes choose music and help with costuming for each performer. At the very least, she made sure there was no overlapping music choice, gimmick or costume. Overall it was much simpler. No one in the audience really knew what burlesque was so it was our job to educate the audience with our interpretation, from what we had researched, looking at old film footage and pin-up magazines. We had to prove to the audience that this was interesting enough for them to want to return and see another show in the future, that burlesque was more than a passing fad. When the neo-burlesque movement started gaining momentum in 2003/2004 and there were more troupes and performers, Skin Tight Outta Sight shifted as well. We used troupe meetings to brainstorm our shows and outline our goals. We fine-tuned our themes so they stood out (we’re lucky that Tanya as Artistic Director is brilliant at capturing the zeitgeist of popular culture and also coming up with catchy titles and taglines!). We also started a workshop/rehearsal process for the shows, where we helped one another with the new acts and also started to develop group numbers.

2. Tanya Cheex, you founded the group in part to showcase fetish fashion. Are costuming and fashion still a large influence on your performances? What’s the relationship among the costume, the performer, the dancing?

Tanya: Absolutely! There is no striptease without the removal of a costume. The costume sets the stage for the fantasy so I believe it has to be tremendously over the top. You are creating unattainable desire. You want the audience to go "Ooooh, I want THAT!" not “I have that at home in my underwear drawer.” Other than the corsets, we make the majority of our costumes. Nothing off the racks can express what's in my imagination!

That being said, you do have to remove your costume in a seductive and artful manner. The way it comes undone all factors greatly in your musicality and choreography. The hit of a drum or the snarl of a sax indicates when that glove hits the floor. I'm always influenced by old Hollywood but lately I've been finding inspiration in my dreams or nightmares!

3. Skin Tight Outta Sight is billed as ‘Rebel Burlesque’ and the troupe has long been involved in community and challenging common conceptions about gender, body image, and diversity. Has burlesque’s increasing popularity in the mainstream helped or hindered your rebel aims?

Tanya: It has always been my aim to convince the audience that I may not have been their "type" when they got there but leave them dreaming of you when they leave the show that night! I think that's any performer's job!

The Rebel part comes from our punk rock background. We like to mix the traditional with revisionist. Kinda like a rhinestoned glove punch to the face! I'm not caught up really in body size stuff. I just believe in no one standard of beauty. You know you get bookers who say I want the skinny one or whatever. Really you just want a fabulous show guys! The media right now is having a love affair with curves, tomorrow the waif, who cares? We all remember ladies like Marilyn Monroe, flesh is sexy and sometimes scary, you can't get around it.

Sauci: One of our mentors, Kitten de Ville has this great quote where she says that burlesque is the equivalent of a punk rock band but for girls. When we look at burlesque in a cultural context, part of its power has been its ability to challenge those mainstream conceptions of what is beautiful and offer an alternative that’s more real and ultimately, for many, much more sexy. Skin Tight Outta Sight’s role in the community has been two-fold: 1) as trailblazers of the neo-burlesque movement in North America, we have done our best to help build a community of burlesque performers where we respect one another, work together and provide opportunities for both new and established performers, and 2), we see burlesque as part of the larger community and as such, are involved with such causes as the arts, women’s health, sexual health, anti-oppression and the fight for human rights. We’ve performed, raised funds and been interviewed on these issues, most notably for Boobalicious for The Weekend to End Breast Cancer, Casey House, The AIDS Committee of Toronto, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, and SPOC (Sex Professionals of Canada).

In my opinion, burlesque’s growing popularity has not had much impact on our rebel aims per se. if anything, I’ve noticed more acceptance among the mainstream of what was previously seen as “alternative.” Rarely do we get a request for a slim non-tattooed lady now, whereas in the past, this was quite commonplace with our corporate and private party clients. There is more competition though as more people are doing burlesque. This is the biggest challenge facing our community now. How does our community stay true to our principles of sisterhood, inclusion and respect? A related challenge is ensuring we maintain our attendance rates at shows given that there are more shows to choose from. At one time, we all knew each other and the shows were spaced far enough apart, so it was fairly easy. Now burlesque is growing so much, we end up with situations where we can’t keep up with all the new people performing and producing shows, and we sometimes have multiple shows over a week or even on the same night because there’s no easy way to communicate with one another. There are no simple answers to this but I’m hopeful our community, “old-timers” and newbies alike, can work through this.

4. How important are STOS’s workshops in the scheme of what you want to accomplish in your communities? How does teaching compare to performance in terms of connecting with community and affecting change?

Sauci: This depends on who you’re teaching. When we’re hired to do a bachelorette party, often the girls just want to have fun and they’re aren’t concerned about the political message of burlesque. Regardless, I may say something about body image and how doing burlesque can empower women to feel more comfortable in their own skin. I don’t make a big deal out of it but I do want to make sure the participants feel comfortable enough to experiment and “shake it!” Every once in a while, this message really resonates with one or a few women in the group. This is when we get lovely positive feedback such as “the workshop helped me feel more confident about my body, sexuality, etc.” and every once in a while, you get a participant who decides they want to take the next step and perform for an audience.

STOS tends to specialize in more advanced workshops for performers. Classes include “The Shameless Art of Self-Promotion” where we help performers fine tune their promotional tools and also discuss etiquette and ethics involved with this; “Puttin’ On The Glitz: The A to Z of Burlesque Show Production” and our class on “Burlesque Glamour Through The Ages” (we did this workshop in 2009 for the Montreal Burlesque Festival). For The Toronto Burlesque Festival, we work with Coco Framboise to develop the curriculum for our “Burlesque University,” where beginners and experienced performers alike can learn from the stars – we feature a Dance School Stream, Theatre School Stream, Glamour School plus Business classes. It’s when we teach aspiring performers and those who are all ready performing, that we have the biggest chance to affect change and create community. Through sharing knowledge, networking and building relationships in class, there is tremendous opportunity for the community to grow and for us to be inspired by one another.

5. You’re involved in the organization of Toronto’s burlesque festival – what have you learned from working on Toronto’s festival and how do you think both Montreal and Toronto’s festivals reflect their respective burlesque communities?

Sauci: Skin Tight Outta Sight is the spearheading troupe behind Toronto’s burlesque festival and I am the Executive Producer. I first had the idea to produce a Toronto Festival in 2003, after attending and performing in the first New York Burlesque Festival. It took five years of building the community locally, developing relationships with international performers, tons of networking and fine-tuning our show production skills, before we felt ready to take the plunge! I have learned so much from working on the Toronto Festival, I don’t even know where to begin. If I had to narrow it down to three main points, I would say: 1) Be aware of your goals for the Festival and stay true to them; allow them to direct your decision-making, 2) Know that you will make mistakes. Admit it when you do and always learn from them, and 3) Always treat all your performers and staff/volunteers with fairness, respect and dignity – you can’t have a Festival without them! Of course, this short list changes depending on what seems most important to me in the moment! I could say a lot about budget and timeframes too, mainly always to budget extra as there will be unexpected costs, and always give yourself more time than you need, LOL!

For the Toronto Festival, we have worked very hard to ensure that the diversity of our troupes and performers are reflected well in the performance schedule. We try to put any politics or personal issues aside and treat everyone fairly and equally. We look for a mixture of established and new performers, group acts and solos, plus we always leave room for variety numbers to break up the “titty parade.” Toronto has a great boylesque community, lots of troupes who do group numbers, plus a good mix of classic and neo-burlesque styles. We are blessed in that we are able to draw from such a strong community when selecting performances for the Festival. One of the goals of our Festival is to showcase Toronto talent to our international guest stars and audience. So far, this has seemed successful as we have received good feedback on the diversity and talent in Toronto’s scene. I don’t really feel I can comment on Montreal’s community since I am not a part of it, except to say I have felt welcomed by it (Skin Tight Outta Sight and I have had made quite a few guest appearances over the years!), and I am always excited to see Montreal performers take to the stage. The burlesque community in Montreal seems a little younger than Toronto’s, so it would be my hope that the Montreal Festival will create opportunity for their local artists, more interest in general in the burlesque scene, and last but not least, a hotbed of inspiration for all the performers involved!

Photo by Frank Fiumara

Behind The Garter Belt: Scarlett James

2010-07-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

Scarlett James, the Countess of Burlesque is the founder and executive producer of The Montreal Burlesque Festival Sept.23rd to 25th Coming up you can also view her in all her splendour's glory July 23rd for the Toronto Burlesque Festival.

What is the importance of costuming to the burlesque performance.? Do you come up with the act or the costume first?
For me, the costume is essential to the performance, it has to be well thought and has a bit of history in it, it is important that the pieces you remove are all like pieces of art and must be treated as if.
Sometime the act comes from an idea about the costume, or a piece of music, sometime from a dream. It is never the same

When did you realize that your costumes had to be custom made and not off the rack?
From the day I saw burlesque for the 1st time! and I like to be very creative so it is definitely an opportunity for me to express my creativity

What inspirations do you draw from?
I get inspired by fairy tales and fashion, silver screen sirens.

Do you get inspired from vintage burlesque photography, movies or performers?
Yes absolutely! but I don't want to copy I just want to understand the historical bits of the costume and create something new from there.

What are your favourite costumes that you've made? What was the most challenging?
Hmmm, hard to say. My champagne glass number was quite something as the lace had to be sewn bits by bits and cutting an 18 ply boa just for the seam of the dress torn my heart! The most challenging was the Exotic Bird number, the tail, but it was just a lot of work to achieve the whole!

What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while making something?
having my big cat running away with my feathers and having to run after him in the house to get them back?

What materials do you get the most excited about working with?

Swarovski crystals, feathers, silks and all precious material really

Explain the importance of closures and fastenings on costumes for the burlesque artist?
it is simple, they have to be strong yet flexible, should never come undone by themselves yet easy to unfasten

What was your most bizarre costume?

I don't think I have a bizarre costume... I think I made a cape once but by the look of my husband I realize it was not a good idea! You know the look, right? One eyebrow up and the other frowned?

What tips can you offer those who aren't crafty?
Find a good seamstress and go threw a few drawings and sketches before you give the green light, and lots of fittings!

If you had an unlimited budget what would you make? The sky's the limit!
Oh my goodness! Unlimited budget would mean that Cirque du Soleil costumiers would go hide in shame! But since I intend to get there someday, I cannot give you my precious little ideas, sorry!

There's a recent insider controversy about how many Swarovskis one can put on a costume.
Their is NEVER enough crystals on a costume BUT! you have to be creative in the design. You cannot just put thousands of Crystal next to each other without any thoughts to it, anyone can do that, that is not impressive.

What batteries fuel an outfit? (eg. Charisma, smile, non tangible thing)
Yes Charisma, smile, but above all generosity. You are on that stage because of the public. So you have to be generous of yourself and even though on that stage at that moment and only for a couple of minutes you are the most dazzling thing they have ever seen, you also have to remain humble.

What designers do you enjoy working with?
So far I have done all of my costume myself so I didn't have the opportunity to enjoy a designer point of view. I would like to try that sometime, It should be fun!

Behind The Garter Belt: Jo "Boobs" Weldon

2010-07-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

Jo "Boobs" Weldon is the head mistress of The New York School of Burlesque and "Queen Bee mentor to the nearly naked." Jo will be appearing at The Toronto Burlesque Festival, July 21st-25th .

What is the importance of costuming to the burlesque performance.? Do you come up with the act or the costume first?
It depends. With characters I usually come up with the act first, but with classic numbers it's often a costume idea that originates the number.

When did you realize that your costumes had to be custom made and not off the rack?
I made costumes for feature dancers in the 1990s, and when I was a feature dancer I made my own. We weren't allowed to wear things that came off the rack. so I've always known.

What inspirations do you draw from?
Lounge and heavy metal music, cartoons, and political agendas.

Do you get inspired from vintage burlesque photography or performers?
Absolutely! The white costume for my Honey Harlow Tribute is based on the clip from the film Lenny. My Sherry Britton tribute number was made with her consulting on the design and Garo Sparo working out the details. But I like to see classic bits in even the most neo-numbers. It connects us to our filthy-minded forebears and the history we are fortunate to repeat.

What are your favorite costumes that you've made? What was the most challenging?
Godzilla, by far. Making the tail was the best part. I was working on it while I was bartending at a place called Bellevue in Hell's Kitchen, and one day a guy named Troy came in and gave me a mask he'd made for the owner. I started talking to him and it turned out he was involved in major costuming. We ended up designing the tail surrounded by the heads of the rats from the Nutcracker and the actual wings from Victoria's Secret fashion shows. Always accept help when it's offered!

What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while making something?
Making Bambi's lobster costume, I laughed continuously.

What materials do you get the most excited about working with?
Weird fabrics and beaded fringe.

Explain the importance of closures and fastenings on costumes for the burlesque artist?
It has to work. It has to be fun for the audience to watch you undo it. And you have to rehearse it, and you have to check every time before you go on to make sure all your fasteners are in good working order.

What tips can you offer those who aren't crafty? What one Jo Boobs secret can you divulge?
Always carry a sewing kit, repairing costumes is part of the gig.

If you had an unlimited budget what would you make? The sky's the limit!
Something like Mistinguette

What batteries fuel an outfit? Charisma? Smile?
Sometimes batteries -- but understanding that costuming IS choreography is a plus.

Where can we learn to make our own costumes?
You can learn from my handbook which is coming out this year!
*It's out now! Order here: http://www.amazon.com/Burlesque-Handbook-Jo-Weldon/dp/006178219X

*THis article originally appeared in Candy Pitch

Behind The Garter Belt: Amber Ray

2010-06-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

Amber Ray hooked me when I first caught her dazzling Goldfish act back in 2005 at the last Mojave Desert Miss Exotic World pageant. She is also well-known for her original and glamorous custom-made costumes. She won The Golden Pastie Award for "Best Dressed" at the New York Burlesque and those who have had the privilege of seeing her light up a stage know it was well deserved. I took some time to ask New York's high priestess of costuming a few questions:

What is the importance of costuming to the burlesque performance? Do you come up with the act or the costume first?

Costuming in any stage performance is the visual key. It's very important, in my opinion, to create an immediately dazzling relationship with the audience. There is so much power in what we wear. The colors and shapes, when layered properly, can really affect someone's first impression of your performance and set the tone for their excitement. It can hypnotize.

My inspiration comes from all places. It could be a color, a song, a piece of an outfit, a picture. Mostly the idea for the act or character comes first but sometimes I get a piece of a costume or a vision of a costume and start creating an outfit. If the costume inspiration is coming first, it's going to be a classic strip with no real theme.

When did you realize that your costumes had to be custom made and not off the rack?

Immediately. I made my Peacock costume first. I wanted to have a major hand in the creation of the whole number.

Where inspirations do you draw from?

It could be anything. A color, a character, a prop. I try not to limit myself and just let my imagination run wild.

Do you get inspired by vintage burlesque photography or performers?

Most definitely. My first idea of a strip club was from retro pictures of women in fishnets, rhinestones, furs, gowns, and fiercely feminine poses.

