A year in review of 2014 Burlesque

Evening Dazzlers & Dazzler-ettes!

With the year nearly over, and the new year about to explode upon us in all its glittery glory, I'm reviewing the talented men and women I've seen take off their clothes this year, and I'm really happy that I got to see a lot of very talented naked people this year!

Starting off with a performer I can't stop raving about:

Voracious V: Those who read my year in review post last year, know I crowned her "Tea Bagging" act my favourite act OF ALL TIME! This year I had the utmost pleasure of meeting her and spending time with her while in Vancouver, and she even performed at BHoF's "Best Debut" competition! I've seen photos of her at this years "Long Form Burlesque" as a Snail and I'm dying to see the video! I went looking for some of her stunning work and this is what I found, you wont be disappointed!

follow the link to burlesquestars.net!

Ernie Von Schmaltz: This man of a manlesquer I discovered previously while watching "A Wink and a smile" and fell in love with him then, he then put an act up for peer review at Burlycon, and I was hooked like a fish to a sexy, hairy mans......fishing pole! He's all charm, class, and want to seduce you onstage that is not the way you'd expect!

Bettie Bombshell: I do love a good satirical act, especially one that satirizes Burlesque itself (it's like burly-ception!) if you can't laugh at yourself your not doing burlesque right! This was one of the finalists for Miss Burlesque competition in Victoria and it's just amazingly on-point!

Caramel Knowledge:  I have one thing to say about this woman: UNFH!!!!!! She is stunning to watch on stage! An LA native I met at Burlycon and performed as part of the Marathong with in Seattle, she does a killer Nick Fury routine that is sexy and clever! She loves taking on festivals so I hope she comes to Australia and Perth's individual festivals and tours our country because she is amazing!

B B le Buff: Definitely one of my favourites from this years Perth International Burlesque Festival, which I always love being a part of, this act has an end that almost made me wet myself with laughter. I want to see more of her!

Siren Santina: Oh. My. Burly. Lord. This woman is amazing, I have never loved another act so much and HAD to tell so many people about it because it really was a "you have to see it to believe it!" kind of act! There's no video of it on the internet (mostly because I believe it will break it waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy more than what Kim K's arse ever will!) but here's something else for you to watch to revel in the glory that is this woman!

That is all from me for this year, next year will see the launch of my joint venture with Lady Malice "Live! Nerds! Nerds! Nerds!" at Perth Fringeworld Festival and "Teasing Talkies" also has a four day run during the end of fringeworld too!

I want to perform more in my own country in 2015 so I'm going to find and fund new ways to do so! and Miss Burlesque is on my checklist for next year and I'm setting myself some goals for the competition so I can expand as a performer, Zelia Rose's win this year really inspired me to lift my game, so game lifting it shall be!

Keep on Dazzling into 2015!

DD xxx

Post glitter decompression from burlycon and a challenge to our Aussie Burly community.

Evening dazzlers & dazzler-ettes!

I'm writing this from my hotel room in Vegas where I'm about to go tomorrow and visit the beautiful Burlesque Hall of Fame. 

I've never been more inspired and hopeful for our future after Burlycon. We have an amazing international community, I have discovered. Obviously there is many of you who knew this but the level of community of those showing up is and was un-paralleled to anywhere else. I've met people who have embraced me despite being the socially awkward nerdy gamer burlesquer I am and I can't believe how much love I have gotten for taking the time to make it to America just to learn from the community at large.

I was taught lessons I needed a reminder on and learnt new things that had either been forgotten or needed to learn. I was not the only one in this boat and it was a beautiful thing being in this glitter tribe  together.

Favourite classes for me were:

* Kelita's showgirl anatomy class bringing me in touch with the movements of the showgirl on a physiological level

* Waxie Moon's stage presence class, seriously one little technique has got me improving already!

* Iva Handfull's "this class goes to 11!" About rocking out on stage, seriously I cannot say enough good things about this woman, she really is a talented and wonderful human being!

