Oh, The Glamourous Life!

Dear Constant Reader,

You’ve read about my busy Saturday, but I also had a busy Sunday. Princess Farhana of Hollywood was in town and I was not going to miss an opportunity to take a class with one of the original members of The Velvet Hammer, the godmothers of the neo-burlesque movement.

Now, by “in town” I mean 2 hours north into New Hampshire. Just think of how early I had to get up! And I had had a show the night before. I am nothing if not dedicated.

The workshop was hosted by Raq-on Dance at their charming studio. (“raqs” is Arabic for “dance”. Cute, no?).

Our first class was called “The Naughty Side of Little Egypt” about the history of burlesque and the burlesque/bellydance connection (which many bellydancers would like to ignore). It was very entertaining, made more so by Princess’s digressions into stories about her life in both burlesque and bellydance (and the intersection of the two). Princess as a pink-haired teenaged punk stripper, lingerie strip-tease parties with the future Superstars of Bellydance, raunchy Cairo cabarets, the first Velvet Hammer show…

Then we broke for lunch, during which time I had sushi with Vivian Vice of Whistlebait Burlesque and one of her bellydancer friends. They drove almost as far as I did!

The second class was “Beginner Burlesque”. I know you’re wondering why I took a beginner class, but it’s really not as silly as it sounds. It’s what was offered. It’s good to refresh skills from a basic level; it keeps one from getting sloppy. I’m interested in seeing how different instructors teach. I don’t know everything; there’s always a chance I’ll learn something new.

I firmly believe that if I learn *one* new thing, a class was worth it.

Since the class was aimed at bellydancers, most of the instruction was in terms they’d understand (I remember that she described the movement needed for tassel twirling as “Egyptian heel drops”). We practiced walks (4 different ones, I think), occasionally pausing for a little bump & grind. She also demonstrated some floor work, especially how to get down & up (ass first!)

We played with boas a bit. I brought my big red & white turkey boa — I thought the ostrich one with the gold balls might be a tad ostentatious. Learned a nice, tidy way to discard the boa plus a good storage method.

Then it was time for stripping. We started with gloves and I had one of those headsmacking moments of a remove that was so obvious and yet I never thought of it.

We moved on to bras & panties, which caused a bit of a commotion, because those items hadn’t been mentioned in the class description. Most of us just took off our bras and put them back on over our tops (very sexy indeed) and pulled on our air panties.

Then it was show time, of sorts. Those who wanted to (and I’d say only half the class, maybe even less, participated), got to put everything together and perform. Once with Princess, once with her in the audience. The first song was “Lament”, which is completely my style and I know it inside and out, so I was able to let go and have fun with it. The second song, “Bumps & Grinds” is less to my liking and I don’t know it as well, but I think I was able to acquit myself well.

And then I had to race out the door and head back to Boston for rehearsal. To which I barely arrived on time. But I still arrived before Scratch, so I wasn’t late. And bearing gifts. Well, a gift. A “Belly Dance and Balance” DVD for Betty who likes to balance things on her head and other body parts. As one could see in The Wrathskellar last year.