Bella's Backstage

For some reason, every time I wake up the day after a show I'm always aching all over. I think the rush of performance blocks out any pain receptors and I'll push myself much harder on stage, resulting in my waking up with muscle aches. But it’s a satisfied sort of pain and after a hot shower all that was on my mind was food. Surprise, Surprise...

Not much is open in Hobart on a Sunday in the city centre, as Torsten and I found when we went exploring for food. We found one of those diner style places that looked like it never closes, where they do a reasonable breakfast. Nothing mind-blowing, but we were hungry and I didn't have much time before I had to get back and put my stuff together for the afternoon’s dance classes and tutorials. Next time I'll head straight for North Hobart, as I was reliably informed by the girls, that it is the best place on a Sunday for food.

I was teaching a basics class at Tasmania's Pole Dancing and Burlesque Academy and was amazed how quickly the ladies of Hobart picked up the choreography. It was a very sexy tease to a bit of Screamin' Jay Hawkins and they were totally rocking out to it with their boa's and gloves.

Both Grace Cherry and Lucy Sky Diamond had one to one tutorials with me and I tell you what, I can't wait to see more from these ladies. Aside from being just the nicest girls you'll ever meet, they are extremely talented. I'll be watching with some interest at where their performances go.

So with a full afternoon and evening of classes finished can you imagine what mind was on? Before I left, I got Grace & Sarah's recommendations on where the best fish & chips were and so that's how Torsten and I came to find Fish Frenzy down at the harbour. It was absolutely freezing cold in the loveliest way when we hopped out of the cab and bundled into the very laid back fish & chips restaurant. Glass of rough red, great chips, prawn cutlets, calamari & fish. One fish we liked, the other not so much but unfortunately I can't remember the names of them!

This was followed by an icy walk around the harbour to walk off our very full bellies. Having walked past the Art Hotel, I made a mental note to stop in there next time. Their dessert menu looked wonderful.

Then all the way back around to Salamanca which at night time in the cold with the fairy lights in the trees reminded me so much of Berlin at Christmas. Followed by caramelized fig, green apple, lemon and peanut butter fudge gelato (2 flavours each - I would recommend the peanut butter fudge) at Cargo and I was feeling a strange sense of contentment, as I trundled off to bed for another night's beauty sleep.

I seem to be asked more and more about my skincare regime and personal taste in fashion. I've avoided writing about it because it seems a little self-indulgent of me (not being any expert on make-up) but as there seems to be a bit of interest in the subject, I figure what the heck! This little post is about the make-up and skincare I use.

How do I keep my skin looking great? I don't. I wear lots of make-up on stage which is why it looks porcelain in the pictures but in real life it is an ongoing battle to keep my skin in good condition. Make-up, late nights, a few too many champers and my skin gets positively grumpy with me. I also have extremely fair skin and so am very prone to freckles at the first peep of sunlight through the clouds. In addition to this, the illusion I was under that in passing my teenage years that I would be magically endowed with clear skin has fallen rather short of the mark.

So it's simple for me, 30+ sunscreen, even in winter. Make-up wipes by the bed for those nights I cannot summon the energy to wash my face, or in my make-up case for the trip home from a gig along with a little travel pot of moisturiser. All over body moisturiser, I am religious about this after a shower because the water in the three places I am most, England, Germany and Australia, is very hard and dries skin quickly. My friend Bea DeVile (another Burlesque Against Breast Cancer alumni) has also instructed me to body brush or use exfoliating gloves for lovely legs, but I'm terrible at remembering this.

My other indulgence is the 'Brazened Honey' face mask from Lush. It works like magic when my skin looks really tired. I just need to perk it up before a show, or the day after a show when I want to go out again and not look like I dragged my glittered behind into bed at 6am that same morning.