* living legend Bic Caroll's costuming tip class, changing the way I will costume forever, the man is hysterical and bawdy and I love this man deep within my soul and loins, just the way he would like it!

* Minnie Tonka's comedy class, learnt some things about my own comedy style and some great things to remember when making a comedy routine!

Indigo Blue's keynote speech was probably one of the most amazing life affirming speeches to listen to. After being kicked off Facebook in the great name-gate issue Facebook is still having, she has some amazing food for thought about what needs to happen next in our community and where we need to get back to our roots while still looking and moving forward. 

And moving forward, I'm sending my love to my Australian Burly community and I say this to start the conversation: we can do better and we can be better. We need to make sure we improve in our own local community so we can pass on a legacy that keeps on giving. I don't have the answers, but we need to self-evaluate against ourselves and our community so we can grow and develop beyond now. Maybe asking the question could just get you thinking of your own answer or at least the path you want to take to answer the question.

So that the art of our first and foremost, erotic and adult entertainment is being kept to a high standard that we set for ourselves and the community. 

So that we are fostering & encouraging the self-expression & self-possession of those who come to us to learn and join our ranks on the stage, so we can be a varied & unique community in our global community. 

So that we are working together and thinking outside of the box to bring more shows to the public that will open our own eyes to what we can do when we work together at the same time. 

The possibilities for our community ARE infinite, we just have to take them.

So I put a challenge to you my burly community: before the end of the year, take a class. Somewhere you never have before in something you've either wanted to or have been too afraid to. Even if you find it disappointing or not what you thought, you may remember one thing that you can bring to our community to help it grow and help yourself grow and that is never a bad thing! To stop learning is stunt your own growth as a human being, deep into your soul.

The next challenge I have: go to burlycon.

If you are a performer, you need to go.

If you are a producer, you need to go.

If you provide a service to the community, from costuming to lighting the stage, you need to go.

Next year it's in November, and tickets can be bought NOW (I'm not kidding there's some specials available at the moment!) you have 13 months to save to get over there and if you go in a group or as a troupe it works out less. 

You have no excuse not to learn and no excuse not to go over and teach something to another community.

You will never regret the experience and the choice to go, I can promise you this.

Keep on dazzling,

DD xxx

What's Dollar Dazzler up to? The Dollar Dazzler Domination tour edition!

Hi Dazzlers & Dazzler-ettes!

Yes, thats right! Dollar Dazzler is about to Dominate the United States and visit Canada for the sweet Poutine! Then come home and do it all again!

August 29th: Performing at "Naught to Naughty" Cabaret @ Little Creatures Next Door, event info here.
October 4th: Kickstarter funded session with "World Famous *BOB*"
October 5th: Performing at Kitty Nights West: Dirty Vegas show @ Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver! Event page here!
October 9th-12th: Attending Burlycon in Seattle, Washington
October 12th: Performing at Seattle's The Burlesque Marathong! Tickets available here!
October 18th: Performing at Las Vegas' Sci-Fi Centre's "Nerdlesque" night!
October 30th-November 1st: Performing & Producing "Cut-Throat Cabaret" as part of Fremantle Festival! Tickets are available here!
November 21st: Hosting Teasing Talkies & their Christmas Classic "Gypsy!"
*More to come

Keep on Dazzling!

DD xxx

Star Wars Burlesque: The Empire Strips Back Aussie Style!

Evening Dazzlers & Dazzler-ettes!

I hope you've all been excited watching your social media feeds this last weekend as it has been hot for Burly goodness with the Australian Burlesque Festival on BHoF weekend with the newly crowned Midnite Martini our new Burly Overlord! I loved her feather finger dance she did at last years so to see her win was amazing! I have to say congrats to everyone for filling our community with some really great burlesque this past weekend around the world. You all deserve your wins and the love that goes with it! :)

But now, onto the event that made the 7 year old in me giggle with glee and the adult in me stir with lust: Russall S. Beattie brought his production of Star Wars Burlesque to Perth and the community sang with cheers that such an amazing production finally made it to Perth! We were as ravenous as a Rancor for this and they did NOT disappoint!

