My First Year of Burlesque Festivals

On the way to Vegas!

The Hoop Unit Goes to BHoF
June 2013

As if it were even possible, somehow my drive and dedication to my art has been increased by attending the Burlesque Hall of Fame. I have been given even more courage to do what I do, to the extreme. There is no reason to hold back. No reason to fear that anything I do is too crazy, silly, sexy, out there or wild, because it's not. After what I saw performed on that stage, NOTHING I do can be too out there. There will always be someone who is more flamboyantly ridiculous or fabulous than me :) How awesome is that? It's comforting to know there are so many people out there like me that are completely obsessed with Burlesque. I have never been surrounded by so many people that are that into it! I felt like I was definitely a virgin at the Burning Man for Burlesque Performers. I also feel like I have found yet another place to call home.

Seeing so many performers embrace their unique selves through fashion, costuming, performance, movement, dance, theatrical concepts and of course creative strip tease has really encouraged me to BE MYSELF to the fullest extent of the law. I can't wait to see what my brain comes up with after this!

It was a true celebration of the human body, in ALL of it's forms. Men, women, small, large, young and old got up on that stage and owned it! There really is no time in this life to be ashamed of what you got. Own it!

On the big stage!

My favorite night of performances was Thursday, the “Movers, Shakers and Innovators.” These were the alternative acts that fit nowhere near classic. The more and more I surround myself with Burlesque, the more I start to formulate an opinion of what I prefer. And it's clearly anything that involves circus or outside-the-box concepts. When you've seen lots of women take their clothes off on stage, after awhile it just becomes ass and titties. And then some more ass and there are another set of titties. I want something different. Something radical! Thursday gave it to me and I will never forget it. Jett Adore came onstage with the largest pair of feather fans I have ever seen in my life! I mean they were gigantic! Lolli Hoops, my Hoop Burlesque sister from the other side of the country, did a hilarious Mary Poppins Hoop act. She rocked 4 hoops and nailed it! I was extremely proud of her :) Other highlights of that night include Gilbert de Moccos of Japan, Miyuki Divine & Raven Virginia and Russell Bruner.

The Hoop Unit at BHoF

Friday was the Legends showcase. The groundbreaking ladies who paved the way for us 40+ years ago got on stage and brought it! It was inspiring to see older women still rocking the stage. It gave me a different perspective for my future. Not only were they owning the stage but the audience loved them! This is reality right here. We all age eventually and it is a beautiful thing. Not to be ashamed of or scared of. It is to be celebrated! The reverence for the women who started the Burlesque movement is endless. I love seeing the respect and adoration for our previous generation.

Saturday was our big night! The competition! 3 full months of rehearsals for the troupe and 3 years of anticipation for me was finally coming to a head. To say we were nervous was an understatement. Performing Burlesque for 800 other Burlesque performers is no joke! It's such a niche community that the people within it are what support it. It is starting to branch out and get support from the mainstream as it becomes more popular but for the most part, Burlesque performers support Burlesque. I haven't been as nervous to perform since I was featured on Showtime's LiveNude Comedy in 2008. It was a live taping of my newly created Hoop burlesque act (I had only been hooping for one year at that point) for a national television show. It was the most nervous I had ever been to perform. Fast forward to backstage at the Orleans Casino theater for Burlesque Hall of Fame 2013 and THAT has become the most nervous I have been to go on stage. BUT WE ROCKED IT! You can see the video here. Sure, the performance wasn't perfect. But heck, it was close enough for me. It was a very challenging routine for 4 people to nail flawlessly. I am extremely proud of us. We worked so hard! We trained, made our costumes and fundraised through Indiegogo so we could afford to get out there. I consider the whole project a complete success and I am so grateful to Sarah, Jessica and Madison for making it such a priority. Also, to everyone who helped support our Indiegogo campaign, THANK YOU! We couldn't have done it without you.

After the show w/ Lolli Hoops!

