London Burlesque Week!

I went to 2 shows as part of LBW on Friday (23rd, before my holiday), the Battle Royale at Islington Academy and the Speakeasy show at Proud Cabaret.
Battle Royale was so good, the acts were amazing, though some were so much better than others. We couldn't stick around for the whole weekend, more's the pity. The winner of Battle Royale was the amazing Ginger Blush (pic) who did a hilarious and wildly imaginative Laurel & Hardy act. An absolutely well deserved win!
I thought I'd do a bit of research into other 'newbie' acts. I say newbie but seriously, some of them were so polished, and imaginative, I could hardly believe they had been performing less than a year!
So here's what I learnt:
1) Don't mouth along to your music! Unless it's part of your act.. it looks weird!
2) The audience loves an unexpected trick.. When one performer's Marie Antoinette style act pulled a stacked tray of champagne glasses from her underskirt..followed my a bottle of champagne..! Genius!!
3) The face is everything - the audience look at your face for cues to the direction of your act, if you look stoic, your act is.
4) Make sure your music fits. Some acts finished before their music ended, which is bound to happen occasionally, but some girls' music choice just didn't sit well with their act. I guess your music has to tell part of the story, and if the audience don't like the music, they won't like the act.
5) An act needs some comedy, otherwise you're forgettable, in my opinion at least. There are some girls I don't even remember what they did on stage. Them there were some I couldn't forget. A gimmick, or a joke definitely helps you be remembered!
6) Spend money on props and costume, or at least get creative. The acts that wowed had clearly laboured over their props, and you could tell, they stand out a mile from those acts who cobble together an outfit from random items in their wardrobe. Not that that doesn't sometimes work, but if your costume and props look profession, so will you!
Now I just have to try to remeber all that when I'm on stage....!

I have my costume!

Yay! My AP corset is wonderful! Although I am going to have to practise hard taking it off... And the rest of the outfit all works, although there are a few potential trip harzards! Eek!
I need to engineer my trousers to 'fall' off just at the right moment, which has worked in rehearsals, but there's no pressure there. Hmm.
Anyway, I have my song... I have my costume... I just need my routine! I really don't want anything too chorographed, I'll only forget part of it and finish before the music ends! Or my face will be horribley contorted from concentrating so hard on remembering which foot goes where, left left right right...1..2..3..shit. I have an 'essence' of a routine, an outline. But is that enough? I mean, I don't want it too look structured, but to achieve that, maybe I need... A structure..?! Hmmm.
I think the best thing is to practise it so many times I can't possibley go wrong.

I wanna be THAT good!

I went to PPC last week, a local burlesque night that never fails to deliver. Every month they have AMAZING burlesque performers that are always nothing short of awe-inspiring! Millie Dollar was gracing the stage this month, and boy, was she graceful! The look on my face watching her perform could probably be described as open mouthed awe! I think I clapped the loudest and longest when she'd finished, even watching from a 'professional' point of view, she was incredible, holding the audience's attention from start to finish. Though I could tell she missed the beat at the odd point, it didn't matter, she was captivating. Every bump and every grind made my eyeballs pop! Now THERE is a sex bomb!
And even though 'sex bomb' isn't what i'm aiming for, wow, do I hope I could be that enchanting on stage one day!

Why do all my show ideas require ridiculously elaborate props!?

One of my favourite things to do is to daydream scenarios for new acts. I imagine myself on stage in all sorts of fantastic guises, but unfortunately they will probably remain no more than extravagant dreams, as when it comes to actually working out a practical reality, they all involve impossible or unattainable props! Such as giant teapots, antique chaise lounges... all the kind of things that would mean taking a small removal van to each show, a troupe of stage hands and a dramatic lighting set!
Oh well, maybe one day.
The act I'm working on right now isn't quite so grand, although it does have a couple of tricky prop questions that I haven't quite managed to answer. There's a theme beginning to appear here.. Uh-Oh.
I have my costume sorted at least... Well, almost. My Agent Provocateur corset is so close I can almost feel the cinch! A serious of misdeliveries and hostage taking by the post office have kept us apart too long. But we are due to be united at last on Friday and I'm so excited I could squeal! Black satin... Steel bones.. It ought to be the perfect fit, for me and my act!
Ah! Who needs ornate props when you have an AP corset!?