Friday, January 16, 2015

The Golden Globes!

I am so very blessed to be invited to be a part of so many awesome projects. A few months ago I received a text message from my dear friend Cooper, a singing/song writing force of nature that you all MUST google and check out on Itunes (http://www.cooperjam.com), asking me to be a part of her latest video "Cut the Body Loose". Duh, of course I'm in, anything for this girl. Little did I know it would be 5 hours of body paint, pounds of gold glitter and naked in a warehouse all day without heat as my male counterpart, Isaiah Tillman, and I ran 4 minutes of dancing over and over and over again. But you know what? I would do it again in a heartbeat. Because THIS is the magic that happened:



Thank you so much to Andrew Rozario, the director, and Matt Adamik, the Production Manager, and of course, my girl Coop for letting me do all the cool shit with her!


Monday, December 29, 2014

Glitter Tribe- the Movie!

I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of the upcoming documentary on Portland burlesque, Glitter Tribe! And look Ma! I'm on the poster!

Glitter Tribe is a funny, sexy look into the hard-working heart of new wave burlesque. This is a documentary film directed by Jon Manning.

Glitter Tribe is a documentary feature about the passion and personalities at the heart of today's new wave of burlesque. On stage and in candid conversation, twelve of today's hottest performers reveal the naked truth about an exotic world where artifice is a route to authenticity and pretending to be someone else is the ultimate journey to become yourself.

These burlesquers put it all on the line in performances that are sexy, funny, elegant and outrageous and they bare more than their bodies as they discuss their artistic vision, their financial struggles, the misconceptions that infuriate them and the community that sustains them. 


To keep you "abreast" (get it?) on all the developments of this upcoming creatlon, please "like" our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/glittertribethemovie/info?tab=page_info
http://www.brightwatermedia.com/




Tuesday, May 3, 2011

If You're Gonna Do It, Do It Big

I was never a half-assin’ it kind of gal.  If I made a decision to do something, you better believe I was going to do it big (and most likely sparkly). 

For example, a recent performance goal of mine was to travel.  I would pick a city I wanted to visit and then try to get booked to perform during my time there. And why not just drive right in and start with New York City?  With some help from a wonderful and talented gal I met at Burlycon, Lovely Legs Malone, and a few emails- bam!- there I was scheduled to perform at both Kitty Nights Burlesque (http://www.kittynights.com) and  Shaken and Stirred Burlesque (http://www.sugarshackburlesque.com). Accompanied by my companion and prop master, Georgie D, SinnSavvy Productions owner/my bestie Rayleen Courtney, and multimedia director Tyler Spencer, we took the city by storm.  The producers, performers and audiences couldn’t have been more fantastic and we made tons of friends and promises to return.

Another great way to perform abroad is via festivals. I hadn’t been to Vancouver B.C. in years and thought it would be wonderful place to begin my festival adventures, so I decided to apply for the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival (http://www.vanburlesquefest.com) and was absolutely elated when I was accepted.  This meant sharing a stage with numerous incredible performers including Miss Exotic World 2010 Roxi Dlite!

Since I was putting together an application for Vancouver anyway I thought, what the hell, why not apply to the Burlesque Hall of Fame competition?  I mean, it’s only the one of the most renowned burlesque festivals in the world.  It’s only labeled the Superbowl of burlesque and one of the highest honors in this field. If you’re going to do it, might as well aim for the top, right? Well, it worked! I was selected as one of 10 performers from all over the world to compete in the category of Best Debut.  And how excited and honored I was to find out that my burlesque sisters and good friends, Charlotte Treuse (http://charlottetreuse.com/default.aspx) would be right there alongside me in the competition and Nina Nightshade (http://ninanightshade.com/default.aspx) would be performing in the showcase. Portland represent!

Then on April 15, life threw me a curveball. During a fabulous duet with Zora Von Pavonine at the April Rosehip Revue, I went down into a splits and felt a snap.  I finished the performance with no one knowing that my right leg was about ready to buckle and my toes were numb, but once backstage I collapsed and was rushed to the ER. A week and a half, a lot of pain, and an MRI later, it was revealed that I had completely torn my hamstring off of my pelvis and would need immediate surgery to attach it. I have never really injured myself aside from a pulled muscle here and there throughout the years, but apparently my “do it big” mantra extends to all areas of my life.

So here I am, 4 days post surgery with a whole new plan. I was incredibly saddened to have to pull out of the Vancouver festival but I WILL go to BHOF in Vegas. I am very proactive in every possible angle of healing in both Eastern and Western medicine and I am mending strong and quick. In fact, I am planning on setting a new record for healed hamstrings.  Because if you’re gonna do it, do it big and cover it in glitter.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The Very Definition

piz·zazz or pi·zazz or piz·zaz  (p-zz)
n. Informal
1. Dazzling style; flamboyance; flair.
2. Vigorous spirit; energy or excitement.

[Origin unknown.]
Yup. That pretty much sums me up. 

Ok, so many of you know that I have been associated with "pizazz" one way or another for most of my career.  It's pretty much how I am introduced at every SinnSavvy show (as well as others), particularly by the Emceeiam. What many of you don't know, is what the hell it means and where it came from.  So here you go:

Origin:  During San Francisco Pride 2009, it was Rayleen Courtney, Tyler Spencer, Leila Hofstein, the Stage Pups, The Rose City Sirens and myself all crammed into a tiny 1 room apt at the Castro Castle (owned by none other than the famous activist, Dennis Peron). Tyler had been having some pretty bad back pain throughout our trip and with the constant activities and hullabaloo that comes with Pride, it was only getting worse.  Remembering that I had some anti-inflammatory medication with me, I burst into the room and shouted "Tyler Spencer, I have something for you!  It's called....it's called..." (I could not remember the name of the medication)  "PIZAZZ!" cried out Leila in perfect comedic timing. We doubled over in laughter and Pizazz was born.

Meaning:  It is what the French call "je ne sais quoi"- it is that extra sparkle. It implicates an added flair but it is as unique as the person exuding it.  It's entertaining, it makes people happy, and it's highly contagious.  

The Smell of Pizazz:  Contrary to popular belief, Pizazz does not smell like gravy all the time.  The smell of Pizazz is whatever you believe to be the MOST delicious and excitement-inducing scent. For some this is the smell of fresh cut flowers; for others, perhaps the air right before an electrifying thunderstorm.  And  I suppose, for a very, very small percentage of people, the most exciting smell in the world is that of gravy.  Le sigh...

How to Get Some- Pizazz is inside each and every one of you (I know, kinky right?).  You just have to know how to access it.  So my advice to you is find the thing that makes you the most happy in the whole world and figure out a way to share it with others.  Your creativity will explode, your excitement will transfer and you will have some Pizazz to call your very own.  

That's all.