What are your favorite costumes that you've made? What was the most challenging?

I love my Peacock, my White fluffy outfit. Nothing was terribly challenging. I find some of the things I have to do for others the most challenging. For example taking a beaded and sequined dress and having to revamp it into a new dress or several pieces of a costume can break many sewing machine needles. In general I do love a challenge. It's rewarding to figure out how to make something complicated and succeed.

What materials do you get the most excited about working with?

Trims! Making the structure is never as fun as decorating it! Swarovski crystals especially.

Explain the importance of closures and fastenings on costumes for the burlesque artist?

I think having those details in order is really important because you don't want to struggle on stage. It will hurt your performance. There is a wide variety of them. Hook and eye, snaps, velcro ect. Use them and use them in abundance.

You do custom work for others. What was your most bizarre request?

Nothing too bizarre yet but I did just finish a couple pair of Swarovski encrusted deer antler helmets for a theater show. It was really interesting to figure out how to make them. Sometimes I really surprise myself.

What tips can you offer those who aren't crafty? What one Amber Ray secret can you divulge?

I would say find a group of people or friends to get together for a stitch and bitch. There is nothing more rewarding than getting together with your friends and getting creative. Everyone can share their tricks and it makes for a super fun social and artistic adventure. Everyone has something to share and learn. Also pooling your resources is fun. Everyone should bring extra stuff, or leftovers from previous projects to share. Ask each other's advice and don't be afraid to offer constructive criticism.

I wouldn't say I have too many secrets. Some of my structuring ideas I prefer to share only with people I want to hand my knowledge to as a friend or mentor.

If you had an unlimited budget what would you make?

I'm afraid to say! I have some big ideas but I don't want them taken by other people. It's hard enough to be original with such a huge community of creative people. If I had the money I think I might be interested in opening my own cabaret club and decorating the place. It would be so awesome to have a safe haven for all my creative little honeys.

Where can we contact you for custom work and accessories?

I have an etsy store that I try to keep updated but unfortunately I'm too busy to keep it current. I need an intern!!!

You can always email me -- femmechatte@yahoo.com-- if you have special ideas for a custom order you want to have made.

If you would like to review my personal or custom work please visit my Myspace photo albums.
* Note this article was originally published in The Candy Pitch

Behind The Garter Belt: Anna Fur Laxis

2010-06-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

Anna Fur Laxis blew me away with her clever Bettie Page tribute at The Windy City Burlesque Festival last April. With the amazing transitions from Bad Bettie to Good Bettie, I thought she was just the dame to interview for my costume column. You can check out her amazing act here:

1. What is the importance of costuming to the burlesque performance? Do you come up with the act or the costume first?

The costume is central to my performances, completely fundamental. I probably spend more time than is healthy on getting everything exactly how I want it!

The act comes first, in the past I've had what I thought was a killer outfit and tried to build an act around it, but I've found that this tends to lead me into a dead end and ultimately limits what the act can be. Nowadays I'll usually have a pretty clear idea of the full act then design the costume around it. That allows me to be much more creative with the design of individual pieces and really have fun with how they'll be removed.

2. When did you realize that your costumes had to be custom made and not off the rack?

Right from the start really. The first routine I put together initially used an off the shelf dress and I wanted a more visually interesting way of removing it, and I'd been sewing and dressmaking for many years so the idea of altering items wasn't too intimidating. I put a zip in where there was none and I realised if it unzipped in reverse it would look different and help me remove it, things have just grown from there. I love watching performers who seem to effortlessly disrobe, where their movements don't give anything away and you're left wondering how they did it. I strive for that and custom items definitely help.

3.What inspirations do you draw from?

Anything visually arresting really, I don't have a signature style that I stick to so I can borrow elements from lots of sources depending on the theme of the act. Variously, inspiration has come from the worlds of burlesque, showgirls, cinema, pin up, fetish fashion, magic theatre, carnival....anywhere that's interesting, fabulous and glamorous!

4. Do you get inspired from vintage burlesque photography, movies or performers?

There's an incredibly rich heritage to this industry and the many books and internet sites cataloguing the legends are invaluable references and sources of inspiration.

5.What are your favourite costumes that you've made? What was the most challenging?

The good girl/bad girl Bettie Page outfit is my current fave. I wasn't sure it would be possible to do it properly, but once the idea had taken root I knew I'd just have to do whatever it took to realise what i could see in my mind. I really enjoyed the process of designing and making it and now it's so much fun to perform, I love how everything comes off.

My most challenging was my goldfish dress, an orange sequinned number. Again, it was the product of a challenging blueprint that my sadistic imagination unleashed on me one time, possibly after one too many cups of tea. It was my first experience with a heavily sequinned fabric and I realise now that I hadn't adequately prepared. It required so much more work to do every little stage and there was less enjoyment and more frustration as the process went on, and we were knee deep in sequins for months! Having said that, I love the costume now, but it was a painful process.

6. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while
making something?

Sequins seem to end up everywhere somehow, even in bed. My husband went to work with one stuck to his face, I found that funny at the time!

7.What materials do you get the most excited about working with?

Shiny ones, shiny sparkly ones, shiny sparkly ones with dangling things, the usual.

8. Explain the importance of closures and fastenings on costumes for the burlesque artist?

Closures and fastening are very important, the whole act of seamless clothing removal can stand or fall on the type of fastenings you use. There's a lot of stuff to experiment with and you need to find out what's out there to be able to use it, but it's great fun, for me it's arguably the most fun. I love the creative challenge of tailoring the garment to the act and using different hardware allows you to make your routine unique in a way few other things can.

9. What was your most bizarre costume? Discuss.

That would probably be the coalmining ponygirl costume. The show's theme was based on the cultures of Northern England, an area steeped in a history of coal mining, so I became a pit-ponygirl, it was quite surreal, I had full latex ponygirl outfit with hooves, bridle and a plume headdress, but also a hard hat, and pickaxe, and a canary in a cage. It was a moving piece dealing with the themes of alienation and impotence that gripped the communities in The North in the 1980's, when the coal industry collapsed in the economic upheavals that plagued Britain at the time, then I took my clothes off, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

10.What tips can you offer those who aren't crafty?

Give it a try, start small by embellishing a bra or knickers, it doesn't have to be a huge project. Try to imagine what will look good onstage under the lights and experiment with textures and colours. Don't be put off if it doesn't go to plan, a certain pair of knickers took me four attempts to get exactly how I wanted, with much colourful language on each walk back to the drawing board, but there's a huge sense of achievement in creating the smallest unique costume part, just give it a try.

11. If you had an unlimited budget what would you make? The sky's the limit!

Oooh clever! I'm not giving out any clues! I've got a few ideas for pretty over-the-top routines which would probably take lottery wins to bankroll but you never know what life's going to bring you, they may see the light of day sometime, I'd like it to be me who unveils them!

12.There's a recent insider controversy about how many Swarovskis one can put on a costume.

I haven't heard about this controversy! It can't have reached these shores yet, do tell! Swarovskis are lovely though aren't they? Seriously, I mean look at them, sooo sparkly. Mmmmmm... From that point of view I can see how for some people more equals better, ultimately they can't disguise an uninspiring act though, no amount of them.

13.What batteries fuel an outfit? (eg. Charisma, smile, non tangible thing)

A performer needs to totally own the outfit, they need to look completely in control of procedings. Most costumes will malfunction in some way at some point, the key is to practice and familiarise yourself with an outfit so that you can deal with it, so the audience would never know, or at least go with it. The fuel is that absolute confidence in your ability to perform the routine in that outfit, everything else that the routine contains, the charisma, humour, charm, sass or heat, is a product of that confidence.

14. What designers do you enjoy working with?

The only designer I have used regularly is Booby Trap Corsets, they've made some awesome corsets for my routines and I just know that when I need something spectacular they'll do me proud. Other than the corsetry though, I don't tend to collaborate much for my costumes. My requirements are often autistically specific and I've found it difficult to get across to a designer exactly how a piece needs to work. Often there's a lot of tweaking and modifying (and starting from scratch) required so it's much quicker and practical to be able to make those changes myself.

http://www.annafurlaxis.com/

SATAN'S ANGEL- The Devil's Own Mistress

2010-05-24T18:38:00.001-07:00

When I saw Satan's Angel perform her fire tassels routine out in the Mojave Desert heat in 2005's Miss Exotic World pageant, I was speechless. This woman was Tina Turner and Mick Jagger rolled up into one fiery package. She is the rock n' roll of burlesque! I've been fortunate to have this outstanding woman as a mentor in my own fire tassels act and Toronto will get to see her in action this July for The Toronto Burlesque Festival.

Note: The capitals are the way Satan's Angel always types so I've retained that.
1. How did you end up in burlesque?

I HAD JUST GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND WAS GETTING READY TO GO TO COLLEGE. I HAD GOT MYSELF A JOB AS A PBX OPERATOR, MAKING $99.OO EVERY TWO WEEKS. ONE FRIDAY, SOME OF THE OTHER LADIES THAT WORKED THERE CAME INTO THE LUNCH ROOM AND ASKED ME IF I WANTED TO GO OUT WITH THEM THAT NIGHT. THEY HEARD THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE AN AMATEUR STRIP CONTEST. FIRST PRIZE A HUNDRED DOLLARS! AND THE FIRST AMATEUR STRIP CONTEST TO EVER HAPPEN IN NORTH BEACH IN SAN FRANCISCO, CA. TOPLESS HAD NOT HAPPENED YET!

SO I WENT HOME, RATTED MY HAIR UP INTO A HUGE BEEHIVE HAIRDO, CLEOPATRA EYE MAKEUP, STALE PACK OF CIGARETTES, FAKE ID’S, AND MY MOTHER'S OLD COCKTAIL DRESS. WE ALL SAUNTERED IN THE NIGHT CLUB LIKE WE WERE ALL OVER 21....SOON AFTER WE ALL ARRIVED AND SEVERAL SLOE GIN FIZZES LATER, THE AMATEUR STRIP CONTEST STARTED. THE MC GOT UP ON THE STAGE AND YELLED FOR THE LADIES IN THE AUDIENCE TO COME ON UP TO THE STAGE , ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS TAKE OFF YOUR DRESS! NOW REMEMBER, PANTYHOSE HADN'T EVEN BEEN INVENTED YET. SO AFTER 5-6 GIRLS GOT UP AND DANCED, THE MC WALKED BEHIND EACH GIRL AND HELD HIS HAND OVER THEIR HEADS. THE ONE WITH THE MOST APPLAUSE WON THE HUNDRED DOLLARS. I THOUGHT THIS IS THE KIND OF THINGS THEY SHOULD HAVE TAUGHT US AT CAREER DAY IN HIGH SCHOOL! NOW THIS I COULD DO! HELL, I WAS BETTER BUILT AND BETTER LOOKING. SO WHEN I GOT HOME LATER THAT NIGHT, I TOOK MY SEXIEST DRESS OUT OF THE CLOSET AND PUT IT ON AND PRACTICED TAKING IT OFF! THE VERY NEXT NIGHT I WENT BACK TO THAT NIGHT CLUB, GOT INTO THE CONTEST, AND I WON! I'VE BEEN WINNING EVERY SINCE. THAT WAS IN THE WINTER OF 1961....

2. Tell me the origins of your name?

I HAD GRADUATED FROM CHARM SCHOOL AND ONE OF THE MANY THINGS I LEARNED WAS DANCE, AND MODELING. SO WITH THE TAP, BALLET, IMPROV., JAZZ AND FENCING. I DID SOME MODELING FOR COLLEGES IN THEIR ART CLASSES, RETAIL STORES, TELEVISION FOR TOP NAME BRANDS OF HAND LOTIONS (THEY SAID I HAD BEAUTIFUL HANDS). BUT *ANGEL* WAS A NAME THAT WAS MISSING SOMETHING. SO WHEN I BEGAN TO DANCE, THEY CALLED ME *THE TASSLIN TOSSIN TEMPTRESS*, I DIDN'T LIKE THAT. THEN IT WAS *ANGEL THE BODY*, I DIDN'T LIKE THAT EITHER. SO THEY (AGENTS, PROMO PEOPLE) THOUGHT MAYBE I'D LIKE SOMETHING MORE CLASSY SOUNDING, LIKE *ANGEL DAHL* (DOLL), IT WAS OKAY....BUT I WAS A HIPPY, A SINGER, A DANCER, A MUSICIAN. I WAS A WILD CHILD! I WANTED TO PARTY PARTY PARTY AND RIDE MY MOTORCYCLE. SO I THOUGHT HOW ABOUT *HELL'S ANGEL*?? MY PR PEOPLE AND AGENT WENT NUTS! NO WAY CAN YOU USE YOUR NAME WITH HELL IN IT. NO NEWSPAPER, MAGS, RADIO, TV, NO NOTHING! YOU COULDN'T USE A SWEAR WORD, AND HELL WAS. SOOOoooo WE SAT DOWN AND THOUGHT AND THOUGHT AND CAME UP WITH *SATANS ANGEL* THE DEVIL'S OWN MISTRESS.....AND WHEN I DID FIRE TASSELS, YOU ADDED ON QUEEN OF THE FIRE TASSELS. ALL OF US HAD A HANDLE. LIKE MISTY CHAMPAGNE, THE TOAST OF EUROPE, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. LOL

3. Where did you perform? The Good? The Bad?

HOLY MACKEREL, I CAN'T NAME ALL THE PLACES! LET'S SEE… IN AMERICA I WORKED EVERY STATE IN THE USA EXCEPT FOR FIVE. IN CANADA I WORKED ALL THE MAIN PROVINCES IN CANADA EXCEPT FOR NUNAVUT. I ALSO WORKED ALASKA, NORTHWEST TER., YUKON, NEWFOUNDLAND, NOVA SCOTIA AND GREENLAND. I'VE WORKED MEXICO CITY AND ACAPULCO.

I WORKED HAWAII, GUAM THE PHILIPPINES, JAPAN, CHINA AND KOREA.

IN EUROPE I WORKED THE NETHERLANDS, SWITZERLAND, GERMANY, FRANCE, ITALY, SPAIN AND YUGOSLAVIA.

SOUTH AMERICA I WORKED RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL. WHEW!!!

4. Did you perform for any celebrities?

IN OUR DAY, THERE WERE ALWAYS BIG NAMED STARS IN THE AUDIENCE. FOR US IT WAS NO BIG DEAL, BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE PERFORMING OR WORKING ON A PICTURE. LIKE CLINT EASTWOOD. SAN FRANCISCO WAS THE TOWN THAT PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD LOVED TO COME UP AND VISIT.