As far as make-up goes, I seem to stick to my staples. One of my lifesavers in hiding tired under eyes is a concealer called Touche Magique by L'Oreal. I'm pretty sure any illuminating concealer would do though. A decent red lip liner too, I have stupidly sharpened mine to the point where I can no longer see what brand or shade it is, so I'll have to do some investigating! I often use just lip liner all over instead of lipstick for a show as it will not budge, but of course a decent red lipstick for after a show is a must. Also, loose face powder, not compact. Trust me.

Black liquid eyeliner and false eyelashes. They are a bugger to learn how to use properly but once you do, what a difference it makes. I still curse and swear when I'm putting on eyelashes as do most of my friends but it's worth it in the end! I once blogged about another burlesque lass, BABC’s Khandie Kisses I believe, who told me once that she had so many false eyelashes, she thought they might form one giant eyelash and crawl around her apartment. I'm proud and terrified to say that I am at that stage of monster movie eyelash take-over.

As to how to put them on properly, it's all just practise, I'm sorry to say. There’s no secret. One day I promise, you'll get to the stage where you can put them on while on a moving train. You'll still curse and swear though.

Finally, the perfect nail polish. I go pink for 60s and red for everything else. My particular red being a bottle of Chanel 159 Fire Red which, as I hold it up to the light now, I see is over halfway used. Tragedy!

Hair, well when it comes to hair, I am lazy. I'd rather have someone else do it, but I feel it is necessary as part of my sartorial education and I try. Although, I do make more shortcuts than I'd like to admit. I'm in love with my Vintage Hairstyling book by Lauren Rennels. If you'd like to learn how to do your own vintage hair and make-up, there are also a few fabulous classes available. In Brisbane ,see the Facebook page for the Bombshells Academy to join classes and learn everything you need to know on vintage hair and make-up.

So that concludes my ramblings for now. I'll try to do a blog on clothes at some point, if I can focus for long enough!

Bella De Jac has performed a number of times for Burlesque Against Breast Cancer and you can find out more about her at www.belladejac.com

Hobart, how I love thee...

So...yeah I've officially fallen head over heels for Hobart. It was like someone blended the best bits of Germany, England and Australia and crammed them onto an island with every possible eco-system. Incredible.

On the first day, we flew in over the countryside with the most fantastic view. It's all coves and bays and rolling hills. After checking into our hotel, my brother, photographer Torsten Baumann (of www.b551.com fame) and I did a walk around the centre of the city. I was struck by the architecture ...and the bitterly cold wind! But mostly the architecture, which wasn't difficult to spot as we had to stop every 5 minutes to take photos.

Brisbane has always had a habit of destroying things with a bit of history. Anything interesting and beautiful is torn down to make way for a few more yuppie shops and apartments. Or historical buildings are left to decay until they are no longer salvageable. The people of Bris rally against this kind of insensitivity to historical beauty but it is often to no avail.

So, to walk about a town where the architecture is so eclectic is incredible. Old stone, London style terraced, mock Tudor, cottage, mixed with 60s and modern buildings. But all different. The fact that the city is built on a big slope adds to the visual charm.

Friday night was dinner with the girls at Rain Check Lounge. The girls, and by that I mean the beautiful and talented ladies of Miss Kitty's Meow (headed up by Grace Cherry) made me feel right at home. The restaurant, by the way, was a great Tapas place. Mixed crowd, very relaxed, professional service, interesting (in a good way) decor and fantastic food.

Anyway, aside from the giggling at blown up classified ads of the 'Busty Blonde. Very Friendly' sort that decorated the restaurant walls the girls got me up to speed with a little shop talk about the impending show. When we finally faced the icy cold wind to head off to bed and I felt completely assured that it was going to run brilliantly.

I also learnt (with some jealousy) that Tigerlily's boyfriend is a chef. The girl has the down-low on every eating spot worth visiting! Plus, Torsten found a place called Pretzel World when he popped out for a fag, which pretty much sealed the deal on my opinion of Hobart.

So, we bundled into Tigerlily's car for the trip to Franklin. Thankfully, Grace Cherry had taken my costumes and props the night before so I only had a pile of make-up and hair bits and bobs to cram in the boot.

