The Letter Follies at Pat's Cocktails

Live Burlesque with a DJ.

Have some Food, have a drink - sit back and enjoy the view

Scarlett Letter
Red Snapper
Vixen Magdalene
Miss Angiecakes
Panama Red
Spy Kitten

DJ Chris Beyond

No Cover - show will be spread out through out the night - so stop by anytime.

One More Round of BURLESQUE

Tonight at Circus Disco the Striptease Symposium All-Stars are making another appearance with my choreography.  Slated to go on at midnight to perform for an estimated 2500 people, I will join the team if I get out of my other gig in time.  This time we're going down to pasties since we're not dancing in front of a movie multiplex.

Uncommon Burlesque - Bringing You a Terrific Spread

Everyone knows you don't really want to be home on Thanksgiving Eve, so come out, have a drink, and enjoy a terrific spread with some burlesque beauties. Our third show in Newport features
Panama Red
Sophia Sirena
Jessabelle Thunder
Tori Adorable
Red Snapper
special guest Mr. Snapper
and your hostess, Miss Viva Las Vegas 2008, Dizzy Von Damn!

No Cover, 9:30 pm start
Reservations and early arrival strongly encouraged.
Valet Parking

November 10 Challenge: Swing I

Class 6 of 10:  This is the first dance class I've taken in a week.  As you can see, I've been busy performing. :)  I'm going to try to make it to three more classes plus next week's swing class by the end of the month!

Last night we learned more moves in swing class.  I partnered with someone completely different and two fellows I've danced with before.  For the last part of the evening, I was allowed to return to Mr. Snapper to dance the last song and learn how to incorporate the Charleston into our little combination.  It was nice returning to him after we'd both spent time learning with other people so we could demonstrate what we learned.  We also learned a move that may just make its way into our disco duet for my birthday show in February.

The ultimate test of my swing dance classes will be this Sunday night.  I'm going to the Cicada Club with friends this Sunday to put my skills to use.  I hope that the three classes I've had will translate well to real world application.  That's the ultimate test of anything.

Monday Night Tease! presents A Night At The Strip Club (sort of)

Monday Night Tease! presents:

A Night At The Strip Club (sort of)

hosted by: Randy H. Stallion
“The Sporadically self-aware strip club DJ”

burlesque performances by:

Jeassbelle Thunder
Red Snapper
Ali Oops
Marial A La Mode
Holly Rock-It
Dizzy Von Damn! Miss Viva Las Vegas 2008
Kristina Nekyia, Miss Exotic World 2010, First Runner Up

Bar Opens: 6pm
Seating Starts: 9:30pm
Show Starts: 10pm

Cover charge for November 22nd, 2010
$12

Ask about our Sino Tequila drink specials!
http://SinoTequila.com/

3 Clubs
1123 Vine St.
(Vine at Santa Monica)
Los Angeles, CA 90038

No photography. Performers subject to change without notice.

21+, full bar.

Need help?
Email Lili with any questions: lili@burlesque411.com

Follow us on twitter: @MNTease
You'll get updates and flyers for discounts.
http://twitter.com/MNTease

Victory Variety Hour presents This is BURLESK!

From the people who brought you The WRONG Show and SuperNova A Go-Go, LA’s own “high-fallutin’ low-brow” is back.

Victory Variety Hour Presents
THIS IS BURLESK
Sexy. Funny. Perverse.

Starring the best burlesque in Los Angeles:

Making her burlesque debut TIN LIZZIE
Everyone’s favorite mistake ALI OOPS
She’s not glowing, she’s lit! BEBE FIREFLY
The lost Ziegfeld Girl IZA LA VAMP
Hotter than a Southern night PANAMA RED
The dynamic duo of RED SNAPPER and MR. SNAPPER
Burlesque’s Surrealist Swain MATT MORGAN
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure JEWEL OF DENIAL
The Polio Princess KRISTINA NEKIYA
The 4 G’s of burlesque: Ghetto, Gutter, Glitter and Glamour LUX LA CROIX

With your em cee GARY SHAPIRO

Produced by the Pe-Tite Barnum of Burlesque PENNY STARR, JR.