5. How did the fire tassels come about?

WHEN I FINALLY REALIZED I WAS MOVING PAST THE TWO TASSEL STAGE AND WANTED TO TWIRL 5 OF THEM, THE FIFTH ONE ON MY NAVEL. I WENT TO WORK AT THE MOULIN ROUGE IN SAN FRANCISCO. AS I WENT BACK INTO THE DRESSING ROOM, I WAS PROBABLY 18-19 YEARS OLD BY THEN. I SEE THIS *OLD* STRIPPER SITTING IN THE CORNER OF THE ROOM, DRINKING SOMETHING ON THE ROCKS AND CHAIN SMOKING. I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, MAN THAT WOMAN NEEDS TO RETIRE. OMG HOW OLD CAN SHE BE? SHE WAS 35 YEARS OLD!!! LMAOOOOOOO AND I'M 65 AND DOING THIS! I WISH MY WAIST WAS 35 LOL.

ANYWAY SHE ASKED WHAT I DID FOR AN ACT? I TOLD HER I WAS A TASSEL TWIRLER. SHE SAID "OH BROTHER, NOT ANOTHER ONE!” I SAID “HEY! I TWIRL FIVE OF THESE PUPPIES.” SHE SAID “WELL IT'S NOT BAD. BUT WHY WOULD YOU COME INTO A BUSINESS THAT'S DYING? YOU REALLY NEED A GIMMICK!” AND SHE RATTLED ON. I JUST GOT TO THE POINT THAT I YELLED AT HER, SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF, “FINE FINE I'LL GET A GIMMICK, GEEZ YA THINK YOU'D WANT ME TO SET FIRE TO THE DAMNED THINGS.” AND SHE JUMPED OUTTA HER CHAIR AND YELLED ****BINGO**** NOW THAT'S A GIMMICK! SO I WENT TO BEBE HUGHES, MY COSTUMER, AND SAID WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SOME FIRE TASSELS. SO WE SAT IN HER LIVING ROOM TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT, WHICH WE DID… AND I'VE BEEN TWIRLING THEM EVER SINCE.

6. What was your favorite costume?

MY SOLID RHINESTONE GOWN AND MATCHING UNDERTHINGS. IT WEIGHED OVER 30 LBS. MY SECOND WAS MY BLACK LACED GOWN AND THE BLACK FOX FUR. YOU SEE MANY PICTURES OF ME IN THIS COSTUME.

7. Tell me a story that'll blow my mind? Any good backstage catfights? Or better?

WHEN YOU ARE A FEATURED DANCER, YOU ARE NOT IN THE SAME HUGE DRESSING ROOMS AS THE OTHER GIRLS. VERY FEW TIMES I WAS IN THE MAIN DRESSING ROOM. AND WHEN I WAS, IF TWO DANCERS DIDN'T GET ALONG, IT WAS QUIETED VERY FAST. AS USUALLY ONE WAS TOUGHER THAN THE OTHER, AND THE MEEKER OF THE TWO DIDN'T WANT THEIR ASS KICKED. OR MAYBE SHE JUST HAD MORE CLASS......WHO KNOWS! THE STORIES I HEARD ABOUT WAS USUALLY THE TIMES BEFORE OUR GENERATION, LIKE ITCHING POWDER IN THEIR G-STRINGS, GLASS IN THEIR FACE POWDER, BUT I NEVER SAW THAT.

AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES WAS WHEN I FLEW FROM CANADA TO WARM UP A LIL IN MIAMI BEACH FLORIDA. I WAS A COUPLE OF DAYS EARLY, CHECKED INTO THE FONTAINBLEAU HOTEL. I WAS TO WORK AT THE PALACE PICQUAL (OR HOW EVER YA SPELLED IT, TOO LONG AGO TO REMEMBER). I SAW THE SHOW, WENT BACK TO THE HOTEL, AND AS I WAS GETTING READY TO GO TO THE ELEVATOR, I HEARD THIS JAZZ TRIO PLAYING IN THE LOUNGE. SO I DECIDED A NIGHT CAP WILL DO BEFORE GOING TO BED, AS IT WAS LATE. THERE WAS ONLY ONE PERSON IN THE LOUNGE, KIND OF A HIPPY LOOKIN DUDE. SO I SAID TO THE BARTENDER, SEND HIM DOWN A DRINK AND ASK HIM IF HE'D LIKE TO JOIN ME. THERE WAS NO ONE IN THE PLACE, AND I WAS IN THE MOOD TO TALK. SO THE MAN JOINED ME....THE NEXT MORNING WHEN *WE* WOKE UP. WE WERE HAVING BREAKFAST ON THE BALCONY WHEN I SAID TO HIM, “SO, YOU SAY YOU’RE FROM BOSTON.” HE SAID, “NOOOOO ANGEL, I’M THE DRUMMER FOR THE BAND *BOSTON*.” HUMMING AS I TYPE THIS.....MORE THEN A FEELING.

8. What part did being a lesbian play in your occupation, if at all?

IT DIDN'T DO A DAM THING FOR ME. I WAS VERY OPEN, AND LOST MANY A JOB DANCING BECAUSE OF BEING GAY. I WAS THROWN OUT OF NIGHT CLUBS, SPAT UPON, BEATEN, CALLED EVERY DIRTY GAY WORD IN THE BOOK, AND LEFT PENNILESS AND STRANDED, WITH NO FOOD OR TRANSPORTATION! THANKS TO SOME OF THE JEALOUS LADIES I WORKED WITH, WHO RAN TO THE OWNER'S TELLING THEM I WAS GAY! BUT I DIDN'T CARE.....I JUST MOVED ON TO THE NEXT TOWN.

EVEN THOUGH I HELPED TO PAVE THE WAY FOR LESBIANS, TO THIS DAY, I HAVE NEVER BEEN INTERVIEWED FOR ANY GAY MAG, RADIO, OR TV. HELL I'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN ON A GAY PRIDE FLOAT. WHAT CAN I SAY?

9. When did you decide it was time to get out of business?

AROUND 1984-OR 5 I DID MY LAST TOUR. I WORKED IN PLACES THAT HAD MEN AND WOMAN ON STAGE HAVIN SEX, PORN MOVIES, INSERTION DANCERS. MY FAVE ONE IS THE LADY WHO SAT DOWN ON THE END OF THE RUNWAY NAKED, WITH ONE PURSE ON EACH OF HER WRISTS, ONE TO HOLD HER VAGINA WIPES, AND ONE TO HOLD HER MONEY. BECAUSE FOR A *DOLLAR* YA GOT A LICK!

THAT WAS IT I WALKED OUT OF THE THEATRE AND NEVER CAME BACK TILL THE YEAR 2000!
http://www.satansangel.com/
The Toronto Burlesque Festival is July 21st to the 25th.

You pack the feathers, you take em out, you pack...

2010-04-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

Cripes, its been hard to commit to my blog! I've been writing for other people's blogs and left with no juice for my own! Not to mention too much has been going on! So I poured myself a stiffy and well here I am! Oh yeah, Roxi Dlite bugged me a bit too! She can do that cause this blog was named after her.

I've witnessed The Grand Burlesque in Montreal with my Burly gals in all it's high glam perks, launched Toronto's chapter of Naked Girls Reading with Skin Tight Outta Sight and Michelle L'amour, celebrated my 12 yrs. Anniversary with Alistair on St. Paddy's Day with secret guest Roxi Dlite, was a featured performer in Chicago for the Windy City Burlesque Festival and had a great time with Mimi First, coffee with Kitten Deville celebrating Michelle's birthday with the Starlets and Scarlett James- wow, did I need that drink! I was teeming with PMS!!! Anna Fur Laxis blew this jaded hearts mind. If she comes to your town, GO SEE HER!!!!! I hope to interview her soon.

Skin Tight did a mini road trip slumber party for The London Lesbian Film Fest. Those Lesbians treated us right! We stayed at the Delta Chelsea and scared a teenage boy's hockey team who referred to us as "The Stripper!" Not a dirty word in my book. And speaking of which, if you're ever in London Ont, please visit "The Beef Baron". This is hands down the best strip joint in the world! It's magical like the unicorn or in this case the crazy stylings of Pantera. She is like Cirque du Soleil on crack! If you like a bit of Exorcist with your poonany, Pantera is your girl! She is a sublime contortionist, she can hold herself to a pole with her abs, spider walk, stick her head backwards between her legs and just when you thought you seen it all- sets the said poonany on fire! Us STOS bitches were knocking Jagermeister and Coronoas all over our selves to applaud this lady! Also for that stripper look and moves all eight year old girls aspire to, I recommend Maria, who has the Ass that goes, I feel funny in my chair. The music at The Beef Baron is beyond reproach! NIN, White Zombie, Motorhead, AC/DC and more metal hits that I can't remember 5 Jaggers later. We had a great conversation with a gal washing her cooch, I kid you not. There was love in that building! STOS felt the love that weekend! Some of the gals were peeler virgins but they're thankful to me they're not now!

So in other news the Mother's Day edition of Naked Girls Reading is slated for May 9th at The Painted Lady. We're trying to find some nice reads amongst the mean mommy literature. I do not for the record have mother issues but my choices make it sound like I do!

The Toronto Burlesque Festival is in the works for July and that is making me koko mainly having to watch all the applicant videos. For many reasons this is not a fun job , sounds it but hell it ain't! Good news is my other mother Satan's Angel is headlining so I hope my vistor suite at is ready for her and her Vic. ( After 7yrs, in this cute dump with Tiki Bar, Alistair and I are moving to swanky digs, I will miss the legendary Gay Pride Keg Party!) I hope to interview Satan's Angel here along with our other headliners.

The fundraiser "Dance, Dance Evolution" is May 21st at The Revival, I hope to twirl the fire tassels to promote Satan's Angel for Fest. You have to witness her in July, she's the Mick Jagger of Burlesque. She danced her in the 70's originally at The victory on Spadina. Toronto, you honestly have seen nothing like her since!

Must mention Burlesque Hall of Fame in Vegas for June 3rd weekender at The Plaza will be going to see Roxi smoke up the stage and snatch that title- fingers crossed! See you all pool side!

Ok I wrote enough, satisfied? I'm pouring another drink and going to listen to some White Zombie! This one is for all the other Ladies on the poles!

What's Goin' On...

2010-03-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

For what happened at Naked Girl's Reading Toronto Launch:

http://nakedgirlsreadingblog.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/tanyas-post/

Watch here for new article at 21st Century Pinups: http://www.pinup.me.uk/the-grand-burlesque-show-6310-poutine-and-champagne/ See ya soon!

Monkey Sea, Monkey Hairdo

2010-03-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

Where was my beautiful family of Sea Monkeys? Those slim pink androgynous bodies for both males and females. The only distinguishing feature being a blonde Marlo Thomas flip on the females. I patiently awaited my new family's arrival after ordering them from the back of my Betty & Veronica digest. These amazing live Sea Monkeys boasted that , yes, they could even be trained! Something I had not succeeded in doing with my dysfunctional five piece Haligonian family. By gosh, I could even transport my pets into a watch or necklace and wear the little darlings for the day! All for an extra $6.99, plus shipping and handling! I wringed my Tinkerbell polished and splattered hands in fiendish anticipation.

I had some kind of fetish when I was little to hold a miniature family captive in their dollhouse or a jar. I would punish the mother and the father in a trapdoor dungeon and bestow the children with gifts, great hairdos and adoration. It started with Fisher Price little people and continued over to Barbies. I'm sure a shrink would've had a field day with this cruel mini word! I had no such desire to torture the Sea Monkey Family, look at their smiles- they were perfect and oh so happy!

The package arrived unceremoniously in the mail and I realized that I had to wait a full 24 hours to purify the water before I emptied the Sea Monkey egg packet into the bubbled plastic container. A sleepless night followed with me tossing around to a Sea Monkey castle fantasy. Next morning eggs into the water. The little critters were supposed to hatch instantly and swim around. All I could see in the containers magnified bubbles was what look liked cloudy water. My mom told me to wait a couple days and to feed them, see what happens. A couple of days later I could see something swimming around but did they look like the beautiful family promised in the comics ad? No, they were transparent, squiggly and boring! Not a Marlo Thomas flip among them, hell not even a Cindy Brady Braid! I didn't know what these things were but they looked suspiciously like fish food! Disillusioned once again I went back to stuffing my cats into doll clothes.

A couple days later the unattractive artemia sat listless on the bookshelf. My dad cam home from wherever, and picked the plastic aquarium up and declared them a rip off and nothing more than brine shrimp and proceeded to drink my underwater family in one east coast gulp! I was horrified but forgot about it next day as I tied my legs together with jump rope. It was Mermaid time!

Many years and pets later, still enchanted with the vision of the Sea Monkey visage in the comic book, I set about with my friend Christabel 3000 and made the Sea Monkey Queen costume. Many yards of nude fabric, a 6ft tail, a Sea Monkey vagina all covered in hundreds of dollars in Swarovski crystal, a perfect blonde Marlo Thomas flip. I swallowed the childhood weirdness and spit it out whole in the form of a burlesque routine. What others spend on therapy, I spend on rhinestones. Does it help? Do you know any mini families that want to be held captive? Looking for victims.

Hello My Name Is Tanya Cheex and I'm A Naked Girl..

2010-02-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

Our Voluptuous Panic III "Be Mein Valentine" show w/ Boylesque T.O. Feb. 13th-14th is putting me in the mood for some steamy lit not to mention our Toronto launch of "Naked Girls Reading"w/ Michelle L'Amour Mar.7th at The Painted Lady. I thought I'd share my reading list of what gets me hot and bothered. Please feel free to add your own list and if I get enough lists , I'll run a second blog before VDay.

1. "Story Of The Eye" (Histoire De L'Oeil) - Georges Bataille

2. "Crash"- JG Ballard

3. "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish"- Dr. Seuss

...and that's all I can come up with for the time being! Arrrgh! I think I have too much on my mind; the upcoming co-production with Boylesque T.O. Don't kid yourself a co-production is harder work! And of course, the launch of "Naked Girls Reading". This in my eyes, presents itself a new hurdle. Contraire to public belief, I am not a natural exhibitionist, show off , hell yes! Nudist, no! I'm the one that had all the clever Strip Poker maneuvers, the art of changing in a public place, aces! Yes, I know I was a stripper, an internet nude chat hostess but there was always a level of movement and smoke and mirrors. Michelle L'amour is very comfortable in her lovely skin and what a great ambassador of NGR she makes. We are stripped bare for this event minus some accessories such as shoes, stockings, hair clips etc. for the world to see! Every flaw, roll or whatever I don't like about my body! Some of Skin Tight is on the fence about their participation, some are already naked and waiting! Oh, I know we will have flattering lighting but I'm buck!!!!!!! And not dancing, I'm sitting there, reading you for your intense scrutiny! I emailed Michelle back and forth because I started thinking about pubic dressing. Those ladies with a nice topiary have a little bit of distance from the audience but what about those peltless creatures such as myself? Nothing between you and me, not even a Hitler stache! "Michelle, can I wear a merkin?" "No, you're naked." I dreamed about making an acetate topaz Swarovski landing strip to stick on but no, sorry you're naked! Well, I might save this for another occasion as I like the aesthetic. I guess I got to just walk behind that screen, drop my robe, come out, sit down with my legs closed with perfect straight back posture. I will have a moderately sized book, possibly a stole, big hair and a knowing smile that says, what I should've been really worried about was reading aloud in public! The gum is now out of my mouth!