Some of the competitors on Saturday that really stood out to me was Laurie Hagan in the debut category for her reverse Burlesque act. Her music was in reverse, her dancing was in reverse and so was her striping! It was a completely original take on the classic idea of reverse Burlesque. I loved Midnite Martini's act for the Queen title in which she had feather fans on her gloves. How she was able to strip with feather fans on her fingers will forever baffle me. Imogen Kelly (last year's Queen) from Australia performed her farewell performance. It was absolutely breathtaking. Her dress had a manipulatable hoop inside of it that changed shape as she moved. It ebbed and flowed, the performance brought tears to my eyes. In the end we didn't win our category but I wasn't really there to win. I was there to share and to inspire...and to be inspired! I was there to express my vision of Hoop Burlesque Fusion and entertain the crowd in a hopefully unique way. I already know what I want to enter with next year and have been thinking about it, plotting it, ever since! Bwahahaha. I am determined to take home a title at some point in my life. It will happen!

Sunday we got some pool lounging in and saw the Icons & All Stars show. I was awesome to see Roxi D'Lite perform live. I have been watching her videos for years! She did a Cyr Wheel strip, it was amazing. The strength that woman has! Jeez! Catherine D'Lish AND Dita Von Tease ended up showing up which was a huge surprise for the audience. It was Dita's first time attending BHoF! Michelle L'amour was ridiculously sexy as well. I mean wow!

You can see more pictures from our adventures in Vegas here. 
A documentary style video of our adventures in Vegas will be ready soon!

Valentina Goes to the New Orleans Burlesque Festival
September 2013

I just got back from an adventure at the New Orleans Burlesque Festival and I am still

reeling. The first night I was there I performed in the Mondo Burlesque Show at the Harrah's Casino. It was an amazing show to be apart of! The stage was beautiful and big, just how I like it! The crowd was right there with me as I pulled off most of my tricks! Yeah I had a few drops but for some reason when I pulled off the trick I had attempted (and dropped) the first time, the audience cheered even louder. It's something I talked about in my "Performance Skills for Hoopers" workshop this summer on the US Tour. Sometimes an audience likes a drop and a recover more than pulling off the trick perfectly the first time. It makes you seem more human as opposed to a magical hooping super hero. Also, you tried again and succeeded which makes your perseverance commendable and the audience got to go through some adversity with you, you all prevailed! Woohoo! I have to listen to my own advice, try again, put on a big smile and try not to get discouraged when I drop a hoop on stage. Overall I am happy with my performance and happy with the response I received from the audience and other performers at the festival. 

On Saturday I walked around Jackson Square and the French Market Quarter. There was some awesome shops, flea markets and farmers markets. It was a rainy day but I didn't let that stop me from being a tourist. The Saturday night show at the House of Blues was spectacular! My favorite acts were Kitty Bang Bang's Pink Panther act (she came out of a huge trash can!), The Acromantics, Russell Bruner & Pink Lady and The Ruby Revue ended the night with a large group number which was beautifully choreographed and executed. I loved Kitty Bang Bang's "F**k You" attitude and absolute silly humor. It was like she knew that what she was doing was ridiculous (taking off our clothes for an audience is ridiculous, btw!) and the acknowledgment of that made me giggle. When I found out she's from the UK it all made sense, as I seem to have an obsession with British culture. The Acromantics did an amazing acrobatic comedic Burlesque number. It made me think of Bags and all of the fun acro stuff we did over the summer. Russell Bruner & Pink Lady did their silly Little Bo Peep act. 

After the show I had an amazing time getting to know some of the performers from the

festival at the after party. I have a major crush on Gogo McGregor and Dr. Sick. Confetti Eddie was fun. I love David the Pope of Burlesque and Saphire Snow from Australia was a total sweetheart! Her bubbly personality backstage was very much appreciated by social butterfly me :) Vicky Butterfly's act in the Mondo Burlesque show was very cool. She had LEDs and El Wire in her flowy costume which made for an epic effect on stage. Oh and I forgot to mention that El Dorado (who has only been doing Burlesque for 5 months!) did the first ever ice skating Burlesque act (as far as I know!) It was beautiful!

On Sunday I went to the park with Kimberly, my friend who I was staying with to see a live funky jazz band. We ran into a few hoopers on the way in and ended up hooping and dancing with them the whole time! It was such a serendipitously perfect occurrence. I love that carrying a hula hoop around automatically makes you friends wherever you go! We hooped under the huge beautiful trees on the cool grass and I thanked the universe that I'm alive.