Saturday, Nov 20th
Two Big Shows: 9PM AND 11PM
at The Strange
4316 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA, 90029
$18 COVER at the door
$15 advanced discount tickets at itsachick.com/vvh

NOBF: Stocking Removal with Catherine d'Lish

I'm still catching up from New Orleans!  As you can tell from my blog entries, it's been a very busy month in my burlesque world.  Last night's Peepshow Menagerie reminded me that I need to blog about the stocking class I took with Catherine.

First, let me say that Catherine d'Lish is truly a class act.  Sweet, genuine, funny and caring, I love spending time with her any chance I get.  She oozes sexuality onstage.  She's one of my role models.

I've been doing stocking removals for a couple years and I've seen a lot of stocking removals -- more bad than good.  I took this class to up my game and to do something unique with my stocking removals.  What Catherine taught me paid off at Letter Follies a couple months ago and again at Peepshow Menagerie last night.  I don't like to give away an instructor's livelihood by publicly sharing the precise technique they teach.  Suffice it to say that I did up my game from taking this class and cannot recommend it enough for anyone who wants to look sexy while working with stockings.

Burlesque "Flash" Mob

This is what I did last night.  You can see bits of the choreography I teach in my beginner class through Striptease Symposium.  We were booked to perform for a sneak preview of the new burlesque film.  This was a first performance for some of these kids.  Everyone did a wonderful job!

PEEPSHOW MENAGERIE presents OH, O!

PEEPSHOW MENAGERIE presents "OH, O!"
"A Burlesque of Fetish...and Things Unspoken."

Join Peepshow Menagerie as they venture into a world of secrets normally kept hidden behind closed doors. A BURLESQUE trip into the world of leather, latex, vinyl, and rubber. See performances dedicated to strange fixations from wax to the whip.

...A true Burlesque Menagerie in every sense of the word! A Carnival of Burlesque Carnality featuring The Pony Girl, The Kitten with A Whip, The Necrophiliac Squirrel, and the Self Flagellating Bunny!

Featuring Burlesque from

SCARLETT LETTER
(Legends Award Winner / Best Solo Performance - Boston Burlesque Expo 2010, Most Classic - Boston Burlesque Expo 2007)

FLAME CYNDERS
MISS ANGIE CAKES
BELLE-MORTE BEAUDELAIRE
VIXEN MAGDALENE
MISS JOSIE BUNNIE
IZA LA VAMP
JESSABELLE THUNDER
NANCY SinULTRA
KATE FOX
VAMP LORRAINE (with HARRY MIRKIN)
VESTAL VIXEN
THE TASSELED SQUIRREL
RED SNAPPER

and our 28th "Peepshow Pin-Up"
ANASTASIA VON TEASERHAUSEN

Hosted by POLLY PEABOY
(back from directing her first fetish themed film in San Francisco)

Pick-Up by THE SPY KITTEN

produced by Scarlett Letter & Chris Beyond

sponsored by Bachelor Pad Magazine

Live at BORDELLO (formerly "Little Pedros")

Thursday, November 18th, 2010, Doors at 9pm
901 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Admission: $10

Full Bar / 21 & Up
Doors: 9pm / Burlesque (starts early for a big show!) 9:45pm

Our shows tend to be packed so please arrive early for best seating and viewing. For more info as it comes, go to http://peepshowmenager/... or search for "Peepshow Menagerie" on Facebook.

November 10 Challenge: Swing I

Class 5 of 10:  Tonight was our second night of swing dancing.  We reviewed last week's lesson and worked on turning and the "cuddle."  Class went very well.

