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Archival Abby
Abby's Bio
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Bombshell Betty
Bay Area Burlesque
San Francisco's BombshellBetty
is a retrosexual, glorifying the pinup model and reveling in the bump
and grind of grand ol' burlesque. As a performer she has graced many a
stage, artfully revealing her assorted attributes for all she's worth.
But this bodacious beauty has taken her tassel twirling to a whole new
level as a teacher of tease. She has coined the term "Burlesquercise,"
blending the lessons of body celebration and entertaining exercise.
Betty also enlightens lensmen and models in the glamorous ways of
bygone days. She took some time out of her daily grind -- ha-ha! -- to
have a few words with Eros Zine.
Eros Zine: How did you become a burlesque dancer?
BombshellBetty: I was running a touring gogo dance troupe based in
Vancouver, Canada, and it just seemed to be a natural progression. We
started incorporating skits with our choreographed numbers, and it was
just a small jump to the feather fans and pasties!
EZ: Wanna give us a bit about your background? Were you a cheerleader? Anything of interest in your past?
BB: No one who knew me as a child or teenager would ever have guessed
that I'd get into show biz! I started taking dance lessons when I was
about 6 years old, but I was so shy. I told my mom that it was boring
and I didn't want to do it any more just to get out of performing at
the recital. Later, I studied other forms of dance on my own, but it
took a lot to get me up on that stage in front of an audience. It's
pretty funny when you look at my life now!
EZ: What kind of shows have you performed at?
BB: I've toured across the US, Canada and Europe many times, performing
in every sort of venue from small dive bars in Germany and the US and
Canadian prairies to large festivals like the Psychomeeting in Spain. A
few highlights have been headlining at the House of Blues at Mandalay
Bay Casino in Vegas, opening for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at the Commodore
Ballroom in Vancouver, BC, and touring with the Russ Meyer Night across
Europe with all of the fabulous ladies from Faster, Pussycat! Kill!
Kill!
EZ: What appeals to you about the retro vibe of burlesque and pin-up modeling?
BB: For as long as I can remember, my favorite movies were the ones
with Hollywood's most notorious glamourpusses -- Mae West, Marilyn
Monroe, Bette Davis -- and I emulated them. The modern burlesque
movement combines the glamour of the vintage aesthetic with the freedom
of today's fashion, and it's quite a combination.
EZ: What do you think about burlesque becoming so popular?
BB: My favorite games when I was a child were playing dressup in my
mom's clothes and heels and designing outfits for my paper dolls, and I
think that's a big reason why I'm in burlesque. I'm still that little
girl. I think burlesque appeals to the little girl and the vamp in
every woman, and it's easy for women in the audience to imagine
themselves up there, thinking, "That's fabulous. I could do that!" And
it's true. Burlesque is the ultimate DIY performance art.
Another thing that I think is very appealing about burlesque is that it
doesn't conform to the same stereotypes of female beauty that you see
in so much of the popular culture. Burlesque celebrates womens' beauty
in all shapes and sizes and colors and ages. Burlesque represents real
women, and there really is room for every style out there.
And don't forget that it's a damn good show!
EZ: Tell us about your Burlesquercise classes.
BB: The classes combine classic burlesque bump and grind moves with
Pilates and bellydance-inspired exercises for the warmup. We practice
walking in heels and perfecting that "jello on springs" walk like
Marilyn Monroe, then we progress to retro dance moves which are often
inspired by movies from the '20s through '60s. We also use games and
fun exercises to develop our burlesque characters and skits to bring
out our hidden va-va-voom! personality traits.
EZ: Do people find the classes empowering? Inspiring?
BB: Yes, the classes are very empowering. It is a very body-positive
environment and art, and everyone is encouraged to really let their own
personality shine. A large focus in the classes is on each student
digging in and finding their own burlesque "character," which is
basically my way of having each student figure out who she really wants
to be... and then become her. Everyone also has a chance to participate
in the development of their classmate's solo numbers, which is very
helpful to the students who are getting ready to perform and inspiring
for the students who are still nervous and dreaming.
One of the hidden benefits of taking the class is the social network. I
founded the Burlesquercise classes in the spring of 2004, and since
then it has taken on a life of its own! Burlesquercise is now a lively
and supportive sub-culture within the burlesque subculture. I created a
group at Yahoo! for the students to all interact, and it's wonderful.
Everyone is friendly and it's not at all cliquey. We have regular
dinners together, go to shows together and work together to organize
shows. We've even been talking about having matching jackets made!
EZ: What's it like watching peoples' "inner stripper" emerge?
BB: It's not so much a stripping class -- I teach that separately -- so
it's more like watching their inner sexpot, femme fatale or even sexy
clown emerge. It all depends on the woman and what she has hiding in
there. It has been immensely rewarding watching people gain more
confidence in themselves and feel more comfortable in their bodies and
their personalities by taking the classes. It is a very supportive
environment, and I love watching people show up painfully shy, and then
after a few classes they're strutting their stuff and shaking it like
nobody's business! It's really amazing.
EZ: What do you think makes someone sexy? Confidence, etc.?
BB: I think someone is sexy when they feel sexy. It's that simple.
EZ: What other workshops do you teach?
BB: I teach striptease workshops, costume design, pastie making and
pinup modeling. I'm sure I'll start teaching other workshops as well,
as they come up.
EZ: You teach costume design and pastie making...Do you make your own costumes and pasties?
BB: I'm compulsive. I make my own everything. Clothing, costumes, home
decor and furniture, pasties, hats, fans and props... and I'm about to
start making shoes, too. But don't ask me to cook, that's one thing I
don't do.
EZ: In your Pinup Modeling workshop, do you photograph your students or invite a photographer in?
BB: I bring in a whole team of industry professionals who are highly
skilled at creating retro and vintage styling for each pinup
workshop... which includes a pinup modeling class, a retro hairstyling
class, an instructional makeup session and the pinup shoot, where I
direct the posing while the photographer takes the photos. It's really
quite a production.
EZ: Do you wind up being hired for bachelorette parties? If so, what's that like?
BB: I haven't performed at any bachelorette parties, but I do get hired
for a lot of private events -- birthdays, company holiday parties and
the like. I love them! You get to really interact with the audience,
which is a lot of fun since they usually aren't your normal burlesque
crowd and they often don't know what hit them!
EZ: Isn't everyone in San Francisco a burlesque dancer by now?
BB: Not everyone, but I'm working on it. Haha! Honestly, I would like
to see more men performing in the burlesque shows. I hear requests for
it all the time.
EZ: What are your plans for future burlesque domination?
BB: Oh, I have big plans! I'm working on making a Burlesquercise!
workout video, so that people outside of the SF Bay Area will be able
to get in on the fun. I'm also putting together an online boutique to
sell my burlesque and vintage inspired clothing, costuming, and
accessory designs as well as handmade crafts designed by the
Burlesquercisers and other crafty burlesque dancers. I'd love to use
the boutique to help out any crafty "living legends," too.
This month I will be launching the new incarnation of my newsletter as
an ezine that will cover the local burlesque scene and developments in
Burlesquercise, plus articles of interest to those who love burlesque
and want to be DIY divas, whether or not they are interested in
actually performing. I'm also getting more involved in film, both in
front of and behind the camera, and event production. There's just so
much to do!
Readers can check out the Bombshell at her web site, bombshellbetty.net, where you can keep an eye out for her upcoming workshops and classes.
[Written Jan. 2006]
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