To prop or not to prop… That is the question… by: Vivienne Vermuth Kitten Deville by Derek Jackson Photography There’s nothing like watching stagehands bring out a huge oversized prop or set piece before an act is performed… It sets the mood for the performance and gets the crowd buzzing about what to anticipate! On the other end of that scale however, it’s just as big a letdown to see that huge prop dismissed or not utilized to its scintillating potential. Or is it? Burlesque is all about the tease, the show, and the glam; whether it be in sparkling costumes, glittery makeup, or over the top sets and props. More and more performers are seen with big stage production pieces, with performers like Dita Von Teese leading the way in large-scale glittering props, such as her signature martini glass and her makeup compact. However… the question that is commonly asked… are big props necessary? In order to answer this, one must first make a checklist. First up- venue restrictions.  Each time I choreograph a number, first thing I check is venue restrictions. Where is the most likely of places I am to perform this piece? If you live in a city setting like New York City, Jonny Porkpie had this to say -”I don’t have any numbers that require a large prop, but that’s probably partially because I live in New York, where the backstage can be small, the taxis very expensive, and the subways have a lot of stars.” Lugging around props is a major make or break point… If you own a big truck and don’t mind the extra show load, fabulous! If not, you may be finding yourself borrowing or scrounging to find suitable transport. Next on the list- Why are you using said prop? “I always warn newer performers against rushing to use great big props in some effort to ‘raise the bar’ for themselves. I have seen many performers upstaged by their props.”, warns Tigger! of New York. I agree; large props are best suited to performers with a great deal of stage experience. Ostrich feather fans, sparkly umbrellas; even trash can lids can serve as great smaller stage props to add spice without overwhelming yourself and the audience. Also consider the costume/song, does it absolutely just call out for props? Additionally, do you have a lot of prop heavy performances in your repertoire? “I feel too many props in one show kills the effect of having a prop,” says Kitten DeVille of California. “I also have seen too many girls relying on their prop to do all the work while they just pose.” Kitten brings an excellent point… Props are great, but if they cannot be fully used to their potential and worked thoroughly, they can be a hindrance. Lastly- Do you interact with your prop, is it well thought out, and does the prop serve as an essential part of the performance? Props are tools, and they are only as good as the performer using them.  As Penny Starr Jr. of California puts it, “I may remember the prop, but I rarely remember the act surrounding it. The prop should serve the act; the prop should not out-shine the performance.” Midnite Martini by Derek Jackson If you are going to use a prop, make sure it is sturdy (so that it will not fall apart on stage), is stage worthy (please don’t bring me you crudely hand-drawn sign), and it big enough to be seen by the back row (How am I supposed to read the title of that paperback from 100 feet away?). Some of my favorite big props – Midnite Martini of Colorado uses an aerial hoop to perform beautiful striptease, Viva la Muerte of Chicago uses a coffin in her tribute to Creepshow, and Lexa Lusty of Dallas uses multiple boxes and suitcases to contort in and out of before being stuffed into a suitcase and wheeled offstage. I highly suggest searching these folks and others (Angi B Lovely, Lula Hoop Garou, Roxi D’Lite, Catherine D’Lish, Lola Van Ella, etc.) and check out how they make use of their props.  Jonny Porkpie teaches a great class called the Arc of the Tease, in which he talks about the best use of props being using them at least twice- the first to introduce it, then coming back to it at the end as part of the reveal so that the audience can understand its function as it’s related to you. One of our burlesque legends Big Fannie Annie says it best, “Props have always been done, and I think it adds [to the performance] if it is done well and with good taste!” If you choose to use props, large or small, keep it simple, use them to best advantage, and enlist the help of fellow performers to ensure you don’t go prop-overboard! Also, use YouTube, vimeo, and other resources such as burlesque hall.com, burlesque411.com, 21stcenturyburlesque.com and other sites to keep current and get inspired by other performers with amazing props!