 

One of the things I enjoyed about the show was that there was a variety of acts, it wasn't necessarily straight burlesques. One of my personal faves was a duet between two Twi'lek women who didn't take a single piece of clothing but their symmetry together on stage was beautiful and erotic at the same time to watch. It's still really unforgettable in my mind personally. The show was bawdy, it was erotic and it was also culturally on-point, with modern or even true era music (Han Solo dancing to "Oh Yeah" By Yello, anyone?*)

I think the highlight of everyone's evening however was the Big Man himself, and I'm not talking about Darth Vader (that's later on in this blog) your one true overlord, Emperor Palpatine! What I really really loved about the Boylesque in this show was that it just went to the Absurdism level! I love it when an act goes a direction you never thought it would go and it keeps everyone else on their toes. I will never look at Miley Cyrus and "Wrecking Ball" the same way after that routine.

Now I just need to talk about one performer in particular here, the one pretty much most of the Perth Burlesque community has a giant Lady Boner for over here, TASIA! That woman......umfh!!! She is stunning, she is sexy, and she owned the stage whether she was death gripping in latex as Vader, or strangling Jabba the Hutt as slave Leia, She really added a level to the show that was always a pleasure to watch her on stage!

For me I only have tiny quibbles about the show, such as I would've loved with such a great set up that they had during Leia and R2-D2's routine (which btw I LOVED how perfect a prop that was, seriously was that like loaned from Lucasfilm or something? I seriously thought I was looking at a backup one they use for filming or something!) would be having R2 show what he was filming of Leia stripping on screen, but that's me being a perve. I really loved the host, and I liked how sharp he was, even when playing dim-witted "Duke Skywalker", I feel really sad that our night missed the duet that he was supposed to have with Obi-Wan Kenobi due to a technical glitch.

This show seriously brought new levels of excitement and made me want to up my game going forward, it was a high quality show with a high quality ensemble. Stay tuned fans guess what Russall announced last week that he's bringing to Perth soon......

Oh yes fans, The Iron Throne will be coming to Perth with some gorgeous naked women on it! You know I'll be hitting refresh for those tickets!

Coming soon: Dollar Dazzler will be hitting the PIBF stage for a second year running and soon I'll be letting you know what I plan to do in my trip to America and Canada in October!

Keep on Dazzling!

DD xxx

* I would like to point out that I don't think I know anyone who knew the name of that song up until right then, but it was surprisingly easy to google, education FTW!

Suicide Girls Blackheart Burlesque!

Evening Dazzlers and Dazzler-ettes!

This is take two as I had this amazing blog written up and I forgot to press the magic save button! 

Now a few Wednesdays ago I went out to The Astor Theatre to go see The Suicide Girls show "Blackheart Burlesque". The last time they toured Australia was in 2005-2006 and poor uni student Dollar missed out on the action that time. But not this time!

The only complaint I had was about the setup of the Astor. It meant when they were doing floor work you couldn't see the performers unless you were a sweaty fan in the front or up above on the balcony, which was exclusive tickets. Someone else complained about the light, but I feel this was all mostly cosmetic and not about the show itself.

These girls are not just a bunch of "alt" pretty girls swanning around on stage in not much but their tatts. These are slick performers. Each girl (there was six) was on stage for 3 group acts, 2 duo or trio acts and 3 solos. Each. The way they worked together on stage was liquid erotica. No one can ever think they just lay around in not much in front of a camera . The amount of work in their routines they did and kept at a high quality should be applauded. And it was.

The one thing I enjoyed about this show is the focus was on something I don't think every show not necessarily focuses on: titilation and fantasy. They all only used as their pasties black tape in crosses over their nipples, but that wasn't what they wanted you to focus on. The clothes were off pretty quickly, there was not the tease you see at your more classic shows. But there was the erotic charge of feeling truly turned on by a woman dressed as Zelda stripping for you behind that shield, or a woman who is holding down her sexy dragons, all of them filled with lust and ready to go.

