BurlyCon 2010 Highlights pt 1 - Thursday 14th October

Hello you lot! Nope, I didn't collapse into a pile of fearful mush....I'm still here and thanks to BurlyCon, I got my mojo fully back :)

There is waaaaaaay too much to tell you about BurlyCon, so I've decided that this week is BurlyCon (and related spin-off epiphanies) Update week. 

Don't worry if this is too much burlesque for you, I'll pop in during the week with a post about the Devyne family trip to Lake Havasu City and some pretty pictures of lighthouses....so make sure you keep checking back! :)

What I'm not going to do is tell you in detail about the classes, because then you'd have no reason to come to BurlyCon 2011 would you? You need to come next year, I am.

Ok Burly Con 2010....*checks what she's written already so as not to bore you*, hey oh let's go...

Thursday 14th October

The first class I went to was Being Organised with Sydni Deveraux.

As you'll see with most of the class slots, I found it pretty hard to decide what to go to as this was on at the same time as a Structured Playtime for Newbies with Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey (I'm going to go to this next year if it's still on the schedule) and Radical Glamour with Jo Boobs Weldon.

It's interesting because I like to think of myself as pretty organised as a burlesque performer and definitely as a show stage manager. For each of my acts I have my lists of everything I need to pack for that act when going to a show and I check and double check these before walking out the door. I'm always on time, I always have an emergency kit of extra bobby pins, safety pins, extra rolls of toupee tape etc, I always put my make-up on and do my hair before getting there (mainly because I know how little space we have in general in UK venues and if there actually is a mirror there, there'll be at least 3 performers in front of it fighting to put on their lashes).

But where I do fall down is after show. I'm usually so emotionally used up....or on a hyper high, that I just bung everything back in the suitcase without any thought or care and rarely unpack and properly put away for days.

 

 

I am a burlesque slob, I'll admit it.

And do I check when I finally unpack what needs fixing, what needs replacing? Nope.

This is why I waste money on too many pairs of fishnets and false lashes before each show and why I'm ashamed to say I've got too many pairs of lashes that look like this:

 

 

Not good.

So Sydni not only gave us a whole wealth of practical ideas, tips and advice about preparing to go to a show but also what to do after you've performed and how to present yourself as a professional. Fantastic stuff.

And one of the big things I'm going to be doing this week is working on organising myself properly and especially my closet, which currently looks like this:

 

 

It's not atrocious, but it could be so much better organised by having everything I need for each act together, having proper containers to store little bits separately to keep them from being spoiled etc. And step 1 of the process will be getting having a bit sort out and doing a 'burlesque stocktake' then writing everything down in a special notebook to have as a sort of costume and prop inventory. And then I need to keep that up to date :) Simples!

After Being Organised, it was time for Tassel Twirling with Miss Indigo Blue (although I also wanted to go to Allure of Vintage Panels with Dee Milo). This was so much fun, a room packed full of ladies bouncing, shimmying and laughing whilst learning 13 different ways to twirl. It was another fantastic class.

And then, with time to grab a bottle of water, it was DIY Showgirl with The Shanghai Pearl. Oh my goodness I learnt a lot there. I know I already make my costumes and am a huge fan of sequins and glitter glue...but I came away with so many ideas of how to bling everything up to the max on a tight budget and some fantastic sources for sparkle, feathers, hooks and catches, zippers and even kevlar helmet visors for the ultimate showgirl headpiece....I kid you not!

We then had 15 minutes to get ready for the Vintage Attire Meet & Greet, hosted by Melissa Flynn and Friday Night Date. For those of you who've been following the making of the green dress for this, this is how I looked, except with my hair done and make-up on:

 

 

Actually I didn't quite look like that, because I'm not convinced I was smiling...this was when my confidence took it's biggest dip during the weekend. But ah well.

And then, the last event of the day, we all sat down for the Peer Reviews hosted by Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey. 12 acts that people wanted feedback on, either because they were in the planning stages or perhaps wanted to take them to the next level. I was going to be part of the Friday night peer reviews so I was very interested in watching the first lot.

I'd love to tell you more about the performances we saw BUT my brain wasn't in gear at that time to keep a note of people's names and also as some of the acts are in development, I don't think it's fair to possibly give away their wonderful ideas over the internet....but all I can tell you is the standard of the acts we witnessed blew me away. Even newbie performers using the opportunity were WAY beyond the quality I've seen of many newbie performers before.

It really was a superb way to end the day, an incredibly supportive environment of fellow burlesque performers wanting their art to progress and wonderful acts to witness evolving.....I have to say it did make me very concerned about the quality (or lack of) of my planned performance the next night, but that was another day and Friday would lift my spirits and burlesque education to new exciting levels....

.....to be continued :)