Come see how I manage at "Naked Girls Reading Bedtime Stories", Toronto Launch, Mar.7th at The Painted Lady. Oh yeah, Michelle L'Amour will be there and she'll be NAKED!

North American Burlesque Revival - Vision Magazine China

2010-01-20T20:12:00.001-08:00

1 How did you get interested in burlesque? When was the first time you see it? What did know about it at that time? What did you feel?

I saw my first burlesque performance in 1990 after being re-acquainted with my friend Tanya Cheex; creator of Skin Tight Outta Sight. She told me that she was a burlesque dancer and invited me to photograph one of her shows. This was in the early days and they were only a handful of dancers doing this kind of work. I had never heard about burlesque before. Tanya Cheex was at the forefront of burlesque revival in North American. The first performance I attended was funny and sexy at the same time. The theatrical parodies combined with ‘turn of the century style’ stripping made me laugh and feel excited at the same time.

2 How long have you been working on this project? Are there any changes of burlesque that you have seen during these years?

I have been working on this project for over ten years. When burlesque resurfaced they weren’t many dance troupes in Toronto or the world for that matter. Many of the female fans started their own troupes after seeing Skin Tight Outta Sight, the Dangerettes and Pynky Love Goddess. Now there are a lot of burlesque dancers. Over the last ten years I watched Skin Tight Outta Sight fan base grow from a handful of fans in a small bar to the Toronto Burlesque Festival which draws thousands of people. The festival features performers from Canada , the U.S and around the world.

3 Where did you take these pictures? Is camera prohibited during the show? Do they mind your camera when they are dressing up and performing?

All of the photos were taken in Toronto , Canada but some of the guest performers are from the U.S or Europe . They welcome professional photographers to take pictures because they are proud of what they are doing. Although most troupes don’t allow backstage photography Skin Tight allowed me to take some pictures for awhile because of my affiliation with the troupe.

4 You should know and talk with some “exotic dancers” during your work, right? Do most of them do this job willingly or are forced by life? Are there any special stories or people that you want to talk about? Please tell us something about them.

No-one does burlesque because they are forced. They do it because they love it and they find it empowering. Today's burlesque challenges the stereotypes of what is sexy and beautiful. Although some of the performers have formal dance training, worked as models or even strippers the majority are regular woman. They fit all body types: voluptuous, skinny, tall and short.
Burlesque is very popular and the shows sell out in major cities across North America and Europe . However self producing is expensive so most dancers in Toronto have day jobs as well.

Sauci Calla Horra of Skin Tight and co-producer/ coordinator of the Toronto Burlesque Festival has an Honours degree in Theatre and Psychology. By day she works as a social worker helping homeless woman and by night she takes to the stage as the always sexy ‘Sauci Calla Horra’.

5 Generally speaking, who are the producers and composers? Who design the costumes?

Dancers make their own costumes, produce their own shows and market themselves. Burlesque revival is grassroots, creativity and passion are the driving forces behind this scene.

6 Do the performers do some training everyday?

Some train everyday on their own or train several times a week as a group. They have a busy schedule. They do everything themselves from designing their clothes to self promoting and marketing.

7. As far as you know, how popular burlesque is in your place and around the world? Why do you think it is so popular?

Until recently it was very underground but now that it is more mainstream it’s become very popular across the world. You can see how its influenced fashion.

I think burlesque is popular because its entertaining and funny. Burlesque creates a sex positive space that both woman and men can enjoy.

8 Why do you think there are more and more women audiences?

In the new burlesque the woman are in control. I think the female fans recognize this and they find the material more sexy than what the mainstream offers them. Many attend the shows with their boyfriends or spouses.

9 What is your attitude toward burlesque after your long time working on this project?

Burlesque is becoming more popular and it’s fan base is also becoming more diverse. Corporations are hiring dancers to perform at their events. Some men have started their own burlesque troupes.

I find it interesting in an age when sexually graphic images are available with a mouse click that burlesque is more titillating.

Brennan O'Connor : http://www.nomadphotos.ca/bio.php?id=6

*All photos by permission from performer and photographer*

Behind The Garter Belt: Manuge Et Toi

2010-01-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

Christina Manuge of Manuge Et Toi is garnering quite a reputation amongst us showgirls for her original and meticulously crafted costumes. Her unique presentation of fabrics and colour-blocking make you stand out from the rest and the plus side is they hold up to the demands we put on them, from a vigorous dance routine to yes, being artfully tossed to floor! I am not so patiently waiting to collaborate on a new piece as we speak!

1.What is the importance of costuming to the burlesque performance.? Do you come up with the act or the costume first?.
I believe that costuming can make or break a burlesque performance – and the performer. Great costuming is completely necessary to becoming a star in the burlesque world. Obviously, talent and ambition are a huge part of it, too. But realizing the importance and effect of your costume is number one on the list of attributes of every great burlesque star. Your costume should be looked at not as an expense, but an investment.

It’s important to have an open plan when collaborating on a burlesque costume design. I try to consider all of the lovely and spectacular things my client can do with each detail of a costume, as we design it. A performance can evolve from its costume, or visa versa.

2. When did you realize that your costumes had to be custom made and not off the rack?

I wouldn’t have it any other way. I decided long ago (after years of working towards it) that I didn’t actually want to be a fashion designer. I knew I would never want to put myself in the situation where I’d have to pump out a line every season. I much prefer working one on one with people, collaborating on one elaborate presentation at a time. Once I made my first custom burlesque costume, I knew I had found my place in the design world.

3.What inspirations do you draw from?

Glamorous, classy dames and the corsets they rode on in! ;)

4. Do you get inspired from vintage burlesque photography or performers?

Not really. I do love them, but what inspires me are the ideals I have in my mind of the kind of classic sensuality, strength and sexuality that ooze from a truly spectacular woman – and the moves that such a lady could pull if she were, say, on a stage at a burlesque show! It’s hard to show on the outside the women that we all can be on the inside. When a performer really holds that feeling up for all to see, it can cling to every woman in the house.

5.What are your favourite costumes that you've made? What was the most
challenging?

Every new costume is a challenge. I make sure of it! My skills are evolving every day, and I don’t intend to settle on any one way of doing things. My two favourites are the peacock costume I made for Coco Framboise late in 2008, and my newest creation for Miss dd Starr – I’m so in love with that one, in fact, I think it may blow the peacock out of the water. It was debuted at “Of Corsets and Striptease” on September 29th, 2009. I wish I could show you, but we’re just arranging a photo shoot with Miss dd now!

6. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while making
something?

When I was first starting out, and Coco Framboise was almost my only client, I didn’t have a very good hold on my work/sleep schedule. I used to have to pull all-nighters to hit my delivery deadlines (I hate to be late!). When I dropped off Coco’s first Manuge et Toi corset, I was in a bit of a stupor and exclaimed that I was never going to do that to myself again! I meant that I had unnecessarily put together my colour blocking in the most difficult way possible, but for months poor Coco thought I didn’t want to do any more corsetry! When she brought it up I had no idea what she was talking about – I love making corsets! – but eventually figured it out. ‘From now on,’ I told her, ‘don’t believe a word I say when I’m handing over your costumes; I probably haven’t slept for days!’

I’m much better with my scheduling now. ;)

7. What materials do you get the most excited about working with?

I love silk. Great colour combinations get me really excited, too. I love to work with three or four hues at once... but if it’s silk, I’m already pretty thrilled!

8. Explain the importance of closures and fastenings on costumes for the
burlesque artist?

The type and strength of a closure is very important for my clients. Performers have to know that things are going to come off easily, but not unexpectedly! From snaps to zippers, hook-and-bar sets, bra back closures and really good garter grips, it must all be well thought-out and thoroughly practiced for a performance to go smoothly.

9. What was your most bizarre costume? Discuss.

My two most bizarre costumes to date both came out of collaborations with Chassy VanKlaas. One consisted of mock parts of a 1969 Shelby Cobra engine, and the other – my favourite of hers so far – was based on The Log Driver’s Waltz! A great piece of truly Canadian nostalgia, but the best part was that we designed a uni-pastie of a double-ended saw for the reveal! Bizarre? Yes. Awesome? Yes!!

10.What tips can you offer those who aren't crafty?

You don’t have to be crafty. You just need to know what looks good, what doesn’t, and who to go to for help (me!). Also, if you’re not sure what looks good, the best thing I can suggest is to *really* look in the mirror (study yourself), watch other people (study them!), and make an effort to learn basic design principals. These things will all help immensely.

11. If you had an unlimited budget what would you make? The sky's the limit!

Oh gosh... I guess I would take in every idea I’ve ever wanted to incorporate, and make a series of costumes that together would embody every drop of design genius I could muster!

12.There’s a recent insider controversy about how many Swarovskis one can put on a costume. Discuss.

LOL Well, I have to say that though I am pro-Swarovski, crystals are not the only thing that can make a costume sparkle. What about thoughtful, beautiful design details, enticing colours and lovely fabrics?!?

13.What batteries fuel an outfit? (eg. Charisma, smile, non tangible thing)
Thoughtfulness, Design, Fit, Style, Practicality, Sensuality, Presentation...

14. Where can we learn to make our own costumes- what workshops do you offer?

I plan on offering creative pastie-making workshops as well as a ‘perfect crystal work’ class next year, where I will share some of my best tricks and techniques.
To check out Christina's work go to http://www.manugeetoi.com/

Photo Credits:

Coco’s Peacock: Coco Framboise, http://www.cocoframboise.com/
Photography by Tess Francis, IronHorse Productions: http://http//www.myspace.com/ironhorseproduction
Chassy’s Log Driver: Performer: Chassy VanKlaas http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1851919658&ref=ts
Photography by Mopo Art: http://www.facebook.com/mopoart
Christina and Coco Framboise – Photography by Andrea Heins: http://www.andreaheins.com/

Sauci Calla Horra's Songs To Strip To

2009-12-31T07:50:00.000-08:00

Sauci's Top Ten Songs to Strip To (Guess which ones I'm doing for Raunch n' Roll New Year 2009?) See ya at the show tonite! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=220716529178&ref=ts

1) Iggy Pop's TV Eye
2) Pussy by Lords of Acid
3) Houston is Hot Tonight by Iggy Pop
4) Pyromania by Def Leppard
5) Anything by AC/DC.
6) Tom Waits Pasties and a G-String
7) The Sunday Stripper by Cock Sparrer
8) Aerosmith!!!!
9) Just cuz I pretend to be cultured, Ravel's Bolero
10) Led Zeppelin's The Lemon Song, of course!

Because I like to be difficult,
11) is ROCK YOU by Helix!

Tanya Cheex's Titty Bar Tunes

2009-12-28T06:24:00.000-08:00

Here's my playlist to get you all in the mood to remove your clothes! To see more clothing removal, be sure to check out our Raunch n' Roll New Year's show, Dec. 31st at The Gladstone Hotel : http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=220716529178&ref=ts

1. Motley Crue: Girls, Girls, Girls

2. Peaches: Teaches Of Peaches

3. Goldfrapp: Train

4. Van Halen: Hot For Teacher

5. AC/DC: Whole Lotta Rosie

6. Nikki: Prince

7. Dirty Little Secrets: My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult

8. Heaven's On Fire : Kiss

9. Do ya Think I'm Sexy: Revolting Cocks

10.Twist Of Cain: Danzig

BONUS TRACK: Dancing Queen: Abba- first song I ever took my clothes off too in my neighbour's backyard, age 8!

*Photo by Darcy Dlite

Mena Von Fleisch's Strip Bar Favorites

2009-12-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Mena Von Fleish will be strutting her stuff again with STOS this NYE for "Raunch n' Roll". To see Mena in the Von Fleish, rsvp:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=220716529178&ref=ts

1.Here I go Again - Whitesnake
2.Shout at the Devil - Motely Crue
3.Rock You Like a Hurricaine - The Scorpions
4.Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Leppard (maybe a sexy duo with Mark Brown?)
5.Lick it up - KISS (YESSSSS!!! real life favorite!!)
6.I wanna Rock - Twisted Sister (little known face I LOVE Dee Snider!!)
7.Bad Medicine - Bon Jovi (my old wrestling Tag Team name LOL)
8.Every Rose Has it's Thorn - Poison (me and my Dad's favorite air guitar solo)
9.Legs - ZZ Top
10.Cherry Pie - Warrent (I kill this on guitar hero)
http://www.menavonfleish.com/

Foxy Finale's Titty Bar Tunes

2009-12-21T07:43:00.000-08:00

She's our poster girl for New Year's Raunch n' Roll Extravaganza, here's Foxy Finale's favorites!
To RSVP the show : http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=220716529178&ref=ts

1. Photograph - Def Leppard
2. Galang - M.I.A
3. First day of Spring - Ghandarvas
4. Here come's your man - Pixies
5. Crank - Catherine Wheel
6. Kyoto - Curumin
7. Brand New Low - Treble Charger
8. F*ck you like an animal - Nine Inch Nails
9. How soon is now - The Smiths
10.Truth or dare - N.E.R.D
www.skinti ghtouttasight.com

MAHOGANY STORM'S STRIPCLUB PLAYLIST

2009-12-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

Mahogany Storm of Boylesque T.O. is serving up some sleaze for New Year's Raunch n' Roll New Year's Party. http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=220716529178&ref=ts
1.Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze
2.Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
3.Nine Inch Nails - Closer
4.Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird
5.AC/DC - T.N.T.
6.Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
7.Guns N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle
8.Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me
9.Janis Joplin - Piece Of My Heart
10.Aerosmith - Walk This Way

http://www.boylesqueto.com/

ROCK N ROLL STRIP CLUB FAVORITES: SEXY MARK BROWN

2009-12-16T19:04:00.000-08:00

In order to promote our New Year's Eve Raunch n' Roll show, I decided to ask the crew for their top 10 Strip Club Playlist. To see see all the raunch in the flesh go RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=292775&id=1256814093#/event.php?eid=220716529178&ref=ts

After you do that download Sexy Mark Brown's list and take it off in your own home!
1.Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Leppard
2.Strange Kind of Woman - Deep Purple
3.You Shook Me - Led Zeppelin
4.Red House - Jimmy Hendrix
5.Take It Off - The Donnas
6. The Spy - The Doors
7. Shake Your Hips - The Rolling Stones
8. Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
9. Hello Operator - The White Stripes
10. Splish Splash - Bobby Darrin

http://www.skintightouttasight.com/

Anastasia's Christmas Wish List

2009-12-12T07:31:00.000-08:00

It's one helluva wind-up dolly; it's Go- Go Action Anastasia. Some assembly required. Small parts are hazardous for male children. Last chance to RSVP for Merry Stripmas tonite at The Great Hall!

http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts

1. Lots of lingerie from Agent Provocateur
2. Unlimited manicures & pedicures
3. A new bed *hee hee*
4. Bon Bons
5. Cars
6. Trips
Also if anyone has any hints on how to organize all of those high heels!
*wink* www.skintightouttasight.com

Tanya Cheex wants you for Xmas!

