showtime: childhood memories show, elbo room, january 14, 2014

Photo by Jeff Lapierre

I performed two acts in January at Bombshell Betty's childhood memories themed show, this pink pompom confection and my favorite chair dance with the Showgirl Chorus. It wasn't as highly attended as the December show, but we had fun. I had fresh blood in the audience, which is always a thrill for me. I had a prop malfunction (I couldn't get my pompom "fans" to untie on one end, so they were attached like a "V" for the whole act), but I managed to make it work. If I ever have time to create a new act, it is going to be made all of velcro! Nothing to untie. Untying makes me really nervous because so much can go wrong, and this time something did. But it was fun and it's a really joyful act, so I was all smiles during it. I have never performed at this weight before (still on the weight gain train) which made me feel a little off my game, but I was happy to find these photos that make me feel pretty nonetheless!

Photos by Jeff Lapierre

Here are a few shots from a super, super fun choreography Betty taught us. I have always loved this act and even though I haven't perfected some of the arm work in it, I have SO much fun performing it.

Members of the Showgirl Chorus performing "Feelin' Good". The wonderful Cooki Crumbles, the marvelous Boysenberry Cupcake and me, Yve Jobs. 

Photos by Jeff Lapierre

So, that was lots of fun! It will be a few months before I perform again, I'm still waiting for another chance to do my flamenco act which I love the most. I will keep you posted!

showtime: holiday burlesque benefit show, elbo room, december 10, 2013

Super talented performer Red Velvet and me right before my act.

It's Monday and I usually bring you donuts on Mondays, but I thought I'd give you some cheesecake today. I hope you had a wonderful holiday with lots of fun and good cheer! We had a great time, despite passing a killer cold from person to person for the last week. 

These photos are from my performance in early December with Bombshell Betty at Elbo Room here in San Francisco. It's the same act to Vince Guaraldi's Linus and Lucy that I have done in the holiday shows the last two years (here's 2011 and 2012), replete with a sad sparkly Charlie Brown tree and me dressed up as Snoopy at the end. I performed with gusto this night. I was DYING to perform, it had been several months, and I really, really needed a change from my work routine. I have never looked forward to a show as much as this one, just as a way to let it all out and blow off some steam, so it was just wonderful. 

Photo credit: Jeff Lapierre

Out of necessity I made a very skimpy little bottom for my costume (I've outgrown last year's granny panties!) and I let it all hang out. Stretch mark after stretch mark, my belly hanging down over my waistband. I just didn't care. It was awesome. I was the second act in the show and I'm sure there were some surprised people in the audience, but it's SUCH a supportive crowd at Betty's shows, with so much body positivity, that I had nothing to be afraid of. Still so thankful for discovering Betty and her burlesque, three years later!

I have one of these from every single Elbo Room show.

I'm excited to be performing again on January 14th. The theme of that show is "Childhood Memories", and I'll be doing my paper pompom act and a chair dance with two other lovely ladies. If you are interested in tickets, they just went on sale yesterday, and you can find them here. It's going to be so fun.

Have a great Monday!

femme

Image courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery.

The opening for artist Jamie Vasta's latest show, "Femme", is next Thursday, November 7th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Patricia Sweetow Gallery in San Francisco. It is the night before my creativeLIVE class, but I really want to go. You might remember this piece I was so lucky to be able to pose for several months ago. Jamie works in glitter, and her pieces are stunning. 

The body of work Jamie has created for Femme is pretty large, with a great diversity among the burlesque and drag performers who modeled for her. David and I have decided to bring the kids to the opening. For a long time I have explained to Stella that what I do when I perform burlesque is to show people that all types and sizes of women are beautiful. I've always told her that the pasties were hair ornaments (hahahaha!), although she might've figured out differently by now. I am not afraid for her to see these glittery portraits. I think we will need to talk a little bit more about what it means to be that scantily clad onstage, but Stella also knows that I have ALWAYS tried to be clever and/or funny when I have performed in the past, so I think that's what she understands about burlesque at the core already. I know she will be mesmerized by the glitter, so maybe there's nothing else to worry about. We shall see!