Burlesque while about comedy, is also about the sex. The eroticism of adult comedy, the fantasy of women being outside the box of the story they're supposed to be telling is something we're all attracted to. Suicide girls may have made the idea of these type of women sexy to a lot of men and women but the idea is there still that they are pushing a different agenda than what the mainstream maintains is acceptable. Even in burlesque possibly.

Was is burlesque? I think it straddled the line like one of the ladies straddled a male member of the audience. Filled with sex and fantasy but not necessarily the traditional show you're used to.

And props to the team for getting an Aussie Suicide Girl, Vorpal to host!

Keep on dazzling,

DD xxx

Teasing Talkies is nearly here!

Happy Sunday Dazzlers and Dazzler-ettes!

In a few weeks, 20th of March, I take my first step into the greatest unknown in art: Producing my own gig.

Teasing Talkies is an idea I've had for a while. I actually love finding old reels or movies or documentaries about burlesque, other than the ones you find on Youtube, I support them on Kickstarter whenever one comes up and I try to make in my business to find out the history of this art form and the history of the neo revival as well, as that's been going for at least two decades now, there's just as much history in our recent history as there is from back then which I think is equally as important.

We all have a story to tell in our own ways, it's part of why we get on our respective stages every night.

The first story I am showing is "Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque". Dirty is an amazing inspiration within the Global Community, encompassing the grace of the classic world and the rawness of the neo world in a perfect balance. Here she is looking fabulous for a Karl Largerfeld shoot:

Teasing Talkies a new idea, but not an out there idea. It's about engaging and educating about what type of burlesque is out there, this whole idea. The burlesque community and art communities in general wherever you go can be come "insular" I'm not saying its a bad thing, but I've always believed in educating yourself to evolve your art to a higher level. 

Here's to education through boobs!

Tickets are available here! And see what's happening on the Facebook page here! I may have a tag and win comp on there at the moment ;)

Keep on Dazzling,

DD xxx

Things I've learnt after Fringeworld this year

Evening Dazzlers and Dazzler-ettes!

Well, Fringe is over for another year for me and I took part in four different shows and also one regular Burly Unplugged show, and saw many many shows and met and reunited with many awesome people.

The great thing I loved is that it gave me inspiration for my own work, for going forward. For what I want to make which was an exciting feeling.

Firstly, I do want to say thank you to everyone I worked with this month, it's been a pleasure, an honour and a joy to do what I love with so many talented people. And to all the people I met, I can't wait to one day see you all again.

Next, the things I learnt from:

Not dead yet: There's nothing more terrifying than seeing a good friend doing something that could potentially kill, but there's nothing more exciting than seeing them execute it perfectly and bring such a well developed show to Perth. I really hope Aerial comes back next year!

Pretty Peepers: Not having an MC during a burly/cabaret show is actually one of the most liberating things to watch, because the art becomes the glue of the show, not the person introducing the next act, It actually gave me a lot to think about. That and I REALLY love watching boundary pushing stuff and don't care that I may have been laughing the hardest during the show the night I went. That and I wish I'd seen their hula hooper when I was 21 and trying to be a hula hooper myself, she was stunning.

Comic Strip: Stripping and comics should be together more often, not just an MC making the jokes (I promise I'm not hating on MC's I swear! It's just been nice to see a change in the format!)

Clothesline and Carousel: I remembered how much I miss circus and also how much I love French Canadian Circus, my favourite shows I've seen have been French Canadian Circus shows in the past and this made me suitably excited to watch.

Reveal: That Perth can bring their own when it comes to Burlesque and Circus and Walt Jizzney just may be the sexiest thing around.

La Maison Derriere: That Vaudeville is not dead, and should come back, and that "blurred lines" and whipped cream I wouldn't have thought was a mix I would have liked.

