Booties in Broad Daylight

(behold the crookedness!)

I will admit, at first the idea of touring the New York harbour on a day cruise, with alcohol and performing burlesque troupes sounded beyond fabulous. Factor in a really rocky ride, and a bit too long to set sail, and an unexpected heat -- here’s where things started to get bad. I even had the foresight to pop a few ginger capsules before the trip to prepare myself – and yet somehow, the rocking really got to me, as well as my sister, and a good chunk of the other guests.

My overactive imagination went wild, imagining the barf fest that could have unfolded – particularly because a lot of these folks were up late the last nite drinking and partying.

Remarkably, I didn’t see anyone get too sick, just lots of queasy, green faces. So I sipped some gingerale, chewed gingerly on some pretzels, and did my best to shoot – this was going to be my only footage of this glamourous event I had been so anticipating – I haven’t had a chance to watch it back yet, but we’ll see if there are obvious signs of swaying….

All in all, the World Famous Pontani Sisters did a great job (they are fabulous themselves, but were too wrapped up in pulling off their event to chat with me) and I find myself really drawn to burlesque…..

I really enjoyed the performances I saw. Apparantly, I missed the most elaborate, advanced performances the night before (I'll take their word for it **grumble**)... but I still enjoyed what I saw, especially because these were the women who had the guts to perform in broad daylight on a pitching boat!

My favourite was Sparkly Devil from Detroit who did a “Snakes on a Plane’ inspired piece that was so vicious it was fabulous! (She was someone I had been hoping to have a face to face meeting with, but our schedules wouldn’t allow). Great stuff!!

Even amidst all of the delectable divas having a great time, we found ourselves stumbling off of that boat as soon as we could!

In the evening, I had the pleasure of finally sitting down and chatting with the lovely Michelle L’Amour.



You might have seen her on America’s Got Talent as the controversial “stripper” who threw her bra at Brandy. FYI, she is in fact not a stripper but a trained burlesque performer who’s been given the nickname “the ass that goes POW”… My kinda girl!

She and her partner Franky and I chatted about booty, her career and changing people’s perceptions about body image and burlesque – I really feel this girl could be a great role model for younger girls. She’s petite, demure, pretty, talented, and not the least bit affected. She’s also on the same wave length as me, in terms of really trying to carve a niche for herself and maximize it. She’s by far my favourite at the moment – and I still have to wait until Sep 8th to see her perform (yes folks, the Booty is coming to T.O.!!) I also love the fact that burlesque is a full-time commitment for her – teaching a new troupe, performing, and trying to build new opportunities…. And it’s always nice to find a little fit white girl with a booty!

Also was delighted to connect with Miss Dirty Martini!

I thought I had her pegged as a very raunchy, brazen young woman. In fact, she is a delightful lady with a sweet face, great curves and a unique-sounding voice. We met at her Monday night Bingo gig – guess there's always a first time for bingo in New York! She was dressed in a fetching Dorothy costume, complete with frilly white knickers that she was more than happy to bend over and show off.

Dirty has a part in SHORTBUS, the film Toronto's own Sook Yin Lee is in and is premiering at the Film Festival, so if you’re in Toronto, don’t be surprised if you spot this blonde vixen around. Total sweetheart – a bit of a mama hen for up-and-coming burlesque gals – she was kind enough to introduce us to the audience… I think she may be doing a show in Toronto this week too! I hope her tushie tassles come out to play!

Folks, picking a burlesque performer is going to be the hardest decision I have to make. They really are a fascinating bunch….

Here's to Tushies!

Tatyana