I'm so excited to see it all in person. If you're in the area next week and feel like checking out the opening, let me know!

showtime: art history part deux, elbo room, july 9, 2013

Keeping the burlesque thing going this week, I guess! This time last month I was lucky to be able to perform three acts in Bombshell Betty's art history themed show. This is the show that I initially developed my Frida Kahlo act for back in October of 2011 (see here) and I am always happy to perform it again. That said, I am seriously thinking of retiring the act as I know there are other people who perform in the same circles that I do who are really wanting to explore performing burlesque as Frida. It just seems fair, so maybe I'll take it for one last spin somewhere and then let it go.

Pre-show shot with Penny Chianti, Spun Honey, Sonora Sway and Boysenberry Cupcake (seated). We should
do this more often, everything is in such a disarray AFTER we perform! Photo by Jeff Lapierre. 

Bombshell Betty, Red Delicious and I in our Andy Warhol's pop art Marilyn act. Photo by Thad Gann.

This show was extra special to me for two reasons. First, I have been dying to perform Betty's chair dance choreography to Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" and I finally got the chance. I LOVE that dance. I love performing it! And second, I had loads of friends in the audience, mostly new friends I met through the blog or tangentially through last year's Girl Crush, save for two! There were ten people in my cheering section which was awesome. Six of them drove all the way into San Francisco from West Marin for the show. So nice! Most of the people in my life have seen me perform several times, so it was really great that I was able to rally a bunch of new blood for the show. Loved it. Thank you Nicky and company, Rhea and Sandra, Tony and Jan and Bridget and Bill. Most of them have their own wonderful blogs and I'd link 'em up if this wasn't a post about burlesque. You never know, you know?

I could really tell that night that I've gotten bigger this year, mostly over the summer which was not my plan. The Marilyn costume didn't fit like before and I could barely get my Mexican blanket shorts zipped. I felt so great on stage but was again mortified by most of the photos I saw. Same old same old with me.

But Oliver started preschool yesterday and Stella will be back at school next week (boo!), so I will have zero excuses not to exercise for the first time in eight years. Obviously I will let you know how that goes. ;)

Terrible iPhone selfies, but I nailed my eye makeup that night. So shiny!

all that glitters

Artwork by Jamie Vasta.

I should be posting donuts today, but I couldn't sit on this any longer. Recently I posed for fine artist Jamie Vasta in her Oakland studio for a series of portraits she is doing of burlesque and high femme performers. I was blown away when she shared a photo of the finished piece with me a few weeks ago. I have been immortalized in glitter, and I can't believe it. Isn't it INCREDIBLE? And she made me look so good, too! I can't wait to see it in person. ALL GLITTER, PEOPLE!

Jamie is creating dozens of pieces in this series. I have seen many of them and they are just stunning. All of her work is. I will keep you posted on the opening date this of her show this fall at Patricia Sweetow Gallery here in San Francisco. The pieces are first traveling to Houston in October for the Texas Contemporary Art Fair, so we'll see if "I" make it back to the San Francisco show or not!

A huge thank you to Jamie, and to Lisa Congdon, Jamie's friend and studio mate who put the two of us in touch! Such a thrill!

I've posted the uncensored version (it's still decent) after the jump, so check it out if you'd like. Have a great Monday! xoxo

tonight!

Tonight I'm blowing it all out and doing three acts in one show! I can't wait. It's the Art History show. There's a new act I'm doing that I am so, so excited about. If you can, you should come. The Art History show is one of the best of the year. I have people coming from far and wide tonight which makes it really special for me. It is always so much better with friends and loved ones in the audience. Info is here, see you there? 

showtime: the showgirl chorus, elbo room, june 11, 2013

Another great show with Bombshell Betty and her Burlesqueteers. The theme this month was "taboo", and there were so many hilarious and inventive acts. I've got a hankering to come up with a new act after watching so many of my friends and colleagues perform so beautifully without props or tricky costumes in this show. Scaled down production is something I've aimed to do the entire time I've been dancing, but have never been able to pull off. I'd love to have an act like that in my arsenal. I'll be marinating on that.