The Atomic Bombshells: That face is everything and a costume should be an extension of your act, not just the clothing your taking off.

Oh Crumbs!: That even shows that felt a little rough around the edges can be amazingly entertaining and have some really clever ideas that you hope they build. Basically it was just a "I just wanna see good things happen those ladies cos they're a bit freaking awesome".

Peter Adam Scott's Book Fight: That a burlesque performer isn't afraid of taking off her clothes, she's afraid of opening her mouth sometimes. Or unintentionally making it hard for themselves to win!

Perth Audiences: Need to cheer and be a bit more rowdy, especially during boobs. I saw too many polite audiences that weren't sure how to behave at some events. Don't be afraid to cheer the stuff you like, you have no idea how much that helps a performer develop.

Midnight Burlesque: Sometimes, if done right, you can pull together a show in 3 days, and it to go amazing.

Burly Unplugged: A large cast can make things challenging, but it can still go off and be a labour of love you glad you did.

I learnt from doing my own shows about the importance of worrying about keeping yourself organized and worrying about yourself. If you have it together and no one has to worry about if you're going to have it together on the day then you're a success before you even get on the stage. If there's a mistake, fix it, make it not a big deal, roll with the punches and how it travels. It's the best advice I can give I can give after all this.

And NOW! I have MY OWN burly night I have in less than a month! Teasing Talkies! I'm starting an AV club of sorts and I would LOVE to see you there! If this works I have plans for this night in the future, but I need this first night to work, so buy your tickets now from HERE!

Keep on dazzling post fringe!

DD xxx

Whats Dollar Dazzler Doing? Fringe Edition!

Morning Dazzlers and Dazzler-ettes!

Fringe is now upon us! And here's a quick looksie at what I'm up over the Fringe Festival!

Australia Day! This is the BIG ONE! Burly Unplugged @ Fringe for one night only! We sold out originally, and now they got us some extra seats for you to lose your pants on! Come see us at 9:30pm tomorrow in Midlandia! Tickets available here.

Meanwhile, Burly Unplugged still has its regular show in January on the 29th, and I'm starting the year with a new act that came to me recently, but you won't believe what you're going to see! Tickets $5 @ Lazy Susan's Comedy Den in Northbridge. Event page here.

After that I'm going to be talking about Fantasy books at "Adam Peter Scott's Book Fight" on February 20th! It's part quiz show, part book club! There's going to be quite a few burly girls doing these shows and every night has a theme! Buy tickets here, and Facebook event with all the themes here.

And finally on Feb 21st, I'm going to be performing at the "Late Night Gala" at the Noodle Palace! I'm busting out my cog and my Steampunky Charms and Lola and the other Burly girls are hitting the stage during the nights its on too, buy tickets here!

You'll see me around Fringe looking at all the pretty shows, so be there and be awesome!

Keep on Dazzling!

DD xxx

Picks for Fringeworld 2013 Perth!

Afternoon Dazzler and Dazzler-ettes!

A few people have been asking me what I plan to see when Fringeworld (Perth's Fringe Festival) comes to town this year and I've definitely got a list this year! All of these are the Burlesque shows I plan to look in on plus one or two that are tickling my fancies!

First Off, the Big ones:

*Briefs is back! With the show "Briefs: The second coming" you never ever wanna miss this show!
* The Atomic Bombshells! This will be huge! Indigo Blue, Inga Ingenue, Ruby Mimosa and more of Seattle and New Orleans best performers are in this troupe and they are doing a tour around Australia! check them out here!
*Miss Burlesque Victory Tour is happening with The Strawberry Siren leading a pack of sexy women's in her victory lap of Australia!
* Comic Strip! If you missed this last year they've got an extended season this year with Polly Rae and Kitty Bang Bang leading the charge!
* Sugar Blue Burlesque are bringing the high glamour stakes back in their show "La Belle Èpoque"  these shows sell out, do not miss!
* Twisted Vaudeville are doing 3 different shows again this year, including a best of!