The Goddess, Immodesty Blaize, talks bonkbusters, Ambition, waistlines and Texas.

Divertida Devotchka

1. You’ve never performed in Texas, correct? What are your expectations for your March 20th show in Dallas?

I am really looking forward to coming. The promoter has been incredibly welcoming. Generally I have no expectations or pre-judgments whenever I perform somewhere new; I just give everything to my audience wherever I am!

2. What made you choose Dallas for the location of the U.S. premier of your new film, “Burlesque Undressed”?

There’s a great tradition of entertainment in Texas and I’ve been approached a number of times to perform there. The opportunity to combine a USA Film Festival premiere with a performance (which features Dirty Martini and Perle Noire) was a great idea for collaboration.

3. Have you noticed any significant differences between your audiences in the U.S. and those at your shows in the U.K.?

I find the audiences equally appreciative, and with a similar split of around 60% female to 40% male. If anything I would say that perhaps the mainstream American audience is a little more conservative than the European audience.

4. Your first novel “Tease” came out last year, and your second, “Ambition” will be out later this year. Care to tell us a little about the upcoming book? What other literary aspirations do you have?

The upcoming book is called ‘Ambition’ and it’s set in Vegas. It’s another bonkbuster and so you’ll find plenty of sex, scandal, private jets, Alpha males, superheroines, feathers, big hair…I think the best way to sum it up would be Dynasty meets Paul Verhoeven’s ‘Showgirls’. I’m seriously considering setting the third one in Dallas…so I hope I get to come back for some more in depth ‘research’!

5. After seeing you in person, I must say that the most astounding of all your breathtaking features was your waistline. You mention in your film that your waist shrinks to 19 or 20 inches when you’re wearing your corset. Have you always been able to tighten it so severely, or did you train your waist by tight lacing? If so, how long have you been tight lacing?

Thanks! No I don’t train my waist, I have an hourglass shape at rest, I’m 38-26-38 – so it’s not too much of a problem for me to take it down. The key for me to get the extra inch is just to not eat anything bulky the day of a show. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone as daily wear and I only wear them that tight for short periods, I find it very uncomfortable to go down to 19 inches, as it hurts my back in particular. I once nearly vomited right before a show when I realized I couldn’t actually breathe. But I was stuck in the darn thing, with my shoulder pack strapped on underneath, my crystal underwire garroting my breasts, my headdress clamped in place, a choker tight around my throat, and sweltering under 50 kilos of feathers – I think it was a costume claustrophobic reaction. I’m sure there are many out there who identify!

6. In your film, your milliner Stephen Jones made the comment about your grandiose wardrobe, “It’s a costume. But she always wears it; it never wears her.” Can you think of any scenarios (performances, photo shoots, etc) in which you felt like your costume was “wearing you”? I’ve heard you describe some of your headdresses as “medieval torture devices.” How do you manage to make wearing them look so easy? (and glamorous, at that!)

Some costumes can be painful to wear, but it’s the smile you wear that completely outshines all that discomfort. If you want the exaggerated visual effect that the costume gives then you just find a way to deal with it. You can ‘tame’ the costume – rehearse a lot with it and find out what movement you can and can’t do, and get used to the pain/weight/restriction. Ultimately I think your persona still has to be the star, rather than the rhinestones – so the costume should suit, and work for the personality, not the other way around. I don’t mind the ‘no pain no gain’ thing – if it’s a hell of an effort to get it right then it feels like I’m going the extra mile in my presentation. I somehow feel more dressed to kill if my feet are dying in 6 inch heels. This will get me lynched by feminists, but it’s just how I feel, for me I don’t see the difference between that and the pain I feel after 100 crunches in the gym!

7. Other than the snag you ran into when choosing the name for the Tease Show, have you had any other experiences with censorship?

Not especially. Although occasionally some of my corporate clients ask me to reveal less, and not to remove my bra. (Dior for example). I’ll work closely with my clients to make sure we meet in the middle and achieve something they are 100% comfortable with, whilst still giving a burlesque performance. I’m not sure there’s any point just doing a dance routine in a corset, I wouldn’t try and pass that off as burlesque.