I danced with the Showgirl Chorus, and we performed two numbers: our Bring on the Men act, dressed as half men/half womem, and our Bob-Fosse-esque History Repeating act. The stage gets so crowded with our big group of gals, but the choreography is so fun to do that it doesn't matter. Even more crowded is the dressing room, where I was lumbering around trying to get some photos and taking up too much space.

I can't get my hands on any photos of our Bring on the Men act, but here we are dressed in fashions from different decades for History Repeating. I'm representing the 50's on the left. We have to make a lot of loud sounds during this act, including the "Woop! Woop!" noises we're making in these open-mouthed shots!

And this is my dear Cookie Crumbles (and the lovely Red Delicious in the background). Cookie did an act to a Kiss tune with an Ace Frehley mask on for most of it, which explains her lovely expression here. She's one of my best burlesque buddies. We've got a lot in common and have some good fun together. Because of some of the choreography in the Bring on the Men, we've become even closer. Wink. I love all these ladies.

showtime: history repeating, elbo room, may 14, 2013

Last week I had fun performing our "History Repeating" act with the Showgirl Chorus. It's a heavily Bob Fosse-inspired piece choreographed by the one and only Bombshell Betty. We had a ball. I always feel a little empty if I don't do a solo piece at a show, but I filled the void by drinking a few stiff margaritas and stuffing my face with chips when I came offstage, because there is NO FOOD IN THE MISSION after 10:00 on a Tuesday night! Boo. Anyway, it was a great show. The crowd was huge and ready to laugh, which is always awesome. I can't wait until next month when we'll be performing as half men/half women and I MIGHT be reprising my flamenco act if I can fine tune it to fit the theme of the June show, which is "taboo".

Here are the ladies of the current Showgirl Chorus, representing different eras of fashion. I'm dressed as sort of a 50's teenybopper, but really it's all about THE PONYTAIL for me. My friend Maya, a.k.a. Mama Fou, a.k.a Fulbright scholar, a.k.a. founder and fearless leader of the incredible Fou Fou Ha, gave me a few of these hairpieces last year. One I turned into my removable braid for my Frida act, the other one has been sitting in a drawer. Until now. Now it is the M.V.P. in my entire arsenal of burlesque costuming. I LOVE THE PONYTAIL. I really didn't want to take it out when I got home. My own hair, on that blessed day it gets that long again, will never look as healthy and strong as that fake ponytail does, but it sure has me excited for my hair to be longer again.

It's pretty hard to stay away from the photo booth at Elbo Room when I've got my face (and hair) on, so of course, these.

No action shots from this show that I know of, unfortunately. I forgot to give my camera to someone. Hopefully something will show up, but in the meantime there are a few stills from when we performed this act back in December 2011 here. So cute.

showtime: holiday burlesque benefit show, elbo room, december 11, 2012

Backstage with Bombshell Betty (l), Erzulie Rose (c), and yours truly.

Normally I have a donut post up here on Mondays, but not today. I've had too many irons in the fire this past week. A different treat for today, cheesecake if you will!

Last month I performed my Snoopy act in Bombshell Betty's holiday burlesque benefit show at the Elbo Room. I love dancing to Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy", I think it's hilarious. Last December I performed this act with a now-defunct band called Fromagique, which brought a great energy to the song, but the original recording I used in this year's show is one almost everyone knows and can get into. 

The shots from last year's performance are here, and they are full of energy and I love them! This year I woke up the morning of the show with my left eye swollen shut out of no where and almost had to cancel, but the swelling went down enough to glue on the lashes and glitter. It still wasn't pretty. Literally. I can tell in the photos how jacked-up my eye was, for sure.

 

Classic Peanuts dance moves! The audience loves this part.

By the end I'm all dressed up like Snoopy.

I love the photo booth at this venue and use it every time I perform there. My poor eyes.
Bottom left shot is my best impersonation of my beloved Bombshell Betty's thinkin' face.

