My burlesque mother and mentor queen has helped shape me into the performer I am.
I’ve got two shows this week. The first is with the DC Weirdo Show on Friday, and I’ve been looking forward to it for a while. It’s called “Unforgivable Blackness 2,” and I’m dancing to one of my favorite songs from the 90s.
I always feel this great sense of joy and release after I practice this particular act, so I already know I’m going to have a great time. A friend and fellow performer Carlita Caliente is also celebrating her birthday at the show this Friday, so I’m expecting to see lots and lots of beautiful familiar faces.
These types of shows really embed a *tiny* *teeny* *minuscule* lil’ waterdrop of faith in burlesque as community, but that never lasts long because something always comes around to remind me that, nah, this is totally an industry. Ha. But I am still thankful for those moments where there’s a sense of togetherness and unity in burlesque, no matter how fleeting.
I have practiced my act for Friday to death, I’m looking forward to seeing good people, and I am completely comfortable hitting the DC Weirdo’s new stage at Dew Drop Inn. That show is not what I’m freaking out about.
I am, however, freaking tf out about my Los Angeles debut on Sunday! Do you see those burly-famous goddesses in the photo up top? For new readers who may not know, that’s my sexy and supremely talented burlesque mentor Egypt Blaque Knyle on the right, and that’s Audrey DeLuxe of the original Burlesque Bingo fame on the left. This Sunday on January 20, these two powerhouses are teaming up to bring Mama Egypt’s mentees from all over the country (including little old me) and strip while the audience plays bingo!
It’s really surreal that I’m leaving for a day to go to perform in Los Angeles at a show that I’ve only ever watched from afar and heard about on social media. Egypt doesn’t just *hand* us anything - she preaches to us constantly about “putting in the work” - so I have been working my ass off to finalize this act before Sunday! It’s an all-pink-everything explosion of classic bump and grind. (Yes, I’m basic af and I don’t care. There will be a blog post about this later, but know that I know *exactly* what I’m doing, and most importantly, why.) I was going to perform a tried-and-true routine, but I wanted to challenge myself and do something different for this very special show.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Egypt for being so selfless and giving to other performers and guiding us through the sometimes shark-filled waters of burlesque. She is there for a lot of people, not just her mentees. I don’t even know if she realizes this, but Egypt leads by example a lot and I am constantly learning from her. Her softness and honesty are, in my opinion, quite revolutionary in the world of modern burlesque. One day, I want to be like her and I’m honored she saw something in me to include me in her mentee family! I am just filled with a lot of gratitude for her because she is truly RARE. All tea, all shade – over the course of first year of burlesque, I met a few of my “heroes”. And let me tell you, some who-shall-never-be-named were pretty awful in real life. Just being honest - no one owes anyone anything, so it’s not like I’m angry about it. But let’s just say the world of burlesque may not be the best place to start looking for a new best friend. Lol.
Egypt’s accepting applications for her next selection of mentees - check out the details here. I highly recommend her mentorship if you’re looking for a little bit of guidance or direction in burlesque.
So with that said, I’ve gotta get off here and rhinestone my life away so this gown and headdress is set and ready to go for Sunday. Keep an eye out on my Instagram this weekend - I’ll be filming a lot of my adventures as I meet up my House of Knyle sisters and our fearless leader Egypt in L.A.!
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