Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Here’s your tip!
If your elbow is going to bend during your glove remove, slide the glove down below the elbow first.
Otherwise the fabric gets trapped in the crook of your elbow and your effortless glove peel becomes, well, less so.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Here’s your tip:
When in doubt, keep your mouth shut.
Resist the urge to indulge in gossiping, back-stabbing, or bad-mouthing. It may make you feel good to tear someone down, but it just makes you look bad.
Dear Constant Reader,
I’m in sunny Florida right now, but I wouldn’t forget your tip!
Go outside.
Turn off the screens and enjoy some fresh air.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Here’s your tip:
Read a book!
Any book. It doesn’t have to be about burlesque. Read a paper book. Read an e-book. Just read. It’s good for you.
And if you are interested in a burlesque book, there are plenty out there and many can be found in The Boston Babydolls’ Library.
Dear Constant Reader,
I’m sorry for the lack of dispatches this week. I’ve been awfully busy doing what feels like a whole lot of nothing and it’s left me kind of uninspired. Help inspire me! What do you want to see on this blog?
But despite everything, I would not forget your Friday Tip!
Take time to relax and recharge.
Go for a walk, read a book, take a bath, dance for fun, watch a movie. Get away from work (even if you love it) for a little while.
That’s advice I plan to take tonight.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Here’s your tip:
Be subtle with your scent.
Perfume and other forms of fragrance are lovely, but use a light touch. You don’t want to be That Person who has everyone gagging and gasping in her wake. You know who I’m talking about…
If your perfume (parfum, cologne, eau de toilette, &c.) is in an atomizer, spritz the air just in front of you and walk though the spray, preferably naked. If it’s in a bottle, use your finger to lightly dab a touch on your pulse points: wrists, throat, back of knees. That’s really all you need.
You want a ghost of your scent to cling, not an aromatic bludgeon to assault.
I’m all for signature scents (and I wish I could decide on one!). You can always use several products from the same line for a gentle layering effect, like perfume, lotion, and soap. Sometimes you can even find sachets or scented drawer liners.
Don’t wear fragrance of any kind in enclosed places (plane, bus, &c.) or places that are going to get warm (dance rehearsal, yoga class, &c.) It’s just polite not to overwhelm your compatriots.
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Time for a tip! This piece of advice comes from Mr. Scratch, from whom I have learned many valuable things about business and communication.
Send handwritten thank you notes.
You should always send thank you notes — to a producer who booked you, to a photographer who shot you, &c. — and obviously a quick email serves that purpose. However, people are always delighted to received an actual something in the mail; it so rarely happens these days. And it shows you took the time and care to hand-write a note, address it, stamp it, and mail it. Plus, most people don’t want to toss something like that in the trash, so your note will linger, reminding them of you.
It’s also a great excuse to have a library of appropriate stationary and cards. Just look at Lili St. Cyr’s personalized stationary! If you had letterhead like this, wouldn’t you want to send letters?
Dear Constant Reader,
Happy Friday! Today’s tips is based on a recent sad experience for a whole bunch of people.
Facebook is the worst method of communication.
If you need to get in touch with someone, especially in a professional capacity, DO NOT send them a FB message. There’s a good chance it will end up in the “other” folder.
What “other” folder?, you may ask. Go to your messages and next to “Inbox” there’s a greyed-out link called “other”. Click it and get ready to cry at all the missed opportunities…
If you want to send a message to someone and have them get it, use email.
If you want to get all your messages, make your email address easily available. And let people know that you want to be emailed not messaged. And then respond promptly to emails.
Dear Constant Reader,
The Conference is the jewel of The Expo — 4 tracks of classes covering everything from dance to business and beginner to professional-level. It’s a fabulous opportunity to learn and I wish more people took full advantage of it.
Friday
The Teasing Touch (me): Friday afternoon classes are new this year. I wasn’t actually expecting anyone to show up, but I had 3 students: a newcomer, an experienced burlesquer, and someone for whom this was her first burlesque class! I was so thrilled. We explored some of the wonderful things you can do with your hands and gloves.