2009-12-10T06:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, this Xmas list probably commits a deadly sin or two, do I care? Today's my birthday too so if you want to add a few additional presents, feel free! Come celebrate Merry Stripmas Dec. 12th: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts

1. The Dior Couture Winter Collection of 2007, yes all of it!
2. Life size Swarovski Snow Globe
3. A real leopard on a diamond leash
4. My own circus complete with my own trained show ponies
5. Champagne group bubble baths for all my friends
6. A gold encrusted litter hoisted by Don Draper, Wolverine, Nick Zedd, Clint Eastwood, Tony Ward and James Spader
7. Wedding in The Caveman room at The Madonna Inn. STOS and Boylesque T.O.perform. Elvez weds Alistair and I .
8. Agent Provocateur's travelling vanity trunk
9. A gold record for Alistair
10. Pink Cadillac with white leather interior
11. Custom made Louboutins for every day
12. Oysters and vodka, unlimited supply
13. World Tour
14. My very own Roxi Dlite Doll
15. My own High Glitz pageant child that I can have compete every once in a while then she's tucked away like all good children.
16. Eternal youth
17. More! More! More!

Wrong Note Rusty's Xmas Wish List

2009-12-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

Boylesque T.O.'s high voltage tramp, Wrong Note Rusty is looking for a nice sugar daddy with a bulging...wallet to fill up his stocking. To see the boy in action on Dec. 12th at The Great Hall, go here:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts
1. A full length baby fur seat coat, with 3 foot train.
2. A not-so-rusty trombone.
3. A personal tailor who will execute all of my costume and bespoke apparel needs on demand. Chest hair a plus.
4. A Steinway grand piano in my bedroom, with Foxy Finale on top in a black cocktail dress.
5. Platinum vanity glasses frames.
6. A rocket-red Vespa with the TTC logo emblazoned on the side.
7. 24-hour access to Mahogany Storm's personal platinum stripper pole.
8. Whatever quantity of bait it requires to have a gay-for-pay night with Kanye West.
9. A revamped camera collection including a Nikon FM2, Nikon D3, Leica M6, Hasselblad 503CW, Polaroid SX-70, Lomo LC-A, Canon S90 ... (and more!)
10. A marriage of convenience with an airline pilot who could, if necessary, fly me to Japan for sushi.
11. The loft space on 888 Dupont and my house on 204 Yarmouth. I'd buy them both right the fuck out and keep it all for myself.
12. A BoylesqueTO world tour.
13. A harem of hot and highly-skilled manslaves. No homo!
14. Someone to write my Pulitzer-prize winning memoirs for me. Because who has the time for that these days?
15. A time machine. Oh the possibility!

For more go to wwwboylesqueto.com

Coco La Creme's Christmas Wish List

2009-12-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

She's the BonBon that's got it going on, if you can't give her what she wants, you better check out! Skin Tight Outta Sight's Princess of Peel, Coco La Creme! To see her come undone Dec. 12th

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts

1. A bigger costume closet to store all my sequins and silk!

2. A shopping excursion where the sky's the limit, gifted by a special admirer.

3. Magical feet that never hurt in high heels!

4. Champagne and caviar for New Year's Day

5. Lots of lazy mornings in bed with my sweetheart.

6. A pleasure chest filled with naughty items for us to enjoy together.

7. Rose coloured glasses to improve my view of the world.

8. Chocolate! Lots and lots of chocolate!

Dew Lily Wants This Stuff for Christmas!

2009-12-07T19:42:00.001-08:00

It's Boylesque T.O.'s deadly dreamboat, who finds it so much easier to be naughty then nice! Start saving your pennys for Dew Lily! You can see much more of him here, Dec. 12th: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts
1) $20,000
2) my own website
3) pocket mirror
4) a black leather saddle for Charles
5) jug of Ben Nye mint flavoured blood
6) handheld mirror
7) diamonds
8) new heads shots
9) wall mirror
10) Tanya's $1,000 black patent leather thigh high boots
11) chocolate cake
12) ALL the portraits of myself from Dr. Sketchy's
13) lunch with Lena Love
14) floor to ceiling mirror
15) longer business hours at the LCBO
www.boylesqueto.com

Paralee Pearl's Christmas Wishlist

2009-12-07T07:47:00.000-08:00

The Merry Stripmas Show on Dec. 12th is fast approaching, go to http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts
But to tide you over here's guest performer from Glamourpuss Burlesque, Paralee Pearl’s Wish List:

1. A photo on Santa’s knee after I give him his very own sequin adorned Santa hat

2. A pair of skates so I can perform burlesque on ice - Burlesque Capades!

3. A bath in hot chocolate with my “special someone” (also known as marshmallows)

4. A tree trimming followed by a stocking stuffing topped off with a white Christmas

5. And finally this year I’d like to NOT wake up in an outdoor nativity scene because I had too much wine at the Glamour Puss holiday party.

See more of Paralee Pearl at http://www.glamourpussburlesque.com/

Foxy Finale's Wish List

2009-12-04T06:21:00.000-08:00

Here's STOS's orgasmically-grown Lovechild, Foxy Finale's Xmas Wish List. But first RSVP here:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts

1. World peace

2. My own creative costume maker who customizes in very sparkly sexy costumes for petite femmes with porno sized derrieres.

3. A big bag of fair-trade chocolate covered gluten free pretzels

4. Lady Gaga's production team

5. A documentary made about STOS, with an original musical score by Alistair Christl

6. The doc would feature a risque gang bang scene with Boylesque T.O

7. A personal shiatsu masseuse with big brown muscly arms.

8. A pair of ethically made high heeled professional comfy dancing shoes in black and gold

9. A tattoo of a sexy honey bee on one buttock

10. Monogrammed shiny hot pink kimonos for all STOS members to wear backstage

11. A giant enviro friendly hot pink van to take STOS on tour across Canada and USA

http://www.blogger.com/www.skintightouttasight.com

Frenchie Fatale's 12 Days Of Christmas

2009-12-01T19:24:00.001-08:00

She ain't been that nice this year but she sure has been naughty! Glamour Puss Burlesque's Bad Girl of Bump n' Grind has got 12 things you better get her! To RSVP Dec. 12th's Merry Stripmas:http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts

Twelve corsets stunning,

Eleven bottles swiping,

Ten eyes a peeping,

Nine ladies dancing,

Eight pasties a twirling,

Seven candles a dimming,

Six toys a playing,

Five broken bedsprings,

Four safe-words,

Three gorgeous men,

Two silk gloves,

And a cuddle under the sheets.

http://www.glamourpussburlesque.com/

Behind The Garter Belt: Roxi Dlite

2009-12-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

Roxi Dlite is the reigning Princess Of Burlesque at The Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. She is also a fellow Canadian cutie, one of STOS`s favorite guest performers and the inspiration for the title of this blog! Here she is Miss Rhinestones and Whiskey herself, Roxi Dlite!

1. What is the importance of costuming to the burlesque performance.? Do you come up with the act or the costume first?
Costuming is very important. A performer's costume is the first thing we see when we watch a performance. I truly feel it reflects a level of professionalism. When I come up with my acts I usually come up with the costume after I figure out what I'll be doing and what I will need the costume to do and how it will come off.

2. When did you realize that your costumes had to be custom made and not off the rack?
Being a burlesque performer from Windsor, Ontario, I have zero costume resources. I have tried to find costume designers in Windsor, but the only ones I could find made little outfits out of stretchy material only for strippers - not quite what I was looking for. I was forced to buy off the rack for many years, and so I would try to mix and match with other pieces to make it my own. I even tried to learn how to sew, and I always have to order online. It's pretty frustrating trying to source out everything. I still do this sometimes, I'll buy a corset here, a skirt there and have Amber Ray make my pasties. However, I'm starting to get to know a couple new fantastic costume designers who are helping me out with making my costume ideas a reality. I'm so pleased with my new Sailor costume Christina Manuge made for me.

3.What inspirations do you draw from?
I am absolutely in love with Betty Grable. Her costumes were amazing in every scene she was in. I like to look at photos from old burlesque performers costumes as well. The Ziegfeld Follies costumes were jaw dropping beautiful and, I think this should go without saying, Dita has the best wardrobe known to women. I have a folder on my desktop called 'inspiration' and whenever I see something on the internet that inspires me I drop it in.

4. Do you get inspired from vintage burlesque photography or performers?
I love to look at old photos of burlesque performers. It's very inspiring to watch old videos of them performing as well, however, I think costuming has come a long way since then, there really are a lot of wonderful costumes nowadays. Some of the nicest vintage costumes can be seen on display at the Burlesque Hall of Fame.

5.What are your favourite costumes that you've made? What was the most challenging?
Well, I don't really know how to sew all that well. So far I have made two aprons, a silk one with a heart on it, and a lemon apron for my shoot in Java's Bachelor Pad Magazine #7 (go pick yourself up a copy). I've also made two strip panel skirts. I think the hardest was the lemon apron because sewing circles is a challenge for me.

6. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while making something?
I was ironing the lemon decal on my apron but I wasn't using an ironing board, just a towel on top of our hardwood floors. There's now an image of an iron burned into my floor. I hope we get our deposit back but I doubt it.
Other than that, I have rhinestoning parties. My pirate costume was insane and I couldn't do it alone so I had some friends come over to help me glue the stones on. I fed them and we drank wine, but I think we got a little too stoned. They accused me of running a sweatshop but I've never heard of a sweatshop that gets it's workers drunk and stoned. If there is such a place...well, I'm guilty. It was a lot of fun.

7. What materials do you get the most excited about working with?
I'm really digging dupioni silk. I think corsets look amazing in that fabric. I just bought a black dupioni silk underbust corset and am having a bustle made to match. I can't wait to glue rhinestones on it.

8. Explain the importance of closures and fastenings on costumes for the burlesque artist?
Oh my! It's EXTREMELY important that a burlesque performer doesn't struggle with zippers or corset ties. I have some tear away pants that use little plastic snaps and I love them, doing them back up is a bitch but they rip away nice and quick. Silky cord for corsets work best for me as well. Metal invisible zippers are the worst but look the best so it's a tricky call.

9..What was your most bizarre costume?
Um... hmm... I really honestly don't know. I tend to like pretty costumes and less strange. For Halloween one year I dressed up as a zombie showgirl. It was basically a showgirl costume and the head piece was actually a vintage piece from an old retired Vegas show. I thought it was bizarre to mix ugly zombie makeup with a pretty showgirl costume.

10.What tips can you offer those who aren't crafty? What one Roxi DLite secret can you divulge?
I'm obsessed with Amber Ray Accoutrement's. If you're not crafty, she certainly is. She's made me a couple pairs of pasties for my two big numbers and is going to be making me another pair for my new fan show. She can make anything over the top. I just purchased a little head band with a feather thing on it from her as well as a new hair flower to add to my rapid growing collection of Amber Ray crap that I don't need but really enjoy.

11. If you had an unlimited budget what would you make? The sky's the limit!
I can't tell you, because one day I just might have the money and I want it to be a surprise. But it most likely would be a large prop with a kick ass costume to match.

12.There's a recent insider controversy about how many Swarovskis one can put on a costume.
The amount of Swarovski's one can put on a costume has to do with how many they can glue on before their hand starts to cramp up. That's why I get friends to help. And, of course, money has a lot to do with it. I will glue on as many I can afford. The most rhinestones I glued on a costume was for my pirate number, the total rhinestones i ordered was 40,896 in various sizes, most being 12ss in size. That was way too much work. I was gluing stones for 3 weeks straight.

13.What batteries fuel an outfit?
Imagination, stage presence, music selection and musicality.

14. Where can we learn to make our own costumes- what workshops do you offer?

I don't offer costume making workshops but I do offer pin-up workshops. As you may or may not know, I'm a photographer. I offer 'Pin-Up For A Day' workshops where I teach the basics of posing and how to always look good in photos. I also take your photos and you receive two airbrushed edited images as well as a gift bag. Makeup and hair is included in this package. It's a fun thing to do with a bunch of your girlfriends, I've even done this for bachelorette parties. I book private sessions as well. If you would like to learn more about my workshop please send me an email roxi.does.burlesk@hotmail.com

Any other info I should include? http://www.roxidlite.com/
website: Photography website: http://www.myspace.com/roxidlitephotography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Roxi_Dlite
Facebook: Roxi Dlite

Mahogany Storm's XXXMas Wish List

2009-11-29T17:57:00.000-08:00

Mahogany Storm, Mr. Storm if you're Nasty, of Boylesque T.O., will be joining the STOS crew this Dec.12th for Merry Stripmas. RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts

1.McQueen Armadillo Python heels

2.Roadtrip with Prince in a little red corvette

3.Diamond encrusted cock sock

4. A naked sleigh ride with the STOS crew (shotgun Sexy Mark Brown's lap)

5.Platinum stripper pole

6.A fire-breathing dragon

7.High tea in a hot air balloon

8.Swarovski manacle with matching scourge

9.A bucket of sparkles

10.Calf implants

11.Frozen hot chocolate IV bag

Visit Mahogany and the rest of the Boylesque Boys here:

http://www.boylesqueto.com/

12 Days of Xmas with Lil' Relly

2009-11-26T06:40:00.000-08:00

This crafty cutie has come up with a clever Wishlist. Guest star, Lil' Relly has come out of retirement to serve you the goods Dec. 12th for Merry Stripmas. ATTENTION:
Skin Tight Outta Sight & The Cadillac Lounge is pleased to announce Merry Stripmas has now moved to the Great Hall 1087 Queen St.W for a bigger, better show Dec.12th!
Bigger acts, bigger capacity and more music for the dance party. RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1189319972403&f=1&e=-12#/event.php?eid=318933835057

Second day of Christmas:
Two fuck-off, huge diamonds.

Third day of Christmas:
Three days on a beach in paradise.

Fourth day of Christmas:
Four nights at a bar in paradise.

Fifth day of Christmas:
A shopping spree at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Sixth day of Christmas:
A man with a tight six pack.

Seventh day of Christmas:
Seven earth shattering orgasms.

Eighth day of Christmas:
To be held, to be loved, eight days a week.

Ninth day of Christmas:
Nine lives.

Tenth day of Christmas:
Tens of thousands of dollars.

Eleventh day of Christmas:
Eleven sensual kisses in the dark.

Twelfth day of Christmas:
All things that come by the dozen!

Honey B. Hind Wants!

2009-11-23T17:56:00.000-08:00

She's putting it out there so you better deliver! Here's Hot Hot Honey B. Hind's Xmas Wish List!

1.rechargeable batteries.

2. a massage....from GI's !!!