8. I’ve read that you immersed yourself in books as child, and in your film you touch on the topic of the escapist element of burlesque. Are your performances a way for you to bring those childhood fantasies to life? I mean, what little girl wouldn’t want an 8-foot crystal-encrusted red rocking horse or a 6-foot bejeweled telephone?

Actually an element of that horse prop was inspired by memories of the rocking horse my grandfather carved for me when I was tiny! However my shows are very much centered around ‘The Woman’ and I don’t really perform girlie things – no tutus or cupcakes. (At 6’3 in my heels it would look absurd if I came over all porcelain doll.) For me the escapist element came about because I always loved to create fantasy worlds and continued that into my adult life through working in film, and with writing and art. I am a huge fan of ‘camp’ which obviously involves an exaggeration of reality too, I love to include humor, and a sense of ‘ridiculous’, it’s probably just the European eccentricity in me.

9. What upcoming projects are you excited about? What are your goals for the upcoming year?

I tend not to talk too much about future projects in case I jinx them! But I will have some fabulous new performances in store, books….

10. How do you go about obtaining the goal of being perceived as “other-worldly,” as you mention in your film?
 


I used that term I guess as a way of relating to the concept of a ‘glamour’ which is, literally, a spell. With showgirls and actresses in mind for example, in setting up a much more exaggerated version of reality, it presents a vision to an audience that they would never see in everyday life – ie not in their immediate world – otherworldly. That way it becomes a special and memorable experience to watch and it has the capacity to transport the audience away from their every day concerns. However if you think about it, we create this believable idea that we waft around in gowns and rhinestones all day – the irony is that it’s not just an illusion, we really do live like that – because it’s part of the job, it’s vertical integration.

11. How do you think burlesque will change in upcoming years to accommodate the current boom in the industry?


Certainly there are great opportunities for mainstream awareness. Burlesque was always meant to be populist and accessible for both high and low culture, so it’s good to see a return to a mainstream audience base. Although it’s impossible to predict how the genre will evolve. I have no idea! I just hope that in whatever direction it progresses there will continue to be great new ideas, and high quality. If there aren’t then the audiences won’t want to come back for more!

12. When U.S. audiences first saw you, it was at the 2007 Miss Exotic World competition where you took the crown, but what about the first time you ever hit the stage as a burlesque performer? Did you have large scale props, fabulous costumes, and spot-on choreography or was it more “modest”?


Back in ‘98 there were no burlesque clubs in London; I performed on the performance art scene. There wasn’t the stage space for huge props, and there weren’t the audiences back then to pay for $50,000 costumes! However it was a vibrant and creative underground scene, I learned a lot. My first ‘classic’ act was a ‘garden of delights’, with an old velvet chaise lounge covered in fresh flowers, roses, petals, it smelt great but was pricey to do every show. (In retrospect it was a little like Lili St Cyr’s flower-covered throne.) I also experimented with Berliner cabaret influences, some of my acts were more ‘neo’. I surprised an audience once when I entered in immaculate black Victorian men’s riding gear to a baroque, before stripping into a military pony girl in sparkling harnesses to a Goldfrapp heavy electro cover of ‘Yes Sir I can Boogie’ which she sung as a political statement about the 2nd Iraq war. I really enjoyed those early days of experimentation! I guess it allowed my stage persona to develop naturally.

13. You found your burlesque name when the gas man compared you to the comic book character Modesty Blaise. Other than physical characteristics, is there anything else about her character with which you can identify?


Yes she had been a child without a family who had to grow up quick. Other than that, no I’m not a hit woman. I do have a secret penchant for thigh boots though, but as part of uniform or riding….

14. With so many projects, from managing the details of every production from the props & costumes to the talent, to writing and film projects, how do you manage to find time for things like meals and sleep?