I tried not to back lead in class today.  I have a strong personality so it can be touch for me to follow someone else.  I made an effort today to just go where my partner sent me, even if the step was out of sequence with our drills.  I also partnered with three students I didn't get to partner with last week.  It's wonderful changing partners in class because I can spot my own weaknesses better.  There really is something to be said for having a strong lead.  One of my classmates just finished Lindy hop and lead me wonderfully, keeping up intelligent conversation as we danced.  I wasn't exhausted or dizzy afterward, and I could've kept going.  Once we start hitting clubs with our new social dance skills, I'm going to have my eye out for the strong leads (because Mr. Snapper and I can dance together anytime).

Monday Night Tease! presents The Muppet of Burlesque Show

Monday Night Tease! is proud to present:

"The Muppet of Burlesque Show"

(an all star parody of The Muppet Show)

Hosted by:

Waldorf and Statler

(Stumpy Putz and Rex the Impossible)

Starring:

Dizzy Von Damn!  as The Great Gonzo

Kate Fox as Rowlf

Isabella Star as Miss Piggy

Anastasia Von Teaserhausen as the Swedish Chef

with additional performances by:

Jewel of Denial and Emmet Otter's Riverbottom Nightmare Band

Vixen Magdalene and the Dr Teeth Show

Red Snapper as Elton John with the Crocodile Rock Puppets

Anna Bells and her twin muppet

This event is in no way affiliated with Jim Henson, The Jim Henson Company, The Muppets or anyone connected to them. It's parody dude!

Bar Opens: 6pm 

Seating Starts: 9:30pm 

Show Starts: 10pm 

$20 Advance tickets for November 15th, 2010

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/135161

$25 at door if available.

Ask about our Sino Tequila drink specials!

Sino Tequila

3 Clubs 

1123 Vine St. 

(Vine at Santa Monica) 

Los Angeles, CA 90038

No photography. Performers subject to change without notice.

21+, full bar.

Need help?

Email Lili with any questions: lili@burlesque411.com

Follow us on twitter: @MNTease

You'll get updates and flyers for discounts.

http://twitter.com/MNTease

November 10 Challenge: Absolute Beginner Tap

Class 4 of 10:  I've been on the mailing list of Hillary Ayn Ryan since around 2006.  I wanted to take her tap session in the Valley when I worked there, but it never fit my schedule.  I had a tap sampling in college, took a few more months of tap when I lived in St. Louis, and took a semester of tap at LACC.  I had a flash mob rehearsal at Evolution at 11:30am today, so Hillary's absolute beginner class was perfect for my schedule.

This is a great beginner class, and it's great for people who haven't been in their tap shoes in a while.  I dropped in on the second class of a six-week series and was able to follow fairly well.  She offers shoe rental if you don't own your own tap shoes.  If my schedule will permit me to visit the Valley for four more Saturday mornings, I'll finish out the series to get the rest of the choreography.

Hillary teaches Broadway style tap -- very much in the style of musical theatre.  Chester and my tap teacher from LACC both teach rhythm tap -- a down, dirty, nitty-gritty style that's closer to roots of tap.  I find myself drawn more to rhythm tap, but the basic steps are the same.  I recommend you check out Hillary's class if you're interested in tap and in the Valley.

November 10 Challenge: Swing I

Class 3 of 10:  I've wanted to learn how to swing dance since the "jump jive and wail" Gap khakis commercial from 1997.  Third Street Dance Studio, where I taught my last beginner session, was called the Best Ballroom Dance Studio by LA Weekly.  I discovered they had a beginning swing session on Tuesday evenings so Andrew and I signed up.

I have a few reasons for wanting to learn swing (besides that Gap commercial).  First, Andrew and I perform together and partnering skills will bring more to our performer repertoire.  Second, we hang out with people who are into the retro revival, so having the basics of this social dance under our belts will make us more fun at social gatherings.  Third, I'm trying to take ten classes this month and ten aerobic dance classes would probably kill me at my current fitness level.

