I Thought I'd start my blog with a review of 2012...
2012 was a new start for me. I'd been back from Australia since
August and was missing it like crazy. Saw some incredible sights and met some
great people, and knew I wanted to give Burlesque another go. I really wanted
to give it my all, so said to myself that I would really push it for a year and
see where it went!
I contacted a local-ish (1 hour each way) lady who taught
burlesque classes. (Proper burlesque classes rather than others around here that
thought putting on a corset and chucking a boa around was burlesque!) I finally
started my lessons with Dulcie Demure's school of Burlesque in January and it
was one of the best decisions I've made :)
January
I was lucky enough to attend a fan workshop masterclass
with the amazing Missy Malone. She was such an incredible teacher and taught me
things that have proved so useful as I have progressed with my
burlesque "career". She was also a lovely lovely person, really sweet and helpful,
nothing was too much trouble. It was also great to meet some other budding
burlesque stars, some of which I have kept in contact with since.
Febuary
Myself and a couple of friends
had met up several times after Christmas and spoken about forming a troupe.
They joined me at the workshops and from there "The Killer Heels Burlesque" troupe were
born.
March
Although we had only started our usual 4 month
course at the Dulcie Demure school of burlesque in January, Dulcie was able to
fast track us slightly and we graduated on 30th March. This was my very first
solo performance and I was pretty nervous. Great group of people though who
were so sweet and supportive, and I loved my time on the stage. It just felt
right :)
April
We decided to enter a local talent
competition at the Octagon theater to show what we could do as a
troupe. We made it through to the semi-finals of "Let Me Entertain You” and
had amazing feedback as well as the loudest cheers from the crowd of the night!
May
In May I was lucky to model for the wonderful Nikita Sablier, which stocks the most stunning vintage style clothes and accessories. This time I was modelling some of the new swimwear range in their studio upstairs with Graeme curves to be used on the website. Got some great images as well as a couple of more burlesque style shots for my portfolio.
June
I’d met the lovely Tuesday Laveau earlier in
the year at her bump and grind workshop, and was so pleased when she asked if
I’d like to perform at a fundraising event in Bristol. Sadly MCA from the Beastie
Boys had recently passed away, and she wanted to put on a night of themed
burlesque to raise awareness and money for the wonderful Macmillan cancer
support. It was an incredible night with some of the best performers from
Bristol & the local area, plus the amazing “Too may Tees”, also we raised
£300 for the charity.
July
I had been interested in learning fire
performance for some time, and in burlesque there is only one teacher you need
to know. The incredibly talented Red Sarah! I was lucky enough to attend one of
her work shops in fire manipulation, body burning and fire eating. I am
planning on working my new found skills into a new routine this coming year.
August
August was a busy month with lots of photo
shoots and shows. One of my favourite was the bands & burlesque night in Swindon
with the lovely Bella Rouge & Missy Lectric. It was super heroine themed,
so I debuted my new “Harley Quinn” act which went down a storm.
September
Lots of photo shoots again this month, with my
favourite being a group shoot with a fetish burlesque theme! Working with the
lovely Amber Cornish & fellow performer Lady Lolly Rouge plus an amazing
makeup artist (Amanda Goodfellow) and hair stylist (James Brown, Tinity styling)
team! This is probably my favourite from the day by photographer James Irate
Mastermind.
This month I was also part of an amazing burlesque show in Sutton
Coldfield where I had the chance to perform alongside the incredible Khandie Khisses & Sukki Singapora.
October
After months of hard work with the troupe, we
decided to put on our first burlesque show in Yeovil. This was a chance to show
people what burlesque is and to show how far we have come as a troupe as well
as individual performers. We decided to give all profits to a local charity
which is very close to my heart – St Margaret’s Hospice. The show was a sell
out and we made over £500. Couldn’t have gone better! Lots more shows planned
for 2013.
Halloween is one of my favourite times of the
year, and as well as some great Horror themed burlesque performances I also had
an incredible time as a zombie for Alice Cooper. I was part of his backstage
crew which entertained the audience dressed as a zombie nurse. One of my highlights
of 2012! (If you look closely you can see me to the left of Alice with the
purple hair).
November
This month I was asked to attend a group shoot
to get some promo shots for local ska band “shoot the moon”. It was an amazing day - an
old cinema full of about 10 burlesque performers all dressed in costume with
glitter and feathers everywhere! I don’t think the band knew what hit them!
December
I wanted to have a bit of a quieter December
and spend some time with family over the festive period. But I still had time
for a couple of local shows as well as creating a new “Day of the dead” themed
routine which I performed on New Year ’s Eve! What an end to an incredible
2012.