Haha, I don’t! I’m writing this at 4 am!

15. What does a typical day look like for you? Is there any sort of routine? 


No routine. But I have to be disciplined, for example I have to get my word counts done when I’m in the middle of a novel, I have a weekly training regime, I live by deadlines for shows etc …. But it’s a funny old job, as you know it’s time consuming to design and create shows, and the performances take me all over the world so I travel a lot. I have a low boredom threshold so it probably suits me best that no two days are the same. 
I try to squeeze in time in my house in France whenever possible so I can take an afternoon out by the pool to gather my thoughts.

16. What do you enjoy when not immersed in burlesque?


Art. Any kind of art or culture. Although not performance necessarily, I do try to have a break from that. I also like to DJ electro, disco, and soul as listening to 40s/50s music every day drives me round the bend occasionally.

17. Just out of curiosity, how many diamonds adorn your diamond merkin?


None, they’re constructed in China by my costume jeweler who uses cut crystals. Shhh, that’s not very other-worldly is it!

Miss Blaize will be performing for the first time in Texas on March 20th at the Lakewood Theater, as well as screening her new film Burlesque Undressed. For more info on the show, please visit our Events page.

Shake a tail feather with Black Mariah

No need to post an emailed question this month because I have had DOZENS of emails from burlesque dancer wanting to purchase ostrich feather fans. I thought these emails came at a great time as I just purchased my third pair of ostrich feather fans, and let me tell you, I thought I knew everything about fans, and I did not. With that, let me educate all of you potential feather flaunters in how to purchase your first pair of fans wisely.

When I bought my first set of ostrich feather fans, there were only a few websites selling “Sally Rand” fans. I must have searched over a month before I settled on a fan vendor and sent my payment for my fans. When I received my fans from the company that shall not be names, I was incredibly disappointed. They weren’t nearly as full as they appeared in the picture, and they didn’t open up to even 45 degrees the fan staves were wooden but not painted to match the black feathers, just wood. I made the best with the purchase and went on to make a great number with them. I just chalked it up to a life lesson of “You get what you pay for”. The fans I purchased were really only about $120 less than the fans I COULD HAVE gotten from a competing company which I would have been extremely happy to have. I purchased a pair later from ostrich.com, but had bought the cheapest fans which were the full sized single layer fans. When I received them, I was not satisfied as they too were not as full as I thought they were, which was no fault of ostrich.com, as the pictures on the website accurately depicted the product. I just didn’t know any better. Here are the important details I wished I had known before I made both of those purchases.

1. Buy at least double layer fans — Ostrich feathers are thin and dainty quills. If you hold a large sized feather (the size used in feather fans) up, you can see through them. If you hold two together, one in front of the other, the objects behind the two feathers are hidden; hence your naughty bits will not be exposed. Triple layer is best, if you purchase fans with clear staves. The third layer is a short set of feathers set low on the staves, starting just about the connecting screw. The third layer actually covers the clear part of the bottom of the fan staves that would be a point of exposure. Some vendors also sell fans with colored staves, in which case the third layer would only be a preference and not a need.

2. Purchase pre assembled fans I am incredibly crafty and know my way around all of the tools in our garage. I would even go as far as to describe myself as the very definition of DIY. However adding a second layer of feathers to a set of white feather single layer fans was a very humbling experience. It took me three days of wrestling with wire, wire pliers, clamps and ostrich feathers which I might explain, do not like to lay flat- EVER. They rolled and moved, and caught the wind easily and slid out of there places. It was very difficult. The Ostrich.com website suggests that the approximate assembly time is 75 minutes per fan. I am pretty sure it took me much longer when dealing with two feathers per stave. The lesson here is that it is not NEARLY as easy as it sounds. The last purchase I made from ostrich.com, I purchased pre assembled. It was worth the extra charge to let a professional do it and make it look nice.