When I got home that night, after a wonderful show (the holiday shows are some of the best shows), I felt like I couldn't bear to unpack all of the costume pieces and jewelry and props just to pull them out again a few weeks later. I wrote an email to cancel an upcoming performance I had scheduled with a new group of performers. It hit me that I really needed to conserve energy for all of the things I'd be doing this winter. So, I've kind of packed burlesque away for a little while. I am booked to perform my very favorite act on March 1, 2013 with Red Hots Burlesque at El Rio. I would perform that act seven days a week if I could. Besides that, I've unhitched the wagon for now. I've spent over two years performing and it has meant almost as much to me as being a parent as far as personal growth goes. Invaluable. I've sincerely loved every second of it so far. I can't wait to get back to it, and yet it's a good load off not thinking about all that costuming and choreography and such for a while. Something had to give, I just didn't know it would be one of my favorite things to do. You have to do that sometimes to keep moving forward, I guess.

showtime: traditional burlesque, elbo room, november 13, 2012

Last month I performed two acts with Bombshell Betty and her Burlesqueteers at Betty's classic-burlesque-with-a-twist themed show, the first ever of the kind in the two full years I've been dancing with her. Betty herself, being the silly/sexy/always-with-a-twist performer that she is, had a hard time keeping a straight face and doing straight-up classic burlesque, but she nailed it. 

Straight face isn't my style at all, either. More giant giddy smile for most of my acts (except Frida, and except if I'm super-nervous and forget to smile). I debuted my new giant tissue paper pompom act to Adrian Belew's Oh Daddy, which is a super bubbly fun song and it would've been hard not to smile while dancing to it. Here is the costume preview for that act, if you'd like a closer look.

I am always the first one backstage, because I am nothing if not prompt. Two and a half years of walking almost a mile to school rain or shine slightly uphill pushing a stroller and we have never been tardy. That's how prompt I am. It happens to also be good for when you have two giant, ruffly costumes you need to stow before the dressing room fills up, and if your feet need a microphone check.

Being there early is also great when you assume you're doing one act first, but then realize you're doing the other. Actually, there was nothing great about that, but I worked it out. There are so many wonderful ladies backstage helping each other out. I love it back there. The photo directly below is of me with the "other" Yve, Eve Von Gelica. She is amazing!

I closed the first set with my pompom debut, and closed the show with my flamenco act, which is just my favorite thing to do ever.

David couldn't come to the show because Stella was sick, but I did have five people in the audience cheering me on, including dear friend/nanny Anna and her boyfriend, who provided the only photographic evidence of the pompom act ever happening. I included some rough, ROUGH video stills because you can still see the gestures of my dancing, which I really like.

Oh, check out how close to my original sketch my costume turned out this time! That almost never happens.

I found my favorite false eyelashes in my underwear drawer that morning, only days after David knocked the box of my unfavorite eyelashes into the toilet. When a door closes, a window opens?

Curtain call. I just threw my shawl over and ran back onstage. You know what was awesome? Coming offstage after my act to an EMPTY dressing room. Sometimes there's not a lot of time to watch each other perform, but if you're the last act, everyone has time to get out into the audience!

Also in the audience was new acquaintance/amazing writer/inspiring lady Rhea, who writes the blog thirtythreadbaremercies. Her blog is a great and honest read about being a woman. I was so happy she and her friend made it to the first half of the show. She wrote about her thoughts on the show in this post entitled Burlesque Your Way to Body Image Health, which is an account of what she saw at the show and her thoughts on body image (a recurring topic on her blog).

My last two shows for the next few months are coming up soon. I will be at the Elbo Room with Betty on December 11th and at Hemlock Tavern performing in a new group called Bubbles on Fire on December 21st, the night before my mother arrives for the holiday! Wish she could make it, I know she would have so much fun. I hope you can make it if you're in the Bay Area. Burlesque is an art form, it really is. It's a way to express ourselves. So, come support the arts and laugh your head off while you're doing it!

showtime: debut performance at red hots burlesque, el rio, october 24, 2012

All photos by Eric Stein Photography unless otherwise noted.