This trip was to be our only opportunity to see some of the Tasmanian countryside and the trip to Franklin was absolutely beautiful. When we arrived at the Palais Theatre there was a mist rolling in from the hills our enormous dressing room overlooked the River. One other highlight was finding out that Chicken Feed is the place to get glue on crystals and Lady GaGa Cds. Thanks girls!

The usual preparations ensued, hair dramas, eyelash fixing, make up applying, etc, etc. Meeting all the other performers was wonderful and it was a real variety show. We had a magician, Bob Buchanan for an MC, Lucy Sky Diamond on aerials, Sarah Muir on pole, tango dancers, cabaret performer, all the girls of Miss Kitty's Meow including Tigerlily and Grace Cherry plus Scarlett Jezabel and the bestest stage manager this side of the equator!

Considering the stage was slightly raked, I was concerned as when I did a sound check and run through earlier in the night, it was tilted enough to put me off balance. That, and my dress fell off. Which I appreciate is the point of the act but only when I've carefully timed it. So I was a little nervous going out for my first act. I needn't have worried. The show went perfectly. And I mean perfectly, which never happens! Usually you come off stage thinking, 'I could have done that move better,' or something of the sort but I was so happy with both acts and was on a complete high when I dashed into the wings to put my dressing gown on (a very pretty one mind you!) for final bows.

I was also lucky enough to be waiting in the wings for my final act when I was able to watch Scarlett and Grace do their duet fan dance. Fan-bloody-tastic. I know, groan, pardon the pun, but it was. The colour, the grace, the cheekiness. I just loved it.

Other highlights for me were Tigerlily's bubble act which was absolutely adorable with an excellent use of props and Lucy Sky Diamond with her trapeze act. She has inspired me to finally commit to creating a trapeze performance of my own, what a girl!

Torsten of course, was snapping away. I've also popped a couple of pics up on my Facebook fan page and others are visible at his blog, including a few lovely architectural shots of the theatre.

So feeling somewhat elated we all bundled back into Tigerlily's car for the scary ride home. That beautiful mist from earlier had turned into a fog so thick we had to crawl at 40km the whole way home. Some crazy cab driver shot past us like a bat out of hell while we were on one of the most impossibly thick spots where we couldn't even see where the sides of the road or lanes were. I don't know if he had x-ray vision or something.

Later, we found out that Grace Cherry's cab driver was also driving like a maniac all the way back to Hobart. Seriously people, if you are paying for it, you have a right to tell them to slow down. Not a fun way to end a night thinking you might die at the hands of a kamikaze driver.

Anyway, a brief mar on an otherwise perfect evening.

I absolutely collapsed into bed with an enormous sense of well being and looking forward very much to a sleep in!

Backstage at the Bombshell Ball

I'm still on a high from the uber-exertion of Go-Go dancing the night away so I thought I'd write a few lines to share about the goings on at my first Australian gig, The Bombshell Ball in Brisbane.

Being back in my hometown it was the first time my family and a few of my friends would see me perform live. Luckily, it seemed that this didn't affect my nerves at all and I had a fan-bloody-tastic time. I might have been itching to get back on stage too, which probably had a lot to do with it. It's been at least 2 months now and possibly the longest hiatus since I started.

The venue was The Globe theater, which I came to understand is run almost entirely by volunteers who want to keep this beautiful venue for live music and performance open. I can only guess that it was once a cinema due to the slant of the floor in the main room, making dancing a little difficult, although it didn't stop the crowd.

But oh my, the stage! I love a big stage. Complete with a lovely dressing room. Mmmmm.

Torsten Baumann was taking photo's backstage which is where the pic above came from. To see more, go to his blog:

www.b551.com/pixelpost/index.php.

His photos really capture the magic of the show.

Well I got great feedback so I can only assume that the Brisbane audiences like what I do! Phew!

