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 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!
