Wow it’s coming up to a year since I started performing and what a year it has been! I have been naughty about updating this blog. I end up writing long rambling emails to friends and not on here. Ooh hard to strike the balance between keeping it interesting and telling too much….

But here is what I can tell you. Everything has started to change since I was made redundant from my Ad Agency, which was a bit of a shock but actually a blessing in disguise. It just seems to have fast forwarded my decision to really go for Burlesque.

So I when I left the Ad agency I went on a little Mini Adventure to Berlin. What an amazing city. I was great to wrap up warm walk the street, vintage shop ( I bought some wonder 60s dirndl pinafores) and just get some head space. I also went to some insane clubs one was called Panorama it was this huge warehouse in the middle of an industrial estate- it only got going at 2:30am and had a really strong gay vibe. Lots of muscle bound topless men looking pretty aggressive ‘ with I want to fuck’ look in there eyes. Quiet a few of them were as well quiet openly. Oh! But the music was great and fulfilled my ‘wanting to go to a techno warehouse club in Berlin’ wish. Tick.Tick.

Also on my last night went to a brilliant bar club called White Trash Fast Food. It was an old Chinese Restaurant and felt like an opium den. They even had a burlesque swing on the stage, I must try and set up a gig there for next year. ….

So I had some big decisions to make. I went for an interview for another Account Management job. It was for this corporate financial services account. I found myself talking all the ad talk but my heart just was not in it. They even told me that the client ‘liked pretty girls’ and winked! Hilarious! They asked me back for a second interview but I turned it down. It would have been good money but I think now I’m just at the point where I just have to give Burlesque a real go. So I have been working as a PA, I certainly a lot less demanding/stressful than my old job and means that I can pool all my energy into my grande passion!

And since I made that decision all sorts of exciting things have started to happen.

1) Just before Christmas I was interviewed by ITV for ‘This Morning’. They are doing features on women who dress like certain decades. I was the 60s one. The Comedienne Jenny Éclair was interviewing me. She turned up at my house at 8:10am burst through the door demanding ’Have you got any food? If you don’t feed me I’m going to turn into a complete bitch!’ she then continued to treat my housemate like a runner ( not to his amusement). But on the whole she was pretty funny and I was pleased that she ended up buying the outfit form Beyond Retro I styled her in for the show. We then went to the gorgeous Lounge Bohemia bar ( near the Drunken Monkey on Great Eastern Street) and did another little interview and tracking shots of me posing in different outfits. I did one piece of TV when I was 19 – the high quality programming that was ITV’s ‘Dial a Date’ and I forget how many times you have to shoot everything form different angles. You do kind of feel like you are repeating yourself! I’m sure its audience will be mainly housewives but you know what they say all publicity….

2) I just got my first booking in New York at Starshine Burlesque which is my first booking abroad which I think is a mini-milestone. The main reason I’m going out there in February is for an audition at this club called ‘The Box’. I have heard lots of good things about club it’s owned by Simon Hammerstein who is part of the Hammerstein dynasty. It sounds like it has some pretty outré acts so I might not be extreme enough. Not quite sure which act I’m going to do for my audition but I’m going to pull out all the stops. Hoping will get a few other booking while I’m out there as well. I used to live in Brooklyn for 3 months when I was 19 so its going to be great to catch up with old friends and I’m going to be staying with a Comedian friend of mine who possibly has the best head of hair in the business.

3) I met the Burlesque Host ‘Vincent Drambuie’ at the London Burlesque Festival earlier this year and we really hit it off. He came over with the Glamorama Girls on a European tour and I performed with them when they came over here in May. They had really good acts and I liked the fact that they were such different characters. It made for a real variety show. They even stayed with me for a night, it was lots of fun having a Burlesque troupe in my house. The sight of them arriving in a taxi full of pink and leopard print luggage was a sight to behold! Anyway they have asked me to joining them on their Alaska Tour in March which will be I’m so excited it just feels like such an amazing opportunity. Not only to travel but to learn from them. It will be brilliant to be performing one night after the next and really get into the zone.

4) In December I also featured in my first music video last night ( my inner 12 year old was jumping for joy again) It was for a French Electro Band called Sonny Jim. It was filmed in this Big Top in Harrow and it was FREEZING. The fabulous Roxy Velvet was there as well – but sadly I had to dash to perform at my old Ad Agency Christmas Party so I missed her infamous birdcage performance. Hopefully I’m going to see her in action this year though

So that is my little round up and I promise to update more often.
2008 I welcome you with both cat-suited arms!

xx