I just had a great night performing with Bombshell Betty last week, but before I get too behind and this becomes a distant but exciting memory, I wanted to share the photos from my debut performance at Red Hots Burlesque last month. I had stage kittened for the Red Hots previously, but this was my first actual performance with them.

Red Hots Burlesque is run by Dottie Lux, who is a wonderful performer, a generous, generous soul, and a hilarious broad. Dottie performed that night, along with the INCREDIBLE Alotta Boutte, and performers Nikki Sparx and Miss Rahni. I of course performed my Frida Kahlo act, which I am so happy to put away for a while.

Unfortunately, that night was game one of the World Series, with eventual champions the San Francisco Giants playing, so we didn't stand a chance. There were maybe twenty people in what is normally a packed audience, including the one friend of mine who showed up out of literally a dozen who said they would be there, who was here on business from Pennsylvania (he's a Red Sox fan). They audience did the best they could, and with the lights in my face it didn't register that I was performing to a sea of empty chairs.

Good experience for me for sure. I was completely out of my comfort zone, performing with seasoned, talented performers who don't know me from Eve. Preparing for the show in a keg closet with four other performers. Dancing for next-to-no-one. I gained a little autonomy that night. I'm not only (proudly) one of Bombshell Betty's Burlesqueteers, I am a performer named Yve Jobs. Pretty cool.

Here are a few more photos. You'll see more in an American Apparel ad on a bus stop than in these photos, so don't fret.

I love this next photo so much. That's David Glamamore on the right, a revered performer and costume designer. He's whispering to me "....and when you removed the sequined eyebrow?!". Best moment of the night!

I also really love this! I've never been on a flyer before. That's me on the bottom right performing my Easter act earlier in the year, with the big huevos eggs.

Flyer credit: Dottie Lux

I hadn't expected to be performing this much in the second half of the year, but it has been a joy. The Frida act is as much a performance art piece as a burlesque act (they are often both). It has a narrative of being freed from the body cast, the bandages (and the eyebrow), and something about death. It's as much as I can convey in a three minute long song. It's fun. 

I'll be back performing a different act with Red Hots in late February. I'm really looking forward to it. I guarantee there will be more people in attendance that night, which will make it even more fun!

showtime: frida kahlo is a manic superstar, elbo room, october 9, 2012

I performed my Frida Kahlo burlesque act this past Tuesday at the Elbo Room in Bombshell Betty's Spook-tacular show. It was a tremendous night. Some advanced burlesque student graduates blew me away, and shows this time of year are always a blast! I was scheduled to be the opening act, which really thrilled me, regardless of why I was going first. Unfortunately my friend Trixie Fou Laurant was having trouble keeping her latex zombie skin from falling off. After a fairly unsuccessful attempt at glueing her back together with my bottle of Skin-Tac, she needed to go on first before she fell apart! 

So, I went on second, and I felt I gave a really good show. I switched my routine up a bit so it would have more meaning, which left me exposed much longer than I usually am (see the body cast/corset I made here). I know from some of the photos I've seen of the act (none decent enough to show here except the one below) that I didn't have control of my facial expressions as well as I'd like. Too much "ooooh" face. There are a lot of moments in the act where Frida is surprised, so I suppose it came from that, but I'm going to work on giving way better face when I perform this in a couple of weeks with Red Hots Burlesque. I love watching people perform when they are smiling. It's hard to reconcile that with many of the paintings and photos I've seen of Frida Kahlo, but this is burlesque and I'll take that artistic license next time.

Thank you to CoCo Jewelle for the performance shots!

Kudos, praise and admiration to all of the performers from that show, and especially to Bombshell Betty. She has done so much for so many people in bringing us all out of our shells and making us more comfortable in our skin. She fosters all of this crazy creativity from costumes to choreography and everything in between. I may STILL hate to go to the beach, but I can perform in my skivvies for hundreds of people without batting a (false) eyelash, and for that I am forever grateful! I love you, Betty!