3. nailpolish that never chips

4. pants that fit my ass and thighs at the same time

5. champagne brunch with all my friends

6. a gift certificate for Agent Provocateur

7. bigger tippers at the Painted Lady

8. my picture in Vanity Fair

9. an apartment sized hot tub

10. minions lots of minions

11. hugs and kisses xoxoxo

Don't forget to RSVP for Merry Stripmas Dec.12th at The Cadillac Lounge here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=318933835057

Christmas Wish List with Cherry Temple

2009-11-20T06:54:00.000-08:00

Welcome our deliciously dynamic guest star, Miss Cherry Temple with her Christmas Wish List! But first RSVP for our Merry Stripmas show here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts

1.For Tom Waits, my fiancée of 14 years, to pick a date (or at least return my calls).

2.For my once conjoined, now tragically separated, twin Shirley Temple to publicly acknowledge our shared history.

3.A new pink tutu for my bulldog, Pavlova. She ate the last one.

4.A case of pink champagne.

5.A guest spot on “The Muppet Show”, including a duet with Gonzo.

6.The white gown that Jennifer Connolly wore when she danced with David Bowie in “Labyrinth”. (actually, Bowie’s outfit was pretty fabulous too…)

7.A wind machine capable of blowing my clothes off.

8.A new set of false teeth for my snake, Samuel.

9.For Rachel Talalay to direct a sequel to “Tank Girl” starring me.

10.For Julie Taymor to design an act for me.

11.For Tim Burton to turn me into the clay-mation creature I was meant to be.

12.For someone to design really sexy long-johns. Seriously, these winters are cold.

Merry Stripmas Wish List Demanda Kill

2009-11-19T06:47:00.000-08:00

Skin Tight's own Gothic Lolita:
Demanda' Kill's Holiday Demands:

1. A gold-plated pony. With, or without, nose and mouth holes.

2. A man or woman to turn the pages of my sheet music for me as I sing, wearing whatever sexy [and probably ridiculous] costume I tell 'em to.

3. Van Gogh's 'The Scream' painting as nail art decals.

4. A corset that will not warp.

5. A date with Sexy Mark Brown. Without clothes..... Make that a NIGHT with Sexy Mark Brown.

6. A group of choir boys that follow me singing 'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey on command.

7. A Victorian dress made out of lace and leather.

8. Did I mention a night with Sexy Mark Brown?

9. A constant supply of blood in a rhinestone chalice [yum yum!].

10. A night with all the ladies of Skin Tight Outta Sight. Wearing nothing but our smiles [and maybe some sparkles]!

To RSVP to our Merry Stripmas show go to:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts

S.M.B's Wish List

2009-11-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

To promote our Dec. 12th Merry Stripmas show at The Cadillac Lounge, I will give you what we want you to give US! To RSVP the show:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=318933835057&ref=ts

You know him, you love him, here's S.M.B.'s Wish List

1. A Date with Dwight Yoakam

2. A make-out session with a sexy stranger in the Gladstone elevator

3. Imported (from NYC) vegan soft-serve ice-cream (cake batter flavour)

4. A slow dance with Dew Lily (chaperoned by my aunt Deborah)

5. Banjo Lessons!!

6. Biodegradable glitter

7. Front-row seats at Copenhagen

8. Sweatshop-free fake facial hair

9. A hip rock 'n' roll backing band that follows me wherever I go
10. Two words: festive merkin

Merry Stripmas!

A Different Sort of XXXMas Pageant

They just can't keep these presents under the tree 'til Christmas. These aren't the kind of undies your dear old Gran got you, no it's Toronto's Rebel Burlesque troupe, Skin Tight Outta Sight, inviting you to witness the unwrapping of some highly explosive packages! Let me give you a peek at this year's Christmas Wish List:

1. Its one helluva wind-up dolly; it's Go- Go Action Anastasia. Some assembly required. Small parts are hazardous for male children.

2. Foxy Finale! Bend her, shape her, any way you want her. She can high kick you out of house and home!

3. Some of that combustible hot sauce, with a dash of Sass & Abuse, Honey B. Hind. A five-alarm figure indeed!

4. No man - or woman - can resist her charms… Plug her in, she's Demanda Kill!

5. Gimme that sweetest sugarcoated treasure chest. I want a box of Coco La Crème. The bonbon that bites back!

6. Introducing Birthday Botox Tanya Cheex . Who needs a dream home when you have boobies bigger than Barbie's, and your surgeon on speed dial?

7. Ready for action, no mission is impossible for Sexy Mark Brown. He comes with tofu grip and his pants drop on command! All right!

WHEN? December 12th, 2009
Doors open at 9 pm; show time at 10 pm.
WHERE? At The Cadillac Lounge (1296 Queen St. W.). Toronto

For a mere $15 in advance (at Rotate This, Nearly Naked and online at www.totix.ca) or $20 at the door, you get the gift of DJ Serge spinning up all your holiday hits, AND Live Music by The Alistair Christl Band!

Christmas cookies – Guest Burlesque dancers, Dew Lily and Mahogany Storm of Boylesque T.O., Miss Cherry Temple, Glamour Puss Burlesque, and coming out of retirement just for you - Toronto's Li'l Relly performs her number that won her Best Newcomer at The Boston Burlesque Expo! Screw naughty and nice! Pass the Egg Nog, this pageant is gonna get ugly- in the most glamourous sort of way!

Batteries not included!

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Shake It Like A Pro: Pearls of Wisdom from the Wings

2009-11-03T11:45:00.000-08:00

I put out the question, "What's the best piece of showbiz advice you ever received?" Here's a collection of some of those valuable pearls:

" Sell yourself to the very back of the audience, the front rows are already with you"- Tigger!

"Put your pasties at the edge of your nipple for an instant boob lift!"- Dirty Martini.

"The best thing you can do for your art is experience what it feels like to fail."- Julie Atlas Muz.

"Underwear is not a costume." - Professor Jo Boobs.

"Cut the fucking tags out of your panties!"- Indigo Blue

"Shoes first, THEN corset. Never the other way around!"-Sparkly Devil

"Pee before you go on stage."- Genevieve Ellison

"Always leave them wanting more."-Polly Eshter

"Don't leave your costume pieces lying around all over the place once you do take them off. You need space on the stage to dance, and you shouldn't have to tip-toe over your clothes. Make a nice, neat pile behind you and drop everything off there, leaving your stage tidy and roomy." - Dr. Lucky

"I would say that the gals should learn to really enjoy their audiences, because once they do, then the audiences will enjoy them. An audience will always know if you like you work or you don't and they respond in kind. Even when you are down and depressed, don't let your audience know it, because once you turn them off, it is very hard to turn them back on. It is what keeps my audiences and my fans coming back." Tura Satana

"Get it in writing, before the show." - Cass King, The Wet Spots

"When people see you on the stage and cheer remember they're cheering for who they THINK you are not who you ACTUALLY are. So don't let it get to your head"and"When you think you've put on enough...add more" -Miss C Pink Velvet Burlesque.
"No one knows your act like you do, so if something goes wrong, don't let it show on your face!"- Kitten Deville

"Duct tape is your best friend."- Mikah Styles

"Don't dance to anything over 3 minutes long if you're not a trained dancer."- Honey Corday

"Don't EVER let NOBODY fuck up YOUR hustle." - Ricky Day

"Don't wear lip gloss on stage, everything will stick to it, (like your wig, your boa...)"- Princess Farhana

"You're a showgirl...so show!"-The Incredible Edible Ayknos

"When I worked in my first burlesque show, some Legends of the ice capades were in the audience and afterwards said to remember to smile and if you can't smile, just keep saying shit shit shit and no one will ever know! Look in the mirror and try it."- Dusty Summers

"STAY IN COLLEGE! WHICH I DIDN'T! HAHA SO I SPENT ALL MY MONEY, NOW I'M BROKE! AT THIS CHARMING OL AGE!"- Satan's Angel

"This is theatre, not therapy." I can't remember who said it!"- Jo Boobs

Theatre Bizarre- The Realm of The Fantastical!

2009-10-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Theatre Bizarre is held the Saturday before Halloween in Detroit! Don't miss next year's event! Here's my slide show.

Tonite's The Fright!

2009-10-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

Better see you at Skin Tight Outta Sight's Grindhouse Ghoulies tonite at The Gladstone Hotel! Photos of show and Detroit's Theatre Bizarre to follow!

Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonite? 10 Top Horror Flicks

2009-10-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

The upcoming Grindhouse Ghoulies show on Oct. 23rd is a creature of my mind, influenced by my love of cheesy B-Movie horror films. Here's one top 10 movie list not to be confused with any other lists posted when I change my mind. I'm a fickle girl when it comes to what I like. These are in no order either.

1. Spider Baby 1968: This black comedy features regression to a childhood state. It stars Lon Chaney Jr. and Sid Haig in a fantastic imbecile performance. Truly an original and off beat film. I highly recommend it.

2. Suspiria 1977: Director Daria Argento is a favorite of mine but this Dance School kill fest is beautifully stylish. The best of his oeuvre. Great Goblin soundtrack.

3.The Exorcist 1973: This movie put me in the hospital cause I thought my high fever from pneumonia was demonic possession! Like many of you I saw it WAY too young! Gotta love that spider walk! Damien, your mother sucks cocks in hell!

4. Rosemary's Baby 1968: Love most of the Polanski's movies but I saw this on mushrooms the first time and I was scared! Good ol' Anton Lavey was consultant on this film, Just goes to show you that Satanists can come in many forms even in the guise of Ruth Gordon!

5. The Shining 1980 : Ahhh. Kubrick, how I love you! I'll trade my soul for a drink! The superb casting, the crazy editing, the musical score, the solemn beauty of the Overlook Hotel. This movie gives me a lump in my throat or is it Tony in there? Redrum.

6. Return of The Living Dead:1985: Punk Rock Zombies, how can you fail! I saw this movie upon its release and it's fabulous soundtrack spawned my tastes for years to come. The Cramps, 45 Grave, The Damned and TSOL even an early Stacey Q. Brains!!!!

7. Orgy Of The Dead 1965: This movie written by Ed Wood is so influential to me. Dead strippers! I can't tell you how many of my burlesque acts were inspired by this Z Grade movie. It always will occupy a corner of my brain.

8. Carrie 1976: As if having your period wasn't horrifying enough! There all gonna laugh at you! Love Piper Laurie's performance as Carrie's deranged mom. Who didn't want to trash their high school prom? The last scene made you piss your pants, admit it!

9.The Evil Dead 1981: My brother and I made Parmesan popcorn to watch this film for the first time. I think that was the stuff that made up Kandarian demons. Made us pretty sick to our stomaches. Still love the first possession scene with the card predictions.. Spawned purchase of the Necronomicon book and a lot of Ouija board abuse!

10.Pretty In Pink: Oh the horrors! Can I count them all! The travesty that became of Molly Ringwald's vintage prom dress, the emasculation of Harry Dean Stanton, Andi did not end up with the wrong guy, you idiots, Ducky is gay! Andrew McCarthys penny loafers, I could go on. At least I can save myself from this terrifying movie about fantasizing spanking James Spader over my knee!
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Zombie Pinups: Mena Von Fleisch

2009-10-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

Meet special guest star Mena Von Fleisch. Met this decaying dame on a Halifax pier chomping Sailors like french fries. Go to http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=277880940021&ref=mftp://

Zombie Name: Mena Eatsalotof Fleisch

Date of Birth/ Place: Resurrected from the cold depths of Transylvanian soil

Favorite Place To Hang out: The morgue, crypts, catacombs, grave yards always looking for the freshest flesich

Favorite Food: Rump roast, plump breasts, tender little babies

Favorite Music to Kill to: Rammstien

What Do you Look for In a mate?:Brains (LOL!)

Ideal night out: Pick a victim...date I mean..yes...date! (lol), unroll the clear plastic sheets, select the finest cuts for the most delicious dinner, cook, eat, repeat!

Dressed To Kill, what do you wear?: Black spiked heels, pvc cat suit, big hair and bad intentions

Deadly weapon of choice:Chainsaw and woodchipper

Favorite Horror Movies: White Zombie, Pet Semetary, Sleep Away Camp

Act for Oct. 23rd: After loosing herself in a haze of white wine, party pills and cocaine our darling Mena has turned up DOA. Taking a page from the black magick bible her date is determined to have his way with what's left of her stiff, cold, and contorted corpse! Watch the dance of the undead as the reanimated corpse of Mena Von Flesich is manipulated by an ominous Necromancer and made to shake and shimmy for you one last time before taking her final dirt nap.

Mena got her start here:

Zombie Pinups: Foxy Finale

2009-10-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

This intoxicating ingenue hasn't yet started to foul, here's Foxy Finale!

RSVP for Oct. 23rd:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=277880940021&ref=mftp://

Zombie Name:Shrieks Vavoom

Date of Birth/ Place: Underpass by state highway

Favorite Place To Hang out: Abandoned Mexican restaurant that used to be a hospital

Favorite Food: Bloody Lime margarita

Favorite Music to Kill to: Motley Crue "Looks that Kill". It practically does the work for me.

What Do you Look for In a mate?: Someone who can keep their shit together and likes to roughhouse in abandoned swimming pools.

Ideal night out: Being pulled around the remains of the Terrace on old school 6 wheel rollerskates by a ripped gentlezombieman.

Dressed To Kill, what do you wear?: Layers of ripped fishnets and laquered cherry spike heels

Deadly weapon of choice: Press-on red Nails (matches shoes) teeth, tongue

Favorite Horror Movies: I make my own horror porn

Act for Oct. 23rd: I will be bringining back Jacklyn the Ripper, a sexy psychokiller who makes love to her victims after killing them. Also will be a damsel in distress for the Boylesque T.O's Ghostbusters.

Zombie Pinups: Tanya Cheex

2009-10-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

Yeah, she's me but you didn't think I wouldn't do this myself now would you? See you Oct. 23rd:
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Zombie Name: Goregirl@deadmeat.com

Date of Birth/ Place: 1937 Halifax Waterfront Brothel

Favorite Place To Hang out: Skatepark. Best place for young boys who are suffering head injuries. It's like fast food!

Favorite Food: If young boys aren't on the menu, brains, with fava beans and a nice Chianti

Favorite Music to Kill to: The Misfits: Brains, Die, Die My Darling and the buzzing sound between my ears!

What Do you Look for In a mate?: He must be intelligent (Large Brain!) , tender to the touch, (Easy To Tear!) and rich! (Clothes covered in blood, where's the nearest Chanel?)

Ideal night out: Graveyard modelling, The moonlight is so flattering .Does this tomstone make me look fat?

Dressed To Kill, what do you wear?: Louboutins of course, that sexy red sole hides my tracks after I gouge out an eyeball or two!

Deadly weapon of choice: An Uzi is a girl's best accessory when she doesn't want to spoil a 60 year old manicure.

Favorite Horror Movies: Spider Baby, Suspiria, The Shining, Orgy Of The Dead, Dawn Of The Dead , Evil Dead,The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, The Orphanage,The Sentinel, Dead Snow, Carrie, Pretty In Pink

Act for Oct. 23rd: Fire pasties and tearing your heart out , literally and figuratively!