Bacchus By Any Other Name

It is currently nearing on 2am as I appear to have out-slept myself. So I thought I'd tell a little tale about this month so far.

Well the first bit of big news is that I've started working on another act. I'm quite focused on environmental awareness and so this new act will be a balloon pop tribute to our Honey Bees. What else could I call it but The Honeypot (Plight of the Honeybee). If there's one thing burlesque allows me, if not demands of me, it is certainly the freedom to come up with the cheesiest names I can. A balloon pop is one of the traditional burlesque acts and as of yet I've not had one because....well, because I HATE popping balloons!

Well actually, I don't hate popping balloons I just hate when they pop unexpectedly. I was the kid that wouldn't join in the balloon popping game at my school friends parties. You know the one where everyone has to hold a balloon between their knees and try to pop everyone elses balloon while keeping yours safe? Creating this should be an interesting process and may possibly see my blood pressure skyrocket.

Next thing for this month was Hula Hooping. I'm currently attempting to collect circus skills like some people collect stamps. Speaking of which does anyone actually collect stamps anymore?

Anyway, as I often say 'I'm proud of my curves' when I really mean to say 'I hate sit-ups and I don't give a damn what you think', I've discovered the perfect antidote to my anti-exercise mentality will definitely be Hula Hooping. If one of those babies isn't in my Christmas stocking this year then I am throwing my toys out of the pram.

I have to say though, that I've been wanting to do a Hula Hooping act ever since I saw a duo at the London Burlesque Festival Newcomers earlier this year. H-O-T. I can't even remember the name of their act but it was a travesty that they didn't win anything.

Finally we have this Friday. I've been planning a trip to Vivienne of Holloway ever since my brothers sent me a gift voucher for my birthday to try on the cutest dress I'd ever seen. I roped Bea Devile into coming along with me (I didn't need to try too hard) as it's always more fun with two. I came away with a dress, and a pair of fabulous high waist denims AND one of their halter tops. If Bea hadn't rushed me out of there to get to the Nikita Sablier sale, I may have maxed my credit card out.

Bea had discovered a wonderful covered arcade near Carnaby St which has no less than 6 vintage stores and Something Hells, the vintage hairdressers of Miss Betty & Mr Ducktail. The inside of the arcade has a courtyard which feel like it's outdoors but is fully covered and currently bedecked in pretty fairy lights. Much nicer than some of the nasty (there's no other word for it) Christmas displays already up all over the place.

Oh but we had run out of time to look at all of the shops so we had already planned our next visit for December as we had tea and cake at Candy Cakes to get our energy back before our respective journeys. Candy Cakes have the most incredible looking muffins. Brightly coloured icing and topped enormous marshmallow and jelly shapes, they really do look the part in their little turquoise giftboxes.

Unfortunately they were a bit sickly sweet for my tastes but very cute looking nonetheless and kept me going for the next few hours of London traffic hell. In fact, I was lucky to arrive at Nick Von Fiction's place with enough time to down a half glass of red wine before we jumped in a cab to the venue.

We had been planning on trying out some vintage style photographs in Die Freche Muse venue for a while. Unfortunately, my issues with the traffic left us limited time but with the time we had Nick worked wonders. He'll try to tell you otherwise but he really is a bit of a clever clogs with his lighting.

I managed one costume change before the doors opened for Die Freche Muse and some of the results of our shoot should be up on the website before long.

Throughout the shoot, one of the other burlesque performers for the evening, Laurie Hagen was waiting downstairs. Laurie has one of those incredibly expressive 1920s faces and as I saw later in the night her act was just gorgeous.

Once the doors had opened, I took my things upstairs to the dressing room where the house cat was on hand to inspect all our things. At one poin,t as Laurie and I were getting ready, he had us in stitches as he crawled under a sheet and was just swiping with one paw at Laurie's feet. Once he realised we were no longer playing, he decided to throw himself at the 30 cm space between us which resulted in us both squealing like little girls and him nearly clearing the bed.

