Oh, The Glamourous Life!

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.

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Valentine’s Day! The Boston Babydolls will be celebrating by presenting two performances of Love Actually (not actually) at The Davis Square Theatre tonight. I know, a full-production show less than one week after The Expo, what were we thinking? We were thinking it would be fun!

Your tip today comes from the wisdom of fictional tough guy Joe Pike, written by Robert Crais:

Love is not so plentiful that any of us can afford to reject it when it’s offered.

Dear Constant Reader,

I’m off to the Vermont Burlesque Festival today. It’s so cold in Boston and we’re heading even further north. I’m doing everything I can to keep from freezing important bits off. Today’s tip is:

Wool is your friend.

Not only does it keep you warm, but it breathes so your sweat doesn’t get trapped and chill you. Leg warmers and a cropped cardigan may be a dancer cliche, but they’re an excellent way of keeping your muscles loose and toasty when it’s frigid out.

Dear Constant Reader,

I’ve had fitness on my mind lately as we had been preparing to launch BABEfit (which by the way one of our students called “the most fun fitness class I’ve ever taken!”) and thus your Friday Tip:

When working your abs, don’t forget to work your lower back. It’s part of your core too.

A lower back exercise I like is Superman: lie face down, arms over your head like you’re flying like Superman. Then lift your chest off the ground, hold for a few breaths, then lower. Lift your hips off the ground, hold for a few breaths, then lower. If this is too easy, lift your chest and hips at the same time. You shouldn’t ever feel a strain in your back, just the muscles working.

Dear Constant Reader,

First Friday Tip of 2014! I don’t know about where you are, but it’s freezing here in Boston, about 10 degrees last I checked and over a foot of snow. Winter air is terribly dry and just sucks all the juiciness out of your skin, which leads me to today’s tip:

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Keep your skin nice, smooth, and soft in the winter. All over. Don’t neglect your breasts! Pulling pastie adhesive off dry skin can be terribly painful, especially when you’re changing pasties multiple times a night and performing for several nights in a row. I have the blood-stained pasties to prove it! Don’t be like me…

I use my home-made lotion bars and lip balm daily. For really deep moisturizing, I like Dr. Jen’s body butter. Grapefruit is my current favorite.

Whatever kind of lotion, cream, butter, &c. you choose, it’s more fun if a friend helps you rub it in all over. *wink*

Dear Constant Reader,

I hope you had a merry Christmas or enjoyed your Chinese food and movie.

Here’s your tip: short, simple, and sweet:

Be naughty *and* nice.

Dear Constant Reader,

Today’s tip is for the burlesque fan:

Buy your tickets in advance.

I know everyone is busy and it seems so easy to just buy them at the box office when you arrive for the show, but there are a couple of good reasons to think ahead.

1. Avoid disappointment. If you have your tickets before you arrive at the theatre/club, there’s a seat for you. Too many times people have shown up for one of our shows, eager for a evening of fabulous burlesque, only to be told that the show is sold out. We hate turning people away.

2. Maybe save a little. We often run early-bird discounts. For example, tickets to The Teaseday Club are only $10 until about a week before the show and then they go up to $15.

3. It’s faster. As an experienced box office gal, I can tell you for sure that showing up with your ticket (or confirmation print-out) in hand is going to speed you to your seat (or the bar) much faster than waiting for your credit card to be processed while everyone on line behind you grumbles.

4. It makes the producer happy. Nothing makes them more nervous than slow ticket sales. No one can count on a last minute rush of sales at the door. Many burlesque shows are produced close to the bone and it may be less of a financial risk for the producer to cancel the show altogether when there are insufficient advance sales. Your purchase might be the one that saves the show!

So what are you waiting for? Go buy your tickets!