3. Wide open spaces Know the dimensions of your stage before you commit to using your fans in a show. A stage that is 10 ft wide is too small. Full sized fans should measure 30” from the anchor screw to the tip of the feather. My arm measure 25” from shoulder to thumb. In a full arm extension with one fan out to the side of your body, you would need 55” of clearance just to perform a basic extension swirl. That is 4.5 ft. So double that for the other fan on the opposite side of your body and that is 9 feet of space just to complete two arm extension swirls, leave one tiny foot of space for your body to move about. Constrained movement does not make for a beautiful fan dance.

4. Quality feather fans are made from male ostrich wings. Not until this fact was pointed out to me did I realize the stark difference between male and female feathers. Male feathers are the feathers used in the most beautiful fans. In the bird kingdom males have the ornate and brightly colored plumage, solely for courting and mating with females. Oh the irony that we humans are quite opposite. Male feathers will also bleach completely and thoroughly to a bright white. While female feather will bleach to white, they are likely to retain dark brown or black spots of color. I am not clear as to why, but the male feathers will bleach all the way to white. I looked at many websites offering “quality” feather fans at much more desirable prices. It was only now that I noticed phrases like “femina wing feathers” in the sales description. Be very diligent when you read the descriptions about a potential fan you would like to purchase. Remember that “you get what you pay for” and this phrase is incredibly true with fans. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Second hand fans are the exception to this rule.

5. Unique, like everyone else Ostrich feather fans are a beautiful, unique addition to your repertoire, however there is at least one fan dancer in every major city. In a festival, or competition setting, you can guarantee that most dancers will want to enter their fan dances, as it is no doubt their strongest, and the most glamorous of their routines. Imagine, one show getting auditions from 20 dancers, and 18 of them want to enter the show or competition with a fan dance! Understand that although you may have a unique routine, or feel your fan dance is worthy of a national level of performance, almost every dancer or troupe has a fan dancer, and they all feel the same way. You will be more likely to get a slot in a competition or festival showcase by submitting anything but a fan dance. In fact, as a rule across the board of performances, I would stray from entering ANYTHING that might be a commonly used song, or theme. (i.e. fans, cabaret chairs, top hat and cane, Sarah Palin, Little Red Riding hood)

6. Lessons and Practice A fan class from a professional or even a fan dance instructional video will do wonders for your technique, and give you a good set of basic fan dance skills to which you will have the tools to create unique moves and choreography on your own. You should work to develop your own style and personality with fans. After all, while you are concealing yourself with beautiful plumage, your feet and face have to make up for all of the body that you are not showing.

7. Choreography The internet has opened the doors for information to just appear right at our fingertips. It helps to watch as many fan videos as you possibly can. Some of the performances available for your viewing are simply amazing. You may be tempted yourself to utilize some of the moves or tricks you see in these videos. I have been asked if that was OK to do, and I warn all of you to tread this line carefully. “Moves” can be named but not copyrighted. Sets and combinations of moves in the order they were performed CAN be copyrighted and is definitely stealing choreography. If you are unsure, email the dancer and explain the move that you would like to use in your routine, and ask permission before busting a fan move out as your own. Many dancers are flattered for a newbie to love their creations, and don’t mind a bit if they are borrowed.

I personally use ostrich.com for my entire feather and fan needs. Cindy is the best and is the most personable customer service rep I have ever experienced. This company cares so much for their clients and it’s no surprise that much of their business is repeat customers. I have only received the best product from the company and have always been satisfied with my purchases. Ostrich.com has an incredibly diverse selection of fans in a huge budget range.

I know that many of the top performers and teachers also use featherstore.com in which you can find fans with colored staves.

A new feather fan designer here in Dallas by the name of Meleea’s bazaar shop creates custom fans for her customers and as I know a few dancers who have utilized her very talented fan making skills, they were very happy with their purchase from her. Meleea appears to serve much of the belly dance community so you may find other very unique items for your dances in her store!

Thanks so much for reading and if this article helped you in selecting your own fans, send us a picture!