Often at these events a lot of the night is spent upstairs or backstage if you will, chatting with other performers and friends of the promoters. I had the opportunity to chat with Millicent Binks who looks almost exactly like a china doll, so delicate! And briefly met Sumi Sumatra although I unfortunately didn't get to see her act.

I did discover that we had the same pants on however and I wonder if the audience thought there had been a bit of costume sharing going on backstage.

As ever with Die Freche Muse, I didn't get back home until after sun up. The Baron von Sanderson was late to this party though as he'd been filming for Come Dine With Me. I'm dying to know when his episode airs!

You might have noticed the title of this blog, Bacchus by any other name. A tribute really to a man who reminds me ever so much of a cross between Bacchus, or Dionysus in other mythology, and a very naughty little boy. Although I suppose Bacchus was just a very naughty little boy really. Whether he's taking everyone over to the bar for another champagne or swooping a lovely lass up for a dance, he is ever the otherworldly host. So Baron, well done for another wonderful Freche Muse!

Well that's enough writing for tonight. BW is tugging at the sleeve of my dressing gown to come watch a film before bed. Sometimes he reminds me quite a lot of a cat. If you've ever owned one you'll know how much they like to get in between you and the computer screen with a 'What is this strange thing you're giving far too much attention to? Here, let me remedy that' kind of look as they plonk themselves on the keyboard.

Night all...x Bella

The Bunny is Back!

Club Smooch Backstage

Ok, I realise I have been a little quiet as of late but that's only because I've been hard at work creating my first true comedy act.


I always have a couple of pages of act ideas at all times and picking ones I want to work on is so hard because I want to do them all! But I must stick by my own mantra of less acts, better quality.

Last time I was in town before a Club Smooch after my sound check and run through I popped out to pick up some false eyelashes. It just so happened that the local costume shop was having a sale of it's ex rental costumes. I wasn't expecting to find anything but I had a bit of a snoop amongst the rails and found a scraggy looking bunny costume.

I've always wanted to go to Halloween dressed in a big fluffy bear outfit, if only so I could run up to people and cuddle them like an overgrown teddy bear. So I was drawn to the bedraggled looking bunny. I managed to talk them down from the overambitious pricing and left the store with a new act in the bag. Well not quite, but you get the picture.

Music was the next stumbling block. I knew I wanted to use Run Rabbit Run, simply for the fact that the cheeriness of it would juxtapose so nicely against what I was going to do to this poor little bunny. But how to finish it.

A chance evening in with nothing to watch but 'Top 100 sexiest music videos' was to be my saviour. Never mind thatthe woman co-hosting sounded like she should have been on one of those ads that crop up at about 1:30am. You know the ones I'm talking about, 'Sexy girls in your neighbourhood are just waiting for YOUR call.' Nonetheless, I found myself tapping my toes to a completely over the top pop/hip hop song and voila! I had my music.

The process was a lot of fun for me. More acting than dancing, it was just a bit of silly fun. I could never have predicted just how much the audience at Club Smooch was going to love it. The reaction was overwhelming. I often have people come up to me after a show to say they liked the act, etc. This time I had people copying the bunny moves!

Speaking of Club Smooch, all puns aside, the Halloween event was a hell of a night! I also performed my La Belle Femme en Rouge act which was the complete opposite of Rabbit Pie. It's a 30s jazz era fan dance with an exquisite costume from Curve Couture. You can see it here where Vanessa, our Club Smooch maid has snapped me backstage waiting to go on.

Chrissie (boss lady at Curve Couture) also had a fashion show during Club Smooch. Her fashion shows are never ordinary and although I saw them rehearsing and had a little peek from behind the curtain backstage I didn't get to see the full show until I was going through the footage from the show with Bob on Saturday. Wow! It was very, very sexy.

In fact, on the Halloween night I was onstage no less than 4 times! We all got out on stage for a boogie to one of Trixy Vixens songs Moloko, and I was also part of the Club Smooch Troupe. It reminded me of all the things I miss about theatre. In particular a nice Sunday roast before rehearsals!

