Dear Constant Reader,
Last day at BurlyCon!
After a quick yogurt, I went to my first class.
Gloves, Arms & Hands (Willy Barrett): I never pass up an opportunity to take a class with Willy (aka Delsarte Master Joe Paul Williams). He’s been a staple at The Expo since the very first year, and you can thank Betty Blaize for luring him into the world of burlesque! His teachings have strongly influenced The Boston Babydolls and I would encourage any performer to take one of his workshops.
This class was packed! I think someone said it was the second-largest class all weekend. There was one marvelous moment when the entire class audibly had their minds blown (it was the wrist-throat connection, for those who know). I heard a rumor he’ll be offering “Legs and Feet” at the upcoming Expo in February…
Power in Simplicity (Perle Noir): Well, I planned to attend. The class was crowded and I realized I didn’t have much concentration at the moment. After the warm up and watching the choreography demonstration I left.
Instead, Scratch and I checked out of our room, put our bags in the holding pen, and had a pleasant brunch with Jonny Porkpie, Jo Weldon, Kristina Nekyia, and some other folks that I can’t quite remember at the moment. The conversation turned to flexibility (as Porkpie showed a photo of his recreation of a vintage Hustler cover involving a bit of contortion). Kristina, a professional contortionist, mentioned that she had an instructional DVD on splits and backbends. I’ve always wanted to be able to do a split and have been unable to find a good training program, so I ordered it as soon as I got home. We shall see how that goes…
And then back to class.
Merkins (Lola Love): For my non-burlesque readers, a merkin is basically a g-string without the string — a little patch that covers the bits that must remain hidden. It’s unlikely that I’ll every wear one, Boston decency laws being what they are, but I still want to know how to make one. They are really quite simple to construct. Keeping one in place is the challenge.
Then there was a little more shopping before my last class of the weekend.
Dances of the Roaring 20′s (Gin Minsky): So much fun! We learned the Charleston and the Black Bottom and then spent most of the class putting everything together into a choreography. Exhausting! A great way to end the convention.
Then I wrestled my suitcase out of luggage jail, changed into travel clothes, and had a spot of bother returning said bag. But it was okay because I got to hang with Lili von Schtupp while she tried to rescue her bag out.
Then we went out for some dinner with Scandal, Hoi Polloi, Dahlia Fatale, and a brand new burlesquer named Pepper before it was time to head to the airport.
We had an overnight flight, so I was beyond grateful that whoever was supposed to sit between us failed to show up and I could stretch out a little and sleep. We arrived in Boston a bit earlier than scheduled and watched the sun come up as we were chauffeured back to Stately Babydoll Manor. There to be met by a large white cat who missed Scratch terribly.
Next time, it’s all about the shopping!
