Dear Constant Reader,
One for my favorite things about the Expo is The Conference. I love to learn and to teach too. Scandal from Bohemia, the class coordinator, did a bang-up job bring in extremely talented teachers from all over.
I started off bright and early Saturday morning with Betty Blaize’s “Booty Bustin’ Bootcamp” — a high intensity hour of dance workout. When we run warmups at rehearsal, Betty picks one of 3 “shimmy songs” for the killer last part. In this class she used ALL THREE. That’s ten solid minutes of superfast layered shimmies. Whew!
Next up was “Showgirl Tips & Tricks” with Burgundy Brixx. She’s a fantastic teacher and I learned so much. Now I can bevel and tip and I know a surefire trick for being appealing on stage. If you have the chance to take a class with her, jump on it.
There was no way I was going to miss an opportunity to take a class with Joe Paul Williams, the Delsarte master. In “Putting it all on the Line” we played with motion — direction and shapes in space — always knowing how and why you are moving. As always, I feel like my mind has expanded. Everything is so simple, yet profound. If you are any kind of performer, you must take a class with him. It will change your life.
I was sorry I couldn’t make it to Super Dave D’aranjo‘s class on “Not Quite Music Theory”. He sent me his presentation afterwards and I was completely blown away by his explanations of music forms in a way dancers could understand.
On Sunday the theme was clearly “be more naked”. I made Barely There Pasties under the direction of Beau Blush of the Wortown Bombshells and learned the ins and outs of G-strings and merkins from The Shanghai Pearl.
I also taught a few classes, but that may be a separate note.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 