I had a great time in the first class.  We learned the East Coast Swing basic step, an inside and an outside turn.  We got to change partners twice and really had a great opportunity to drill the technique we learned.  So much information was packed in the hour of class.  I was delighted that it was all about technique because that's what I really want right now.  And Andrew seemed to really enjoy himself, so that made the class even better.

November 10 Challenge: Musical Theatre Jazz With Fosse

Class 2 of 10:  I'm a Fosse fan.  I read a book about his works by one of his former dancers, and I love his choreography and direction.  When I saw this class started at Studio A, I had to jump on the chance to take it.  It's listed as an advanced level class, and I am not an advanced jazz student.  I emailed instructor Chryssie Whitehead ahead of time so I wouldn't show up and mess up the flow of the class.

The warm-up was great and I did pick up some new technique, but I think this class was a bit more challenging than I need at this point.  I have some dance vocabulary from ballet, tap and belly, but I need more vocabulary and drilling of new techniques.  This class is best for students who pick up choreography very quickly.  I knew going into it that it was listed as an advanced class, and my good buddy Evie Lovelle and I worked to keep up.  Chryssie is a very cute and energetic instructor, but I need a class with more drilling of individual steps right now.

What I did learn: 1) a really great move I can use in the odd beats of an eight-count to shake things up; 2) Fosse isolations are very isolated (so nothing else moves at all); and 3) strutting with my toes turned in creates interesting movement in my hips.

November 10 Challenge: Vinyasa Flow Yoga

I decided to challenge myself this month by taking ten dance classes, and my dance history classes don't count.  I want to improve my technique and lose the pounds from my slothful September (thanks to a head cold and dental work).  It's also not a bad idea to go into the eating holidays with the discipline of getting off the couch, leaving the house and earning my desserts.  I've extended this challenge to other dancers, and I hope I hear back on the classes they take.

Class 1 of 10:  This morning I accompanied the lovely Evie Lovelle to Vinyasa Flow Yoga at Liberation Yoga.  (I'm counting yoga in my November 10 since it will help develop my stamina, flexibility and concentration.) I've only taken one yoga class before, and that totally kicked my ass.  Today's class was exhausting and refreshing at the same time.  I find that I can't think about anything else when I'm in dance class, and the same goes for yoga.  I struggled with some of the moves (balancing is difficult at times), but I stayed with it and got a great workout.  I look forward to going back.

*For those of you who want to play along but have tough schedules, use dance videos to fill in the gaps.  Just make sure you do the entire workout in the dance video so you get the full time and benefit.

Bevy presents The Golden Age of Burlesque

The Bevy returns with an homage to The Golden Age of Burlesque!

The Golden Age was roughly the 1930s til the 1950s and was full of raucous comedy, sultry women and sometimes strange surprises! Our redux of this classic era won't just be a modern mimicry—we will strive to inject the old with the new!

Producer extraordinaire Lili vonSchtupp has put together a fabulous slate of performers to provide an entire evening of entertainment for you. Plus after the show, mingle with like-minded adventure lovers and dance til late to the tunes of DJ Eric Adams.
Performers scheduled to appear include:

• Venus DeMille
• Mariel a la Mode
• Red Snapper
• Evie Lovelle
• Scarlet O'Kelijus
• Ruby Champagne (Friday Only)
• Shyloh DeMille
• Hosts Doc & Stumpy
• The Chorus Line Stylings of the ATOMIC Cherry Bombs Dance Troup

The night will be hosted by Doc & Stumpy — keeping the vaudeville tradition of Baggy Pants Comedy alive!
And we'll have additional appearance by Mr. Snapper, Funny Eddie & Chris Beyond!
And this is only what's on stage! We also have live oil-painting of burlesque beauties by Richard McDowell. There will be photo opportunities to show off your finest. And The Mezz is a full bar to handle all your drinking needs! Watch for additional surprises too!
Discounted pre-sale tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com up until 6 hours before the show. Regular ticket prices are $20 for front row and table seating, $15 general admission. (There's no cover after show for the dance party!)