Official Burlesque Against Breast Cancer Brighton Portraits Oct 2009 by Stan Keetley

Marilyn Slightly

The Flirtinis

Honour Mission

Miss Brazen

Bella De Jac

British Heart

Honey Moon

The Flirtinis

Therese La Tease

Bea DeVile and Bella De Jac

British Heart

Bea DeVile

Miss Rose Thorne


Bea DeVile, Marilyn Slightly and Bella De Jac

Burlesque Against Breast Cancer 2009 from bob on Vimeo.

A Little Midnight Magic Part Two

Well that's not where my weekend ended. Oh no.

Friday I went into Chrissie's studio for another fitting of the new costume for the relaunch of my Red Angel act. The process of creating a costume is a strange one. From the image I created while curled up in front of a film one night, the idea has sprung forth into reality and each week it gets closer to realisation. Quite amazing really.

Chrissie and I have also had to play around with the original idea as a picture you have in your head is not always possible given the laws of physics. Additionally the 1930s dress design I found and an original 1920s pattern with the most beautiful back line that Chrissie found had to be tweaked and combined to create something that suited the needs of the act, and my figure. I am a curvy girl and as much as I have willowy Coco Chanel fantasies, the 20s dropped waistlines make me look like a hippo. The 1930s silver screen style is much better suited to my frame and looks far more elegant on me. It is all about understanding your own shape.

I grew up in a very large family and my mother had 3 sisters. One for each season you might say, and quite interestingly as far as complexions go, they were. If you've never had a season colour analysis of your skin, do one...now...Google it! Some say this is old fashioned but it has never, ever let me down and if you are wondering, I am a Winter.

Each sister is a different season and each dresses with such style. Add to that a myriad of female cousins and I had a perfect base for learning how to dress to suit myself. When other girls my age were reading Dolly or Girlfriend, I have memories of scouring the pages of Vogue in my aunt's living room. I can't say that I dress with Glamour all the time as I love a pair of jeans and hoodie as much as the next girl, but style I can do.

The same day I also had a meeting with a friend about my new showreel. We met some time ago when I first performed for Burlesque Against Breast Cancer and he shot a little film of one of my acts. We met for coffee to discuss the film shortly after and ever since we've met up every now and then to discuss performances.

Affectionately known as Bob by the Burlesque crowd, he always has some excellent insights and ideas on my acts and it's so nice to be able to discuss them in such a focused way. I feel like I must drive BW crazy sometimes as I'm so burlesque obsessed my nearly every thought is related to act ideas, costumes, vintage, other shows and performers, and so on. I also think I can take the credit for introducing Bob to cupcakes (don't tell his sister!), when the cafe at Waterstones was full and I was craving a sugar hit. So I took him down to Angel Food Bakery on Meeting House Lane which went down a treat.

Bea DeVile, who shares my obsession for cupcakes, had introduced me to this cute little shop which is now one of my favourite places in Brighton. She now regularly tortures me by sending me links to anything cupcake related (did you know you can get cupcakes delivered, like pizza!). Something about their daintiness makes them so incredibly desirable to girls who like pretty things.

Anyway, I'm getting distracted again. The new showreel is quite a nice step for me. Naturally I can't help but pick my own performances to pieces, but any decent performer does. Bob filmed the two acts I did at Club Smooch in September which we've combined and will post on the website shortly under Film. An additional 'teaser' (so to speak!) trailer will go up in a few months time when we've filmed all my acts.

A showreel, along with a website and some good recommendations, is a key part of any performers arsenal, particularly to send to promoters who haven't seen or heard of you yet as it can be difficult to tell a teaseur just from their pictures. Well, after my very busy day, I had to nanna nap before my performance that night. Rock and Roll, I know, but this particular event is always on very late and I knew I would be flagging if I didn't get some rest in. There's nothing less attractive than a sluggish dancer!

