Dear Constant Reader,
B.A.B.E. and The Boston Babydolls were proud to be a part of Dixie Evans Week. We held 2 events, both to to raise money for Dixie’s memorial fund.
B.A.B.E was part of the 100 Classes for Dixie with “Blonde Bombshell”, a 3-hour workshop in which we taught an entire, brand-new routine to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s best Friend”, in honor of The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque.
It was an experiment of sorts. Now, any new choreography is a bit of an experiment — you never know if it’s going to survive contact with dancers — but we’d never created or taught a class in this way before. Brigitte, Stella, and I each choreographed 1/3 of the song, checking, of course, to make sure everything was compatible. And then we team taught it, which was an awful lot of fun.
The students were great! Everyone was really enthusiastic, including the bride-to-be who was using this as a kick-off for her bachelorette celebration. We started off the class by talking about Dixie and then showing “The Casting Couch”. Everybody was inspired by it, even the teachers.
It turned out that the only issue with the joint choreography was that both Brigitte and Stella used a step-touch, but Brigitte started with the touch and Stella with the step. The students were getting confused as when to use which, so Brigitte declared that she would change to start with the step instead. And everyone was happy.
And here are our glamourous students!
But we weren’t done yet! Right after class, we all headed over to Davis Square for
Big thanks to everyone who came out, despite it being Labor Day weekend. (For those of you who are not Bostonians, that’s the weekend when thousands and thousands of students descend upon the Boston area to move into their dorms or out of their summer sublets. The sidewalks of Allston are filled with discarded belongings and moving vans get stuck under bridges on Storrow Drive.)
Bigger thanks to those of you who chose to pay more than the lowest ticket price or made an additional donation.
And biggest thanks to the Davis Square Theatre for giving us a very reduced rate and to the performers and crew for donating their time.
The show went a little something like this:
Scratch opened with a speech about Dixie Evans, who she was and why she’s important.
Stella started with her “Date Night” number to “Moonglow”. We thought this was a good first act since it’s got some similar elements to “Casting Couch” — Stella is seduced by a man who isn’t really there, just his jacket.
For a little variety we turned to Betty in her fast-paced bellydance-inspired number to “Airmail Special”.
Next up was Brigitte with a dirty striptease to “Tombstone Blues”.
Devora presented a dance en pointe with just a hint of striptease (she took off gloves and a scarf, but left her filmy tunic in place). This is usually done with a balloon, a la Sally Rand’s bubble dance, but the ceilings at the theatre were too low.
And then I did my fan dance to “Harlem Nocturne”.
Stella sang “Always be True to You”. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the microphone, so she could barely be heard over the backing track.
Betty closed out the first half with an act we like to call Geek Love. Betty, dressed in jeans, sneakers, a flannel, and a t-shirt, gets really hot & bothered by her laptop. The costume may not be sexy, but Betty is as she bumps & grinds to “Night Train”.
And then we took a little intermission.
To make up for the previous audio problem, Stella came back and sang “I Hate Men”. She hadn’t planned on singing twice, but she’s just that good.
Next up, I preformed “Champagne on Ice”, a moody striptease with some ice. Again, we picked it because there’s an invisible partner. When I finished, there was dead silence. It stretched long enough that I was wondering how to get off the stage with any dignity when a woman’s voice drifted down from the back of the house: “Wow…” Thunderous applause. Thank goodness.
Brigitte brightened things up with a tap dance to “In the Mood”.
Devora had a little surprise for the audience during her can-can striptease to “Love Me Or Leave Me” — assels!
We had given the Blonde Bombshell students the option to perform the routine they had just learned in the show and one of them was brave enough to do it! Trixie Santiago made her burlesque debut right on our stage with a choreography she hadn’t known mere hours before. Brigitte performed it alongside her, but Trixie did great!
Then, with the help of a volunteer from the audience, Scratch performed a card trick which didn’t quite go as planned…
Betty, Devora, Stella, and I closed out the show with “Leap Frog”, the number we presented at the Ohio Burlesque Festival.
And Scratch ended by once again talking about Dixie and how the funds raised were going to be used.
It was a fun show, but bitter-sweet. I hope we did Dixie proud.
It’s Dixie Evans Week! You can read all about it and Dixie Evans herself 
When the show was over, and the stage was filled with energized performers having just taken their final curtain call, Scratch took the stage to announce our loss. 
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 
