Mon Cherie's Rockabilly Lounge At The Masquerade for Autism Awareness Benefit This Friday.

Maybe you think that burlesque girls are 'all about me,' but think again. Folks around Atlanta, Georgia are cruising into The Masquerade this Friday, May 21st, when Mon Cherie's Rockabilly Lounge holds a benefit for Autism Awareness. These burlesque queens and rockabilly musicians may appear as unlikely angels to some, but spin again, baby – they truly have hearts of gold. Mon Cherie's plan is to raise enough dough to send the students on Ms. Thomas' class for autistic children with special needs to Autism Summer Camps where they can enjoy themselves and get quality time with counselors focused on their specific challenges.


What can you expect? You'll get Rod Hamdallah (formerly of Rod & The Rusty Rebels) rockin' the stage and steamy performances by Big City Burlesque! Body By Burlesque got a sneak peek at the tentative line-up for the burlesque!
King Rouge & Lilly Anne in " Big Coty Tease "
Tiffany Minx in " Old Fashioned Girl "

Johnny Drape & Dahlia Danger in " Flesh Cafe "
( guest spot Renea La roux )
Cha Cha Soliegh sings " Love Potion # 9 "

What can you win at the Rockabilly Raffle? Prizes include items from Pabst Blue Ribbon, Lux deVille Handbags, Sacred Heart Tattoos, Lucky Starr Vintage Clothing, Loysville, Derek Jackson Pin-Up Photo Shoot, Throne Jewelry, Las Margaritas Latin Restaurant, Masquerade concert tix, Hollyweird Tattooz, and much much more.

FREE JELLO SHOTS!  The Masquerade is located at 695 North Avenue, NE, Atlanta. Doors @ 9PM – Cover $10 - Ages 18+ Welcome.  Live broadcast Garage71 Radio (www.garage71.com)

More about Ms. Thomas: Her class is a special needs class for Autistic Children. The school added an additional student who not only has autism - but other issues as well. This student has a violent tendency and has been harming the other children. Recently, he tore apart the classroom and attacked the teacher, putting her in the hospital. Autism is a specific disorder and the children are special and sweet in nature. The children witnessed the incident and it appears that it was just too much for them to handle. Many are currently traumatized by this and have been having nightmares and other coping issues. Ms Thomas is writing a book, “Leaving Autism Road” about her experience in dealing with Autism and will be reading excerpts during the night.

You Gotta Have A Gimmick - from "Gypsy"

Vagina Jenkins performs New Orleans Burlesque Fest 2009

Do you consider yourself a Friendly Fluffer, Vaginal Support, or a full-fledged, card carrying member of Team Va Jay Jay?

Show of hands, folks, can you remember a time when we needed some good, clean, old-fashioned, entertainment to shake off the blues as badly as we need it now?  Hope doesn't float, people, it shimmies and shakes, teases and twirls, and then breaks it down into love you can feel deep inside.

We can only be speaking of that Southern goddess, known as The Queen of Queer Burlesque, the incomparable Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins! And she's ready to take her intoxicatingly luscious self and her show on the road so she can strip away the gloom wrought by economic setbacks, peel away your blues, and let her expertly swinging tassels brush away the sadness. She has a style as unique as her name, and this makes her sensuous charm all the more seductive.

But she needs our help. Specifically, she needs an RV and she needs some mo' Benjamins. Seductively batting her eyelashes, she describes the special gifts she has for all who support the cause of the Vagina Jenkins Roadshow. 

 

"As a burlesque performer, my mission is to reclaim visual and erotic space for all the marginalized communities I represent" she says. "Which is an overly academic way of saying that as queer woman of size and color I want to be a huge, big , bright, feathered beacon of awesome-ness."

Girl, you are, you are!


"Sure, I'm also an attention whore, but I also believe strongly that every woman deserves to take up space and be beautiful on her own terms, defying, queering and otherwise redefining what it means to be femme in the world.