Die Freche Muse is already a favourite night of mine, I wrote about it in a previous post 'A midsummer night's dream'. Stepping into this secret London location is like stepping back in time, into a time I belong to. It's fairly unusual for me to be the only performer in the dressing room and I found it quite unusual not to be squeezing alongside a few other girls in front of the mirror.

There were more performers later in the evening, but I had great and good intentions of performing early and getting back to the station for the first train of the morning to Brighton (I told you it was a late show). Did these great and good intentions come to pass? Not quite.

I was performing Living Doll without my big satin gift box and I'd had to do a quick bit of choreography that week to fill in some of the time I would usually spend getting out of the box. Thankfully it worked very well and it was actually quite nice not to be squeezed into a confined space at the start of my act!

I bumped into Nick von Fiction who was at the last one and who also did some pictures for the LustReality show, Striplite back when I first started doing burlesque. Nick got a couple of nice pictures which I'll pop up on the website as soon as I have a chance.

After my act, I managed to catch a few other performers and when I wandered over to the Baron to collect my wages, he was very insistent I stay on for the after party.

'No, no, no' I said. 'I must get the first train home.'

'Have another glass of champagne.' he said and dragged me over to the bar for another Bellini. Well, I can't say it was hard to convince me! I rarely get to stick around and enjoy the party at any show and I was in the mood to enjoy the ambiance of this 20s-30s evening, all the way into the not so wee hours of the morning.

Black and white silent expressionist films play on one wall of the room while the guests dance to the sounds of the jazz band, and clusters of party goers lounge on the armchairs amongst the paintings and lamps while a singer croons in German with a voice like Ella Fitzgerald. Another dancer came out, Isis, who freestyle danced to the piano players hot jazz in a tiny, fringed outfit and ended up with nothing but her g-string and the piano players hat to cover her modesty.

At one point, I spoke to a woman who does clowning. Not the horrid red nose and big shoes kind of clowns that freak me out but a small, very flexible, very expressive woman who was also an impressive dancer. She had a little tip to give me about street performance, but that one I'm keeping to myself.

In fact I met so many people I can't remember all their names which is annoying as they were all such fascinating people. Ultimately, I didn't end up getting home till 8:30am the next morning, with a few secrets, a few more gigs lined up and dreams of 1920s bright young things bopping around in my head.

Oh boy, but it was worth it.

Bella de Jac will be performing at the Ocean Rooms in Brighton on October 16th.

A Little Midnight Magic Part One

After Club Smooch, I was itching to get back on the stage. Particularly after seeing so many good friends. I told you Danny was there but did I mention Chrissie of Curve Couture was in the audience? She shot backstage to wish us all luck or break a leg and I'm amazed she managed it up the stairs in her gorgeously high red sparkly shoes! I'm always surprised by how many neck-breakingly steep stairs are in most backstage areas. I suppose it adds to the thrill! I was pleased that she got to see her Curve Couture masterpiece onstage.

So Thursday night, I was back in Hastings for Burlesk! Cabaret Carnivale. I had such a great time last time I was there I was so pleased to be back. Hastings is only just up the coast from Brighton and a very cruisy train journey had me there in no time. As I've perfected the art of 'On train make-up application' I only had my hair and a bit of glittering to do when I got there.

Ah yes, it's a glamorous life. I can even put on false eyelashes on the train. I'm not quite sure what my fellow train goers think of me, but I've long since stopped caring if it saves me a half hour at home!

Lady Severine who runs the night was the spectacular ring master for the night, resplendent in her top hat and hands down the best chest in burlesque. We actually had a bit of time for a chat over a glass of wine and the curling tongs which was nice for a change from frantic preparations. Most excitingly it looks like I'll be back for their Christmas show as well!

Miss Glory Pearl was on in the first half, which I was excited about as we really hadn't seen each other since the London Burlesque festival. She performed her Sally Poles routine which I managed to catch from the window in the dressing room while getting dressed. I was concerned that I was going to either burn my hair or knock over the spotlight which was set up in the window so I only caught a few pole tricks, but it was looking pretty good to me!