Desert Dreams: Miss Exotic World

2009-10-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

Exotic World and the Burlesque Revival from Exotic World on Vimeo.

I watched the trailer for this documentary yesterday and it got me waxing nostalgic about back in 2005 when Skin Tight Outta Sight made the pilgrimage to Helendale California in the middle of the Mojave Desert to a little goat farm coated with pink paint and stripper dreams.
Skin Tight had been asked to compete in the category of best troupe in the Miss Exotic World Pageant and we felt like it was an Oscar nomination. Tired and dehydrated from the Legend's performances the night before at the Holiday Inn we drove up to the gates which for us felt like the gates to the Emerald City of OZ! After our ramshackle performance, the rest of the long HOT day, starstruck by these legendary Queens of Burlesque like Dixie Evans, Tempest Storm, Tura Satana and Satan's Angel and the new ruling class such as Dirty Martini, World Famous Bob, Julie Atlas Muz and Torchy Taboo, we were speechless, dust in our throats and lumps in our hearts. After STOS pal, Michelle L'Amour won the title of Miss Exotic World and we screamed out what was left of our voices, we realized we had found a home.

Heidi Von Haught:
In 2005, The Von Foxies were asked to be "flag hags," the chicks who held up the flag as someone sang the Star Spangled Banner to start off the show. For some reason, we decided not to wear heels and to go on stage barefoot. Dirty Martini was singing, we stepped out on stage behind her, and that stage, baking in 100+ heat, was so hot that I screamed out loud. There is only one picture of us on that stage that year and all three of us are prancing madly about trying to find the one area that is shaded. Ouch!

Sparkly Devil: My first year performing at Helendale was in 2003, and I was completely and totally unprepared for the heat.

The second I stepped outside, the sweat started pouring down me. It was hot in Vegas, but this was fuckin' hot. like, bubbling core of hell hot. like, ninth circle of hell hot. I could barely attach my pasties, because i was covered in buckets of sweat. I was wearing a tiny bitty black bikini, and I felt like I was cooking in an over.

My tour of the museum was magical, unforgettable. I remember crawling into Jayne Mansfield's pink heart-shaped loveseat, and reveling over the fact that I was actually sitting in it, not peering at it through some glass barricade. that was an amazing moment.

Shortly after this, I really started feeling the heat. you know when you get in your car after it's been baking in the sun all day, and you flip on the a/c full blast and get hit with this huge wave of hot air? That's what it felt like in Helendale. suddenly I felt like I was wading through molasses. I had to perform, I had to be on my a-game; I decided to sit in the car with the a/c on. this didn't help, and I was getting worse.

I went inside and found the only fan in the place, plunked myself down in front of it, my boyfriend fetched me a coke and some chips. I guzzled the coke because I was so dehydrated - big mistake. I promptly ran off to the bathroom and threw up. for some reason, the memory of me puking from heat exhaustion while kneeling on the floor of that ramshackle bathroom, clad only in sparkly feathered black bikini will always stand out. I was seeing black spots, so my boyfriend wanted to put me back in the car with the a/c on.

As we're walking to the car…BAM…I pass out cold.

I guess he picked me up off the floor and hauled me back to the chair in front of the fan. while I was sitting in front of the fan, I passed out again and nearly fell out of the chair. my heart was racing and my pupils were dilated. hello, full blown heat stroke!

This was my first real meeting of Dirty Martini, who brought me water. I kept thinking, why is she so nice to me? She is this huge star, why is she being so kind to me, a nobody? (answer: because she's Dirty Martini!)

Apparently, one girl from another troupe had already passed out and been carted away to the hospital, and Satan's Angel remarked "They're dropping like flies today, honey!"

I was so distraught I tried to cry, but I was so dehydrated my body couldn't muster a single tear!

I guess I have some sort of inner resilience (read: mule-like stubbornness) that kicked in. I didn't pay all this money out of my own pocket to fly to the other side of the country to compete in this pageant only to wuss out due to the heat. FUCK THAT. I told the DJ that if I passed out on stage, to hit pause on my music, throw a bucket of water on me to revive me, and I'd fucking crawl down to the end of the stage on my hands and knees and finish my act. there was no way in hell I wasn't going to go on stage.

So, my boyfriend started dumping bottles of ice water over my body. let me tell you, this FUCKING HURTS when you're that hot…like needles all over my flesh. fortunately, it did the trick, and I started to come back to life. but I still had to contend with my costume.

In my brilliant foresight, I'd chosen an act that required me to wear a full suit. a full black wool suit. good one, Sparks!

Fortunately, a little bit of luck was on my side, and by the time I was ready to get dressed the wind had kicked up and it had cooled down slightly. before I knew it, I was standing backstage and they were calling my name. the fortunate part of passing out due to heat: I never once got nervous about performing!

And before you knew it, it was over. just like that. and I will never, ever forget that wonderful, beautiful, crazy, traumatic day for as long as I live.

(The next year I smartened up and stayed in the pool the entire time before I had to go on!)

Dirty Martini: It was only 5 in the evening, but it felt like 3am due to the hot sun and pummeling desert dust that we endured from mid morning in the middle of the Mojave that day. I crept out of the rickety trailer decorated with a hand painted pink on pink sign warning "Entertainers dressing room only". I suspect the sign was intended to keep leering gentlemen out, but for me it seemed like a warning that one should use caution on entry as the place was a few years over it's expiration date and wasn't completely safe to stand in. Stepping out as the trailer rocked unsteadily, the desert environment had shifted from 'fry an egg on the car' to 'dust storm will blow your wig off'. Tip toeing through the dirt in my point shoes to the stage right entrance, my good friend Rhinestone Debbie was trying to keep my red balloons from pulling her into the air like a soft-core Mary Poppins. She helped me harness the costume and lit 3 cigarettes with difficulty knowing that I had no chance with a lighter in that wind. My music starts while the sun sets behind me and the giant arch haloing the stage proclaims MISS EXOTIC WORLD to the crowd of sequined pinup girls, strippers, bikers,high desert locals and international press alike. I do my best to dance and twirl as if it were an opera house and the crowd responds with glee. Three minutes in and no balloons left to pop, I'm eschappeeing like mad as one tassel twirls and the other flies into the front row, a victim of desert dust mixed with glue. With a wide smile, I finish my first performance at striptease mecca and blow a kiss to the lovely Dixie Evans who will from that day forward describe me in this way: "That Dirty Martini, she sure is a crowd pleaser". In turn, I describe her as both a national treasure and my burlesque grandmother."

Dusty Summers: I never performed in the desert but I did make a trip to see the museum and Dixie was so kind to show me through and educate me on the history and the memorabilia of the museum. I also saw some of the videos from past Exotic World events including the one in the hot desert wind! As they say, "we've come a long way baby!"

Penny Starr Jr.: "I debuted in 125 degree heat! No foolin'! I was never so happy to do an act that ended in the pool that sit in teh middle of the performance space. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, filthy, sweaty and stank of chlorine... good times! I thought I would have to have my g-string surgically removed, it was so "glued" to my body by funk.I wear performing at the old Exotic World as a badge of honor: when EW was only for the crazy and the hardcore, when you knew your white fans were going to turn tan with dirt, that the stage was torn-up plywood and you better not do floorwork or go barefoot, getting dressed with 10 other gals in that dirty trailer, and a time when for better or worse, who ever signed up by 1pm stood a chance of wearing that crown."

Viva La Fever: "The last year at Helendale was my introduction to MEW. Camille 2000 flew to San Francisco (from Florida) and we drove to the desert, after not seeing one another for about 25 years. The legends' show on Friday night was more informal and took place at the Holiday Inn Express in Barstow, where most of us stayed. Jo Boobs knocked my socks off there. She SIZZLED! Performances by Bambi Sr.,Ricci Cortez and the Von Foxies also stood out.
The show on Sat. started about 1 pm and went until about 10:30 pm in the desert in Helendale! There were dining canopies over rows of plastic chairs. Performers jumped into the pool between sets. The bazaar was in the hot pink goatshed in case anyone wanted to buy stuff during intermissions. Dancers changed in a trailer behind the stage. Bikers (Las Vegas HIGH ROLLERS) sat on their bikes to the left of the stage and revved their engines instead of clapping. There were classic cars parked on the right. I recall one young woman leaving the stage mid-set because she went out barefoot and badly burned her feet.
Categories were Newcomers, Legends in the Making, Troupes, and MEW. A Pool Party followed late at night at the Holiday Inn, with burlesque movies and free booze for those that could stay awake. On Sunday, we just drove out to the ranch to thank Dixie and say our good-byes."

* I had more responses to this memory lane so there may be a Part 2.
**The photos are from my collection of 2005

Zombie Pinups: Sauci Calla Horra

2009-10-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

She's a Shape-shiftin' Siren ready to saute up your sins, meet Sauci Calla Horra!
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Zombie Name: Poisoned Sauce

Date of Birth/ Place: In the morgue of St. Joe's in Toronto!

Favorite Place To Hang out: Enjoys picnicking in old graveyards...

Favorite Food: Tuna Tataki or anything I can pick up with my crumbling fingers

Favorite Music to Kill to: Bach's Fugue or anything by Amon Aranth

What Do you Look for In a mate?: Brains of course! And an extraordinarily large package doesn't hurt either

Ideal night out: The opera or ballet, then fancy drinks and appetizers. Preferably in another country I haven't been to before.

Dressed To Kill, what do you wear?: High heels and as little as possible!

Deadly weapon of choice: My thighs

Favorite Horror Movies: Dead Snow, The Children, The Exorcist, The Eye, The Audition, and Rosemary's Baby, of course!

Act for Oct. 23rd: My creepy Rosemary's Baby show plus a new, even sexier rendition of my Poison Ivy act.

The Bizarre Magazine Interview

2009-10-07T06:17:00.000-07:00

Today, we'll take a break from Zombie Pinups and let you read the full STOS interview from August 2008's Bizarre Magazine. Tomorrow, Sexy Mark Brown!

1. Performance Name: Tanya Cheex and Sauci Calla Horra from Skin Tight Outta Sight Rebel Burlesque

2. From/Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

3. When, why and how did you first start performing?

Tanya: My grandmother was a fashion model and she would dress me up with her in all her fabulous ostrich night gowns and we'd watch old Hollywood movies together. Sometimes a shady lady would perform a striptease and I thought that was the epitome of glamour! I got it in my head to stage a stripshow in my neighbour's back yard , I was eight! Blame Granny!

As I grew up I started collecting 1950's stag magazines that featured strippers such as Lili St. Cyr and Tempest Storm. I also became fascinated with Tura Satana from "Faster Pussy Cat, Kill! Kill!" Those ladies had such a fierce look! Later as a stripper and dominatrix I found I had to recreate that old taunt and tease. I was tired of everything shoved down the audience's throat!

Sauci: I started performing at the invitation of Tanya Cheex, who had been my friend since our punk rock years. At first, it was really just a favour to a friend, but I had always been quite the exhibitionist and as soon as I took off my clothes and danced in front of an audience, I was hooked! I think getting attention was a big factor in the beginning but this novelty soon wore off. Now, it’s about pushing the envelope to be the best performers we can, with creative acts often with a lurid sense of humour, over-the-top glamorous costumes, polished choreography and gimmicks to (hopefully) make the audience drop their jaw in disbelief!

4. What does burlesque mean to you and how would you describe your style?

Tanya: We like to think of ourselves as Theatrical Provocateurs. We believe in challenging our audience in a sexy, playful manner but leaving them going "what the Fuck?" too! Hence "Rebel Burlesque" at the end of our name - Skin Tight Outta Sight.

5. Give us a good run down on the more bizarre acts that you perform (like Two Girls, One Cup!)

Tanya: Well nothing compares to "Two Girls, One Cup" in the grossout department but its all just smoke and mirrors! Some of my more bizarre acts are stripping out a giant balloon, stripping out of a gorilla suit (did this in Vegas outside in the scorching heat!) My multi-armed Bollywood Goddess puppetry act, my tap dancing parasitical twin act. I'm working on a Human Ponygirl act right now.

Sauci: I have many acts that are on the bizarre side, but they’re usually more about the sense of humour involved. The Easter Bunny act I have tends to challenge people. It is to the Peter Cottontail music and I do hop around in a bunny suit and hand out candy. But it goes all wrong and I end up eating too much sugar and stripping. I pour chocolate sauce on myself and play with myself with a giant chocolate Easter Rabbit. Once, I decided I would put chocolate eggs in my underpants and I was hoping they would pop out like a rabbit pooping (yes, I know that’s kind of gross, but I thought it would be funny). I forgot they were there and went to take off the underwear, to reveal my g-string. The chocolate eggs had melted into my panties and it looked like I’d had an accident in my pants! The audience groaned. No, it wasn’t one of my more glamorous moments.

I also have a Virgin Mary act where I drop the baby Jesus and do a striptease. It’s about Mary’s fantasy life. I have a Sophia Loren parody act where I am stood up by my dinner date, and I drink too much wine. The strip reveals a bikini made out of pasta and my pasties are tomato slices, with a “meatball” and tassels are indicative of cheese strings. This act was performed for the New York Burlesque Festival. I also have a Barbra Streisand strip that I have performed for a show called “Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad,” in NYC, and also for Toronto’s Pride Festival and our Spiegeltent last year. It’s pretty warped, starting with Barbra as Anshel in man drag from “Yentl,” and going into a goofy boxing character from the movie, “The Main Event.” I like juxtapositions, and Tanya as Artistic Director, is very good at making sure they make sense and the audience gets it.

My current favorite bizarre act is my 70s Housewife Fantasy number to The Lemon Song. I’m making lemonade and listening to the radio, then have a pot-infused sexual fantasy about Robert Plant, played by our Boy in the troupe, Sexy Mark Brown. We get up to all sorts of shenanigans. I don’t want to give too much away but the act does involve a giant glitter-spewing lemon wedge and it‘s very, very messy! We will be performing it for Skin Tight Outta Sight’s Toronto Burlesque Festival, an inaugural event that we are producing this year in our hometown.
Our most bizarre show? Our troupe, Skin Tight Outta Sight does a "Biblical Burlesque" which features member Sexy Mark Brown as a stripping Jesus! Its a battle of good and evil, the truth vs hypocrisy complete with a heavy metal showdown between Jesus and Satan! We're all naked in the eyes of the lord, right?

6. What or who inspires you and why?

Tanya: I'm inspired by Ed Wood movies, 60's Anton LaVey Satanism, old Hollywood over the top glamour girls like Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren, Russ Meyer Super Vixens. sometimes just listening to song lyrics and going “I need to do an act to Iron Maiden's "Number Of The Beast!" I am also very influenced by old circus sideshow freaks. They are the children who operate my creative brain.

