Exotic Aussie A'dora Derriere Gives Us A Peek At Sugar Blue Burlesque

Lovers of exotic dance, to bring you evidence that the burlesque revival is a worldwide phenomenon, Body By Burlesque introduces you to the sexy wonders from down under - Sugar Blue Burlesque. These ladies aren't playing dress-up in the garage with great aunt Mabel's party gowns. Professional, crowd pleasing theatricality, elaborate vintage costumes, and a fusion of classic burlesque and retro dance styles combine to create a dazzling production transporting the audience into a higher dimension of sensations.


When the luscious A'dora Derriere says 'walk this way' the earth's axis spins! She cooled her tailfeathers just long enough for a short, yet very revealing interview.

Tell me a bit about the origin of Sugar Blue Burlesque.
Sugar Blue Burlesque has been operating for 4 years. We began as a trio. Miss Bonnie Fox, myself, (A'dora Derriere,) and Scarlet O'Harlot. We now have about 15 performers in the troupe. So, we have grown a lot! The three of us were all from a Swing Dancing (Lindy Hop) background and I am also a trained costume designer, so when we started the troupe in 2007, we based ourselves a vintage dance troupe. We performed 1900s style Burlesque, 1920s Charleston, Lindy Hop, 1960s GoGo and Vintage Chorusline performances.

Adora, I see you are also a costume designer, do you make your own? Have you made anyone else's? how did you come to meet your design idol - Catherine D'Lish?

I make almost all of my own solo costumes and I also make all the troupe costumes when we need multiple costumes for group performances. We have an amazing performer, Sapphire Demure, who is also a fashion designer who also makes solo costumes for many of the girls in the troupe.

I got the opportunity to meet my Catherine D'Lish at the London Burlesque Festival. I was one of the last performers on the night of the closing show and she was sharing a dressing room with me and was performing straight after me. I think she is amazing. Her costumes and wearable art has inspired me even when I was a costume student 10 years ago! 

Tell us about the Burlesque Academy and Vintage Glamour Workshops.

These days we have our own studio in the middle of Perth City called the Burlesque Lounge. We have our graduation shows and run our burlesque academy from there. We run a variety of different classes including Burlesque Bump and Grind casual classes, Burlesque Beginner's Dance, 1920's Charleston, Dance Like a Showgirl Course, Chair Fever, Latin Dancing for Burlesque, 1960's Go-Go Dance and Hoola Hooping. We even made some instructional dvds - Burlesque 1,2 & 3, 1920's Charleston and 1960's Go-Go.

At the Burlesque Lounge, we share the space with a photographer, David Woolley , who has done most of our photography. David is very talented and passionate about his work and vintage style! We are lucky enough to offer a workshop called Vintage Glamour Workshops for students with him. It is a one day workshop, where the students are taught and then assisted to transform themselves into a vintage pin-up, and then photographed by David Woolley. It is so much fun! 

The readers of Body By Burlesque are definitely interested in learning about the Hen Parties offered. What is involved? Are they as popular as I imagine they would be, and have you recruited any new dancers from them? Or do they mainly want to learn for fun and 'private, home shows?"

The Sugar Blue Burlesque Hen's Parties are very popular. They are a two hour session where the guests and the hen learn the art of tease and some burlesque dance moves as well as doing some games. We dont recruit the dancers from the hens party, the lesson is a fun girls night in. The girls that we have recruited along the way have mainly been from our burlesque academy courses.

Clara Cupcakes - What she can do with Hula Hoops!

Clara Cupcakes is one of the delicious treats from Perth, Australia's Sugar Blue Burlesque. I'll have more on them later this week. For now, life is short, have your dessert first!

Dita Von Teese Pin-up Makeup Tutorial

Some of you know I have four blogs that are all very different. Whether you read, follow, or comment on one or all, I assure you I am very grateful for the time and thoughts you share with me and I hope that I give you entertainment and some information that you may find useful. Body By Burlesque, about a middle aged gal's search for fitness through exotic dance, was first. Then came Bark Of Love for dog lovers. Madame Perry's Salon is intended to be a cyberworld version of salons that were popular in Asia, Europe and the United Kingdom a few centuries back where artists, writers and thought leaders gathered. And finally there is Memoirs Of A Misanthrope, essays from my forthcoming book of the same title about how my life resembles a David Lynch film.