"So I'm trying to get the word out there. But in order to take up visual space and show the people far and wide what I'm all about and what SEXY freed from class/gender/orientation/race boundaries looks like--- I'm gonna have to get out there."


So Body By Burlesque is providing the link for everyone to pledge at whatever level they can - from the Buck Tuck to Patron of the Vagina and higher. I asked this exquisite lady if she had any advice to help us through 2010 and beyond. She did.

"Eat more, fuck often, and buy those heels no matter how uncomfortable. If youre wearin' em right u wont hafta walk very far anyway!"

BBB couldn't have said it better.

Blaze Starr- Burlesque Queen

Exotic Dance 101

Back to the exotic dance class. This time I wanted to talk with the class instructor, Althea Lawton-Thompson, owner of Aerobics, Yoga & More Fitness & Dance Studios in Stone Mountain, Georgia.


After decades of glum, repetitive, force-myself-to-go workouts, I deserved this shot of exuberance that restored my faith in the power of a good workout class. Here was one that combined the beauty of dance with a playful naughtiness to chase my cares, woes and cellulite into someone else’s backyard. And unlike my actual childhood, I’m not relegated to the bench, but in the game with a delightful gang of playmates dancing and bumping to the big bass thumping.

So how did Althea become the captain of my favorite team on the playground?

“We decided to put Exotic Dance on AYM’s schedule because we wanted to do something fun, liberating and effective for strength and agility” says Althea. “We wanted AYM to be different than all of the other gyms and studios around us. Our Exotic Dance class is classy, tasteful, and incorporates all styles of sexy movement - Latin, Caribbean, Belly Dance, and Hip Hop/Video.”

Well, you said it sister – fun, liberating, and effective. The high heels do make some of the moves easier, but are they helping? And how does it affect, you know, my bottom line?

“This workout incorporates all of the core muscles in the abdomen and back as well as the large muscles of the thighs and legs” explains the leader we follow gladly and devotedly. “The Belly Dancing and some of the Video Dance routines also include major arm movements to tone the shoulders and upper arms. By wearing high heels, the calves, thighs and gluteal muscles are toned through squatting, bending and slow walking.”

Maybe now you’re interested, curious, and willing, but have yet to put your pumps, workout gear and chutzpah in the car and head for the party, or workout (call it what you will,) because you need that extra tug. Allow me to fling my feather boa around your waist and pull you in so you can get your backfield in motion with the rest of us. Or better yet, I’ll ask Althea to describe what you’re missing.

“What's so amazing is that every kind of woman you can imagine participates,” Althea assures me. “Our classes typically have women as young as 22 and as mature as 73. All ethnicities and races and religions are prancing around a chair in 2-4 inch heels together as one... and having a great time doing it! Tall, short, thick, thin, rhythmic and uncoordinated - we're all there together gettin' our groove on.”

Thank you, Althea. I’ll see you soon. Oh, are the rest of you still here? You better get going and get a good spot. I’ll be in front working out my booty deluxe – ‘the whole club is lookin’ at her!’ Yeah!

Oh, Sure It Looks Easy

So I gather the necessities: workout clothes that I can move in, stilletos, and courage. Imagining self as a character in Oz 'the clothes, the heels, the nerve.' About half a dozen women, culturally diverse, but all in or not too far from my age range are in the studio ready to begin. We begin the warm-up seated in our chairs, facing the mirrored wall, first with slow head and shoulder rolls, graceful arm movements, the inevitable opening and closing of legs and, of course, raising each leg as we caress it from thigh to ankle with our hands and then support it with palm under the heel. The music is 'Between The Sheets' by The Isley Brothers. Nice, lush, Isley grooves. I'm feeling exotic already.

Oh, what? Now the chairs go away as we remain facing the mirrors and learn moves from belly dance and those sensuous Latin dances. This is fun. I can truly dig this. Yeah, what's next? The instructor is a tall, elegant, gorgeous woman who radiates the most positive exciting energy. If I can get these moves and take a fraction of her energy field with me, I can rule, baby!