The Burlesque shows you NEED to see as well!

* Lady Velvet Cabaret and Kinetica are working together on a show called "Reveal" you KNOW this is going have all types of sexy bendy goodness in it!
* The Slanty-Eyes Unlimited duo are back again with "This. Is. Boylesque!" They are seriously amazing to watch and laugh with!
* Trixie and Evil Hate Monkey are back again! This was one of my festival favourites last year, it WILL be yours this year!
* Milk and Cookies are Sugar Blue Alumni Miss Jane and Clara Cupcakes and they are bringing their own show this year called "Oh Crumbs!" These two are seriously talented ladies and should not be missed!
* "Blues and Burlesque" is making it's Aussie debut during Fringe and also heading to Adelaide Fringe! a mainstay in Edinburgh fringe the last few years, it looks like all types of fun!
* "Lola's House of Tease" hits Perth with all types of sexy male and female goodness for one night only! dont miss this!

and of course the one show you SHOULD be seeing: BURLY UNPLUGGED! One night only! And you'll get to see me doing one of my nerdlesque acts! Can you guess which one? tickets are available here!

Other shows you need to see at Fringe that aren't necessarily Burly:

* "When God met Satan" Is a show being put on by our Burly Tech God, funnily enough, he's playing God in this too. I sense a theme here.
* "Not Dead Yet" is a Circus show performed by Aerial Manx, I know his work from my time in Melbourne, he really is a performer who isn't afraid to push the boundaries.
* "La Maison Derrière" Is being brought by The Chest of Wonders, it has a mix of burly and circus so I'm intrigued to watch!
* Retro Rockets Events are also bringing two shows out one "Fatale Femmes: A whodunnit about wrath and women scorned" and "Magical Mystery Tour: A psychedelic retrospective" If you enjoyed their Whisky a gogo show last year, I think you'll like this year as well!
* Jon Madd of Slanty Eyes is also putting a magic show called "Abracadabra and other useless magic words" Its an all ages event so enjoy!

So there you have it! A long list but a GOOD list! All tickets are available at www.fringeworld.com.au

DD xxx

Dollar Dazzler Presents....

Evening Dazzlers and Dazzler-ettes!

A New Year arrives and with it my plans for the New Year are beginning!

2013 was very much a year where I really developed a main idea of who I was as a performer, and there's really only one way you can do that: On the stage.

I have really been quite grateful to the "Burly Unplugged" team, run by Lola Cherry Cola. It's not flash, its not opulent and grand, but it is a space sorely needed for new performers and old to develop who they are and where they feel comfortable going next.

I know where I feel comfortable going next. Neo performances are still most definitely my style, but I have pulled away from the Steampunk aesthetic; not because I don't like it anymore, couldn't be further from the truth, but I had been having trouble finding my muse and getting over hurdles getting to where I want to be for that particular genre of performance, it wasn't satisfying and I didn't feel like I was portraying what I wanted to onstage.

However, what I have found much to my delight that Sci-fi/Gaming/General nerd culture, which arguably people note as pop culture (that's for another time my feelings on this) feels better in where I can tell my stories with my boobs and my butt effectively and with confidence in my subject.

I will be however, still looking into early history of Burlesque, I promised you a look in Burlesque in the Wild West and I still intend to go foraging! I am going to be looking at documentaries made as well, and possibly reviewing them too, I helped kickstart a couple in 2013 so I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens with them!

I also have my trip to Burlycon in Seattle this year and I plan to get down to Vegas as well, so I'm hoping to get into visiting BHoF and the Vegas Showgirl Museum. This is kind of a dream come true for me, I've known about Dixie's work since I was 18 years old which is ten years ago now.

This year is the year to go boldly where for myself and as a performer where I haven't gone before. to throw myself out there and try and make a mark that isn't a skid mark!

I hope you enjoy 2014's showing of Dollar Dazzler!

Keep on Dazzling!

DD xxx