In my last post here I introduced you to the stunning and vivacious Mon Cherie, who along with her burlesque gals and Rod Hamdallah and his smokin' rockabilly band, were raising money at their latest show to send a specific class of autistic children to camp. I found some more gorgeous gals who use their beauty and brains for a very worth cause. The following was posted on my Bark Of Love block this week, and I think it's worth sharing here as well. Besides, everyone needs a calendar, right?

****************************

This Bark Of Love post is authored by Parker (Aussie Cattle/Cardigan Corgi/?) and Bennie (Pembroke Welsh Corgi/Who could resist all this!) because they are both rescued dogs.

Hey everybody! Got anything to eat? Want to scratch us?
(Mistress of Corgi Manor to boys – Hey, you're on the gig now, writing a blog, treats and scratches later! Get to work and mind your manners – ahora mismo!)

Okay, keep your wig on. Where were we? Anyone out there who is a rescue dog, or lives with one, knows that no matter how cute, fun, smart and lovable we are, well, sometimes things arent' all that good. Sometimes we start life with people who don't deserve us, or we get lost, or whatever.

Then the smart, good people find us and life is what it ought to be. That's why we're waggin' slap to death to tell you about some really fine ladies we just found out about who live in Oregon. You two leggers call them pin-ups, or calendar girls. We call them beautiful and very clever because they created the Pin-ups Love Pound Pups calendar. It raises money to help dogs who need homes. We talked to the wonderful Angel Maree to learn more about how she got such a brilliant idea.

"I had the idea to create Pin-ups Love Pound Pups after searching online for pin-up girl art to decorate with. I saw these amazingly beautiful pictures of pin-up girls and dogs and it combined my love of both. I also saw that calendars were produced in the same fashion," said Angel. "I knew that I had great friends that would help me. So Pin-ups Love Pound Pups is a group of friends that created a calendar to raise money for their favorite non-profit, PAWSitive Changes, Inc."
Okay, then we asked about that; and believe us – you're gonna want to give them a biscuit and buy a calendar!

"PAWSitive Changes, Inc, is a 501c3 non-profit organization which exists to promote the human-animal bond with shelter dogs and incarcerated youth, she explained. "These young people care for, train, and help the dogs with social skills so they can be ready to be adopted into their forever homes."

That's so nice, Angel. You're a goooood lady, yes, you are, you're a goooood lady! We'll just snuggle up with you while you tell the readers more about the calendars.

"Sure, and you're both goood boys! Well, many of the girls also volunteer with the youth/dog program and also at the animal shelter. They are in the trenches getting their hands dirty and that is what makes us different. Our purpose is to catch the attention of society and urge responsible pet ownership, shelter animal rescue, and female empowerment. All of the girls are beautiful inside and out, and the common bond is that they want to help animals and youth, while engaging in a project that allows them to be creative and socially responsible. We have found the beauty in combining all worlds.

"2010 is our first calendar and 2011 is already proving to be an exciting venture. We are representing girls and dogs, all still friends, up and down the West Coast. This year, we have doubled the amount of girls and dogs in photo. We are working with numerous photographers that have volunteered their talents for our cause.

"Our 2011 calendar is planned for release in October and we couldn't be more excited. We have done social events to raise money for the non-profit from art gallery exhibits and photo shoots, to calendar signings, and martini parties. This year, we have been invited to more art gallery socials and even car shows. Basically, we make friends wherever we go and doors just seem to open because people see that the girls are all very kind, and down-to-earth, real people. The most exciting part is that 100% of the calendar profits go to the animal rescue non-profit. The calendar was hugely popular this year. We sold online to all over the US, and even the UK. People also purchased calendars from us for the troops and we sent a huge box to our friends serving in Afghanistan. Overall, we feel loved, supported, and energized by the progress we made in one year and plan for bigger and better things in the year to come."

Woof Woof! Baaaarrrk! We think that you and all the pin-up girls are our dream girls, Angel, and you really are an angel. Anything else you want to tell us while you're here, and still scratching us?

"We, myself and friends, started PAWSitive Changes to support the prison dog program and to pay the dog vet bills, etc. A small goal that is developing into bigger things. We want to help elderly, military, incarcerated, basically anyone in need with their animals in the future."

Bennie and Parker stop here to show Angel Maree their tricks, and give her a little doggie kiss. You can order the Pin-Ups Love Pound Pups calendars now, and they would like to be friends on FaceBook. Angel Maree is the pin-up for June!