There were more classes and some Birds of a Feather sessions, but I was in tech rehearsal for The Rhinestone Revue.
Saturday
Subtle Sparkle: Edge-Beading (me): I really like “make & take” classes. You go in with nothing and walk out with a thingy or at least the beginnings of a thingy and the knowledge to finish it. In this class I taught the basics of edge-beading and let the students practice it by making a ribbon choker. Here’s Gala Delicious modeling her creation. She practically beaded the whole thing in just two hours!
Strip Like a Stripper (Sheila Starr Siani): After seeing Sheila’s terribly sexy performance the night before, I was eager for this class. We learned some key secrets and practiced some classic stripper moves. No surprise, everyone wanted to learn the booty bounce. Best moment, Stella with her legs up in the air demonstrating, mentioning that she learned it in college.
The Road Warriors (panel): This was just fun, listening to Willy Barrett, Scratch, Angie Pontani, and Red Snapper share touring stories. Still, I learned some useful tips. Just have to point out that Snapper made *handouts*. For a panel.
Dance Moves for Non-Dancers (Red Snapper): I swear I was not stalking Red Snapper. We learned a bunch of basic moves, hardly harder than walking, many of which we use in BABEfit combinations. The class finished with us all dancing The Hustle. And there was a cheat sheet, so I didn’t even need to take notes.
Flirting with Fan Dance (Fanny Galore): You know I love fan dance and I take all the classes I can, even beginner ones because I’m always search for that one bit of gold. In this case, it was the experience of fan dancing to music that was nowhere near my comfort zone.
Sunday
Using Your Face (Willy Barrett): I admit it: facial expressions are one of my weak points and when I’m sharing the stage with Betty or Brigitte, it really shows. We learned the mind-body-spirit correspondences to the parts of the face and to the eyes.
Down & Dirty (Red Snapper): I’ve taken this floorwork class before, but I always like to work my legs and abs. And besides, I might learn something new. In this case, it was the memorable phrase “tits up to God”.
The Legs and Feet of a Dancer (Willy Barrett): I always love watch people’s minds get blown in one of Willy’s classes. And Brigitte was no exception — she’s already reworking her stocking removes. Besides learning the mind-body-spirit connection to the parts of the leg and the foot, we also practiced stances and their meanings. Favorite moment: Whisper de Corvo volunteered to demonstrate. She chose to be a tiger, then said she couldn’t be a bunny. You never say “can’t” to Willy Barrett! And yes, she can.
Ribbon Work for Detailed Costumes (Whisper de Corvo): Ribbon flowers are so beautiful, but I’ve never tried making them. We made pansies from lovely ombre ribbon, some modern and some vintage. My creation turned out a little wonky (I think I needed slightly longer ribbon lengths), but still pretty.
Go-Go Robics (Angie Pontani):
(Photo by Kristin Chalmers Photography)
I was really looking forward to this one. The Pontani Sisters’ Go-Go Robics DVDs (the original and sequel) were among the first I bought when I embarked on my burlesque journey, so I jumped at the chance to do it with Angie, in person. She taught a super-high energy choreography to “The Clapping Song”, which had us gasping and sweating in no time. Here’s a snippet of video. You can just sort of see me flailing around behind Angie.
And then I had to skip the last class session to set up for my Tea Party!
Dear Constant Reader,
It’s Friday tip time! One of the great things about The Conference at The Expo is that I get inspired with all sorts of new tips. Here’s one for both taking and teaching movement classes:
For students:
Put down your notebook. Let your body learn as well as your mind.
Trust me, I am a compulsive note-taker, but you won’t get as much out of the class if you’re frantically scribbling instead of moving. Take a few minutes at the end of class to jot things down while they’re still fresh.
For teachers:
Create a cheat-sheet or aide-mémoire for your students so they don’t have to take notes.
Tell them you have it at the start of class, but don’t hand it out until the end. If you want to be super-awesome, make a video of your combination or choreography and give students the URL.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 