Sauci: I know this sounds corny but Tanya is my biggest inspiration. She has a fabulous ability to hone an idea for an act and make it ‘right.’ I do admire some of the old burlesque stars, such as Sally Rand, Dixie Evans, Evangeline the Oyster Girl, and the list could go on. I do create some of my more traditional acts on these performances from yesteryear. But I would say I am more inspired by the revisionist material I see, like Bambi the Mermaid and Tigger! from NYC, and Diamondback Annie in LA, who does all these rock ‘n roll inspired acts. I want my acts to be true to the original spirit of burlesque, where the performers were challenging the social conventions of their day and age. These days, people think burlesque should be “classy,” but they are holding up the acts of yesteryear to today’s social mores. Those acts that seem classy to us today were viewed as beyond the pale, and the performers were often marginalized, similar to the way our society treats strippers and porn stars. Personally, I like to have a mix and my performances can be classically inspired (I am a trained ballet dancer, and I also have an act where I rise out of a giant clam shell as a Venus character), but I also like to have acts that challenge people, where they come up at the end 7. Why did you want to do something different from other classic burlesque acts?

Tanya: Sometimes pretty can be a little dull so we find it more entertaining if a pretty girl does something “out there,” that challenges what's sexy by making it a little demented. I think Persephone coined it "Burlesque Grotesque" I think its because we come from a punk rock background and there's that need to shock and arouse. We are also capable of doing a pretty fan dance too. Skin Tight's members are larger than life versions of themselves and we really play up our cartoon factor. We consist of Tanya Cheex (Artistic Director and Founder of the Troupe); Sauci Calla Horra (Producer/ Bookings Manager); Sexy Mark Brown; Honey B. Hind; CoCo La Creme and Anastasia.

8. What¹s been your weirdest on stage experience?
Tanya: I perform a cute little Satanic Ritual in my Marilyn Monroe "Old Black Magic" number with pyrotechnics. I looked down to see my fishnetted thigh on fire, smacked it as hard as I could, leaving a burned hand print behind. The audience thought that was part of the act. This is always key in burlesque!

Sexy Mark Brown performs as this character , the Reverend Sin Monger, who is a right wing evangelist preacher who reveals himself to be a sinning transvestite!

Also, performing in 2005 in the middle of the Mojave Desert on a goat farm for Miss Exotic World was one of the troupe's defining moments. Nothing says glamour like dirt, dust and rhinestones! We were honoured to be the first Canadians to compete in the Miss Exotic World Pageant, and 2005 was also the last year it was in the Mojave Desert, just before it moved shop to Las Vegas.

9. What is your favourite item of performance clothing and why?

Tanya: My six foot balloon, its peaceful and womblike in there until I burst out to the sound of applause!
Sauci: I don’t have anything even remotely close to that! I do love my vintage burlesque bra that I use for my Venus act. It’s made of pearls and was falling apart due to age. A fellow performer, Torchy Taboo, lovingly restored it for me and I will always be in her debt for this.

10. What kind of reactions do you get from the audience?

Tanya:Shock and awe! Its most always been favourable but sometimes we might push the envelope too far, like Sauci's Easter Bunny act. The Biblical Burlesque Show has met with lots of Christian criticism in the local papers. I guess we're going to burn in hell!

Audiences are also dazzled by our costumes, we make them all, except our corsets which are made by Lovesick Corrective Apparel. We try to create a look that is over the top and unattainable. You don't want people to say, “oh I have that in my underwear drawer at home,” you want them to go “Oooo, I need THAT!”

11. How hard is it to distinguish a troupe/act from other burlesque act with so many performers circulating now?

Sauci: For some reason, this hasn’t been too difficult for us, perhaps because we’ve been around for almost a decade and are one of the pioneers of burlesque in Canada. I do think that Tanya’s creative vision and the way she has molded the troupe and our characters defines who we are. We are also continually working hard to raise the bar on the quality of our acts., and each performer aims to debut something new and different every year. We develop new show concepts for every year as well, so we can continue to challenge our audience. We focus on the revisionist aspect of burlesque, screwing around with archetypes both antiquated and modern, in both our acts and our shows themselves.

12. What would you like to see next happen in burlesque? Where do you see your act going?
Tanya: I want to see us go on a world tour and have our own permanent circus tent to perform in. A glossy coffee table book would be nice but I would be quite happy for folks to read about us in Bizarre on the toilet!

Zombie Pinups: Sexy Mark Brown

2009-10-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here's something for the Ladies, everyone's favorite developmentally arrested plagued fiend, Mr, Jackson, if you're nasty! Don't forget to RSVP here:

http://http//www.facebook.com/search/?q=grindhoude+ghoulies&init=quick#/event.php?eid=277880940021&ref=mf

Zombie Name: Michael

Date of Birth/ Place: Gary, Indiana

Favorite Place To Hang out: Ola's apartment

Favorite Food: vegan brains (they're made with vegetable-based flesh)

Favorite Music to Kill to: ABC (it makes the work seem so much easier)

What Do you Look for In a mate?: Someone who's meek and mild and who's easily frightened. The kind of girl who'll just freeze with terror and scream for a good 60 seconds before trying to escape.

Ideal night out: Movies, followed by a walk past the graveyard.

Dressed To Kill, what do you wear?: Red leather, with black stripes. And white socks.

Deadly weapon of choice: My creepy stare and my bare hands.

Favorite Horror Movies: I've always been a fan of Psycho and Halloween

Act for Oct. 23rd : I'm part of a few acts but my main act is a tribute to a celebrity that I started doing impressions of when I was 11 years old. In fact, that was the first time I danced in front of a crowd... and just look at me now.;

Zombie Pinups: Anastasia

2009-10-06T07:21:00.001-07:00

Introducing the Vengeful Vixen, Anastasia! To RSVP our Oct.23rd 4th Annual Grindhouse Ghoulies Show go to
http://http//www.facebook.com/search/?q=grindhoude+ghoulies&init=quick#/event.php?eid=277880940021&ref=mf
Zombie Name: Jawbone Sally

Date of Birth/ Place: June 22, born in Hell

Favorite Place To Hang out: Bovine Sex Club

Favorite Food: Curried.....You!

Favorite Music to Kill to: Motorhead

What Do you Look for In a mate?: He's gotta have looks & brains.....mmmmm BRAINS!

Ideal night out: Dinner & Dancing

Dressed To Kill, what do you wear?: A little strapless number

Deadly weapon of choice: Axe

Favorite Horror Movies: Army of Darkness, Evil Dead 1&2, Dead Alive, Return of the Living Dead 1,2,and 3, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, Serpent and the Rainbow or any movie with an axe wielding maniac!

Act for Oct. 23rd Grindhouse Ghoulies: Devotchka Orange with a lot of Ultra Violence of course!

Zombie Pinups: Honey B Hind

2009-10-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the garden of decaying delights! To help promote our 4th Annual Halloween Show, Grindhouse Ghoulies, I will feature one of Skin Tight's Scream Queens. Go to Facebook to rsvp: http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=grindhoude+ghoulies&init=quick#/event.php?eid=277880940021&ref=mf

Feast your eyes on Honey B. Hind before she feasts on you!

Zombie Name: Barbara

Date of Birth/ Place: August 30, 1971

Favorite Place To Hang out: Dufferin Mall

Favorite Food: Hockey Player Brains, with cheese and gravy

Favorite Music to Kill to: AC/DC

What Do you Look for In a mate?: Stamina

Ideal night out: eating out followed by EATING OUT!

Dressed To Kill, what do you wear?: Something distressed

Deadly weapon of choice: Nail gun, silly. you eat around the nail-

like meat on a stick

Favorite Horror Movies: the Excorsist, Evil dead- the trilogy,The descent,The Shining , DeadAlive, Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Act for Oct. 23rd Grindhouse Ghoulies:"Carrie"- or why high school sucks cause they ARE all gonna laugh at you- it's a bath, with blood and booty!

Wiinners of The New York Burlesque Festival 2009 Golden Pastie Awards:
Most Classic: Dirty Martini
Kissing Bandit: Tigger!
Biggest Shlep: Amber Ray
Most Likely to miss a kidney: Sparkly Devil
Most Missed Revue: Starshine
Most innovative: Darlinda Just Darlinda
Most likely to appear in Playboy: Angie Pontani
Biggest Hair: Darlinda Just Darlinda
Most Likely to win at Monopoly: Angie Pontani
Best Ass: Helen Pontani
Most Elegant: Amber Ray
Hottest Freshman: Lil' Miss Lixx
Most Sensual: Kelita tie Peekaboo Pointe
Biggest Cougar: Jo Boobs 2x Winner!
Best Body: Dirty Martini multiple years Winner!
Hottest Mess: Wildcard Kitty
Here's last year's teaser video. Can you spot me?

Pooey Blah Pt.2 Nothing To See Here Folks!

2009-10-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

I convinced my boyfriend , Alistair, to come with me to Nuit Blanche, which was no easy task as he is NO fan ( I will post his comments later) of Nuit Blanche. I dressed up in my Anime Schoolgirl outfit, so I could feel like I was a part of it all and to attract attention in order to pass out flyers to promote Skin Tight's Oct. 23rd event, Grindhouse Ghoulies. The vodka flask got packed and off we headed to Zone A. I previously uploaded the Iphone app for Nuit Blanche to my phone to enrich our experience.
As we got to Dundas Square, we realized we forgot our hard copy guide at home; the Nuit Blanche app was not working. The amount of people milling around the square was quite alarming and I thought about bailing to a bar instead.Are these people here to see art? Impressive, at least. Grabbing a guide, we tried to figure out where the Jeff Koon's Rabbit Balloon was. Walking around to Bay st., we saw the Reflecting Pool video installation running a top the Canadian Tire. Initial reaction was "Meh" but the more we watched the better it got. Not mind blowing stuff though. We went to the Bus Terminal to see the Battle Royal cage match. After waiting in line for a while, we got in to see about a bunch of blindfolded plebs bouncing around aimlessly. Where was the fighting? I wanted to go in there and take down! This sucked! An announcement came on to say the real fight would commence in 45 minutes! Forget it! No Luchadores for me!
The line up for another installation inside the Holy Trinity Church was too long so screw that. Inside the Eaton Centre was the Jeff Koon's Rabbit. This hanging Mylar inflatable rabbit was pretty impressive but prompted the question about all Koon's money and where does our local grant money go?
Next was Ghost Chorus in Nathan Phillips Square. Boo-ring! White sheeted ghosts milling around moaning inaudibly. The crowd was confused and so was I. Does Joe Burbia get this? I didn't. More ho-hum things and we headed into Zone B. I started to think about the Emperor's New Clothes, feeling like I was being showed nothing and told I was seeing something fabulous.
Zone B was mostly in the financial district so that did lend an air of surrealism. The Wild Ride midway exhibit that was manned by recently downsized Bay street employees was kinda cool. Very weird to see these rides at night at the normally deserted at night Financial District. However, the lines were too long. Gone Indian live performance started out ok with a traditional Aboriginal dance but then got boring as it changed over to hip hop. More ho-hum exhibits and then over to Brookfield Place to see the Witches' Cradles, originally these hanging canvases were used to punish those accused of witch craft but later reclaimed by witches to heighten enlightenment. It was interesting to see these swinging pods but Alistair and I thought about all the money sunked into this project. We had enough.
To be fair we didn't do Zone C and we didn't view the independent projects but we were left feeling empty and not enlightened, maybe I needed to get into a Witches' Cradle, maybe I needed a drink! I didn't touch my flask. Alistair and I went home for drinks and Deadwood.
I'm not doing Nuit Blanche again! Too Pooey, too blah!
If you had good experiences last night please share them. If you had Blah ones, please share those too!
Here`s my all time favorite video on Youtube. It's HIGH ART to me! Tomorrow, the start of Zombie Burlesque Interviews and winners of The Golden Pastie awards from the New York Burlesque Festival!

Pooey Blah! Nuit Blanche, Endless Night of Idiots?

2009-10-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

This year marks my third year of Toronto's endless night art event known as Nuit Blanche. http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/ In past years I have had a rotten time, especially last year at the Gladstone Hotel. Skin Tight was set up as an installation in the window in a sorta Fellini-esque fashion. In between sitting around we performed burlesque routines. I did my human ponygirl routine. Directly in front of me was a group of late 30's mixed sex couples. they proceeded to laugh, heckle, gesticulate through my entire performance. My 3:40 performance felt endless! It took every ounce of will power not to run off! Torture! I'm a professional so I stuck it out. After I finished, I grabbed a full glass of beverage off their table and doused them with it! Not very professional, I admit! My punkrock girl just clicked in. They actually just got up and quietly left, maybe they felt some shame, who knows?

In my 10 years of performing, I've never been treated so badly and I've performed for real cowboys, suburbanites, and even the Hell's Angels. This group just looked like what we would call yuppies. I told a friend this story and they said, "Some people just don't deserve art". This made me laugh.

Large side wide events attract a diverse crowd and yes , some are yahoos. I've seen this happen in my gay neighborhood with Pride and Halloween. Hell, we all got pepper sprayed in a bar one Pride! Due to some faulty booking, I'm not working Nuit Blanche, I'll be participating with a flask of vodka and my Schoolgirl Anime outfit. I hope I can keep my yahoo in check! I'll promise not to destroy Jeff Koons giant inflatable rabbit at The Eaton Centre. Throw me in the Battle Royal cage match at the Bus Terminal!

In other news, I feel out of a window gogo dancing last night at Liberty Cafe. Anyone think I'm too old to dance on a 9 inch wide window ledge? I didn't hurt myself though, all my yoga must've made me more flexible. I landed on a nearby couch.

Here's a great video I swiped from a excellent burlesque blog site. www.pinup.me.uk/

Welcome to My Dog and Pony Show!

2009-10-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my dog and pony show!

I'm Tanya Cheex from Skin Tight Outta Sight Rebel Burlesque in Toronto in the great white north known as Canada. I've written for other people's blogs such as Daily Burlesque and The Candy Pitch so though it was high time to do my own. I am looking for contributors to help out so drop me a line at t.cheex@gmail.com . Photos, reviews, whatever.

This blog is titled "Rhinestones and Whiskey" cause not only am I a glamourous showgirl but I'm also a bit of a curmudgeon. I actually don't even drink that much whiskey but it sounded better than "Rhinestones and Vodka Soda on the rocks, tall glass. So this is the blog about the good, the bad and the ugly underbelly of our stockinged feet. I will try to play nice for the most part and those guilty will remain nameless or legless, which ever comes first.

Since it is my blog, I will promote myself and my troupe. I'm also here to lend my fellow showgirls and boys a hand with promoting any upcoming events that sound interesting.

At times this blog will feature things that are indirect links to the burlesque world and it times , it will feel like it has nothing to do with it at all. Such is the infinite power of BlOG!

* First photo is of me at age four, four years before my first stripping debut in mt neighbour's backyard!

NEXT POST: ZOMBIE GIRL INTERVIEWS!!

Check out Candy Pitch: http://thecandypitch.blogspot.com/