First blog... 2012 review

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.