Now - the routine. In heels, getting the steps, I'm allright, yeah, I'm hot, don't know what this song is but I like the strong bottom (that's musician talk for the bass line.) Something about a girl in the club, boots with the fur, the whole club is lookin' at her. I'm that girl! They're looking at me. Yeah! Wait, what? Sunny got what? Low, low, low, low, ... who me? Oh, no. I'm at that age. That age. You know, when we least expect it we can sneeze, cough, laugh too hard, hit a fixed object while riding a bicycle, stuff like that - and that unfortunate bit of leakage occurs. Damn perimenopause. No way I'm going to be embarrased in hoochie class. I gotta sit this move out.

But I'm caught up, trapped even, the class filled with latecomers, I'm being pushed back and forth, side to side, bass is thumpin', teacher's calling out directions, left on one, to the back, keep going, now turn around and give that big booty a smack, now down! And I go down. Hey. What's this? I got back up. I went down and right back up! I can't remember the last time I squatted and got right back up. And no leak! Plus, it really is easier in the high heels. I can do this. I can low-low - in hoochie class - and stay dry. This must surely be my destiny. Okay, in the mirror, I might look like I've just finished a two mile hike, but that's the sign of a good rehearsal, right? It must be.

Now it's time to lie on our mats and cool down with a bit of Pilates and yoga. Now I'm dying. Well, not really dying, but we're working on our core. Good abs are essential for exotic dance. And this is more of a workout than I expected. Now the lights are low, the music is mellow, we're meditating and in a happy place. This is an excellent workout, and if I can get off the mat and drive home, I know I'll return.

Before I do that, my next plan of action is to visit a professional dancer gal pal who performs in a burlesque troupe. Come back and I'll show and tell you all about it.

Once I Was A Schleppa...

"Wow! Look at you with the curly hair, and those legs working that mini-skirt! That was you?" Yeah, that was me. And my pal Kinia was going through a scrapbook from the days when I produced and hosted an entertainment show on cable television. Don't think I started out that way. There was never a later bloomer than I, very shy and raised in a home with

strict religious rules for young ladies. But the worst part of Kinia going through the photos was that although I did take great care then of how I ate and kept fit, I didn't realize what good shape I was in. Neither could I remember consciously going straight to those tiny sizes on the racks of any department store or trendy boutique. Wait. Was that a see through top? On me? Dear Goddess, where did I go wrong?

While I don't qualify for The Biggest Loser and I'm not ready to swap clothes with Kirstie Alley, I'm just plain embarrased at how much I've gained and how out of shape I am. When you look at a photo and say "That sweater makes me look fat," you know it ain't the sweater. It's the fat. I'm not a cold weather girl, but I dread warmer weather because I can't hide in a long jacket.

Okay, so I need to find a workable food plan, and start an exercise program. Ugh. Aerobics? I hit that a few times, but can't stomach the blaring top 40 music and way-too-happy instructor. Same with joining a gym. The pounding drums and bass and yelling intructors. Just not me. Walking? Like the idea in a group. But I was bitten by Rottweilers on a neighborhood walk, and far too many women on jogging trails and bike paths make the crime news.

Okay, so I've got the weight packing on in the middle plus the curmudgeonly attitude specific to my, well, near middle age. And that's when I check out the locals yoga and fitness studio to find listed, seriously, Exotic Dance! Now they've got my attention.

I call. I ask the questions. And I am comforted as well as I am intrigued. The helpful, assuring voice on the phone tells me to come in comfortable clothes that I can move in, and that high heels are optional, but I might like to bring them.

Exotic dance! Burlesque is certainly having a revival with the Gen Y kids - in their own way. Who among us has not seen the three strippers "Gotta Get A Gimmick" in Gypsy without wanting to play that one in the privacy of our own homes for laughs? I'm getting visions of The Pussycat Dolls, Gypsy Rose Lee, and of course, those sensous dames Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

My fantasies are running away with me. Can I pull this off? Or will it be just another dead end, not finished, make a bunch of excuses failure? I start class tomorrow night. And hopefully this blog will keep me accountable.