Info at a glance:

• The Bevy presents "The Golden Age of Burlesque"
• Friday & Saturday November 5 & 6, 2010
• Doors open at 8:30, Show at 9:30 (show runs approx. 2 hours) Dancing til late!
• 501 South Spring Street at 5th Street (map here)
• The Mezz is on second floor of The Alexandria Hotel. Enter lobby and look for signage and marble staircase. Elevator available too.
• Valet parking available onsite for $7. Nearby lots are usually $5 and some free street parking is available.
• We love groups, birthday parties, etc! Call Eric at 323.382.2615 for group discounts, special arrangements, or any other questions about the show.

Dance History & Appreciation: Snapper Presents

Last night I did a presentation on neo-burlesque in my class.  I was initially supposed to have 15 minutes for an entire presentation (eek), but it worked out for me to have about 45 minutes (yay!).  My classmates knew that I perform and teach burlesque professionally, but they didn't really know much about this special subculture.  I'm sharing my format with you, dear reader, in the event you find yourself trying to explain something that pervades every part of your life in a short period of time.

I started with a brief history of burlesque and neo-burlesque.  Since some of my presentation will appear on the final, I created a handout with the brief history along with my upcoming shows and contact info.  In truth, the handout was the "Little Golden Book" version of my term paper, covering the origins, culture and technique of the form in less than a page.

I then passed around some photos to give examples of neo-burlesque acts.  I also handed around some costume pieces to give hands-on examples of what we wear: boa, bra, shimmy belt, hair flowers, rhinestoned shoes, and pasties with tassels.  Since my presentation was at a community college, I couldn't do a number to show them an actual act; I didn't want to cause trouble for my instructor since there may be students under 18 and some of them might be offended by partial nudity in the classroom.

After a few questions, I got the students on their feet to learn about a minute of choreography.  I took my beginner class choreography and altered it so I could teach them glove peel technique.  Since I couldn't show video (nudity), I thought the best way for them to get the flavor of burlesque was by doing a little.  I taught them the choreography, we walked through it once, then we added music for the final "performance."  A few students stayed after class to run it once more and video it.  It was such fun that it totally counteracted my otherwise bad day.

2010 Elections

I'm running for office!

Not really.  I'm tired of politics from my theatre connections.

But I am asking you consider me when you go vote for the top 50 burlesque performers of 2010.  I made the list last year, and that was very cool.  I hope that I've entertained you in some small way this year so you drop my name in your five to ten selections for favorites.  (You can opt into their mailing list, but you don't have to sign up for emails in order to vote.)

The Letter Follies: November Edition

From Las Vegas: Cha Cha Velour

Local Favorites:

Jessabelle Thunder
Lucille Highball
Miss Angie Cakes
Red Snapper
and Scarlett Letter

Shows at 10 pm and 11:30 pm
Cover is $10

Monday Night Tease! presents A Night At The Carnival

Monday Night Tease! is proud to present:
A Night At The Carnival

Hosted by Aye Jaye, the legendary "Carny Trash"

With Sideshow and burlesque performances by:

Red & Mr Snapper and the Singing Snapettes
Rob the Ballon Guy, Escape Artist Extraordinaire
Iona Vibrator, Death Defying Juggler
Dizzy Von Damn! the Sultry Lion Tamer
Scarlett O'Keljus and her Trained Elephant
Estella Detroit the Sexy Sword Swallower

with Chris Beyond & Funny Eddie

Bar Opens: 6pm
Seating Starts: 9:30pm
Show Starts: 10pm

Cover charge for November 1st, 2010
$12

Ask about our Sino Tequila drink specials!
http://www.sinotequila.com/

3 Clubs
1123 Vine St.
(Vine at Santa Monica)
Los Angeles, CA 90038

No photography. Performers subject to change without notice.

21+, full bar.

Need help?
Email Lili with any questions: lili@burlesque411.com

Follow us on twitter: @MNTease
You'll get updates and flyers for discounts.
http://twitter.com/MNTease