On in the second half was Honour Mission, another Brighton lass who also happened to be at the Club Smooch show with me the week before. She was on right before me doing her stompingly good 50 foot woman act, so I didn't see her act but I could hear it just fine. Those buildings don't stand a chance! Honour Mission, if you haven't had the pleasure of meeting her, is the very definition of an Amazon. Quite a woman.

After catching the end of Domino's act (fabulous as usual) and having a brief chat with the other performers we had to dash, but not before I had a chance to speak with Sinan Bozkurt. Sin has done most of the pictures from Burlesk! that I have on my website and excepting that he's also a very sweet man. I had just enough time to discuss a possible photo shoot and to take a few pictures after the show.

Gosh, how lucky was I to get a lift home with Honour! To be delivered to my door is a very rare luxury which I enjoyed immensely as we laughed all the way home, Honour, myself and her 'roadie' her very kind friend who was doing the driving. We spoke about Honour’s post here. I won't go into it now except to say that after sharing some stories with Honour I will be writing a special blog about my family's brush with Cancer. I believe Honour has bravely done so as well and after hearing her story in the car on the way home it made me think how many incredible stories must be out there.

Bella De Jac will be performing at the Ocean Rooms in Brighton for BABC on the 16th October. For more, go to: www.belladejac.com

Smoochie, Smoochie

I love travelling for my work. Getting to meet new people, other performers, is very exciting and a lot of fun.

But there is something very special about performing in my very own stomping ground of Brighton. Not only does it mean there's no late night train to catch, but I usually know everyone back stage and quite a few out in the audience!

Club Smooch is a Brighton institute as far as Burlesque entertainment goes. I have modelled for Curve Couture at a Club Smooch night but this was my first time performing at this night.

The atmosphere backstage was wonderfully exciting and friendly, much like when I was in high school and all the girls would congregate at one house to get ready for Friday night's party. There were girls and guys (don't forget the Dream Bears!) chatting and laughing, last minute snacking, dressing, glittering and hair spraying all over the shop.

I was debuting my new box (all puns aside please!) for my Living Doll act and it performed beautifully. Most importantly, it collapsed down at the end of the night so I could fold it into a bag, sling it over my shoulder and carry it off at the end of the night. An absolute dream compared to the cumbersome old prop I had before.

The whole night really felt like one big party really, and the best part of all was that BW came along for his first ever show! I'm pleased to report that he had a great time and brought another friend along who was also a burlesque virgin so to speak (BW has seen me rehearse so often he can sing every word of the songs).

They sat happily up the back with a colleague of mine from Pulp Press, Danny Hogan the talented writer of Killer Tease. By the end they were all looking very comfortable, whooping and clapping and BW has promised to come to the next one!

We all had ambitious intentions of heading downstairs for Born Bad, but with my plethora of props I decided I needed a cab and my bed for some well deserved beauty sleep.

www.belladejac.com

Isle of Style

I remember as a child being told that when you get older time starts to race. Of course at the time I thought it was the usual rubbish thing that grown ups would say to placate you when you're bored. If only I had realised how true it was!

It's been a couple of weeks since my last bit of backstage chatter and life gets infinitely more frenetic with every passing week.

The performance crowd are a superstitious lot by history. All that 'break a leg' sort of stuff. Some performers find that certain things happen at the same nights over and over again. For example they may always have trouble with one of their acts at a certain night or their music never works properly at another, and so on.

I may very well be doomed to leave something behind every time I work one of DJ Suave's nights! The first time when it was Annie's Bar Burlesque it was my CD wallet with all my precious music, this time it was at The Glitter Room two weeks ago.

Not only did I leave my CD wallet but half my costume! I was in such a rush to make my train home I didn't even realise till Honey Wilde called me.

Honey, 'Hon, are you missing something?'

Me, 'Oh S***, my music!'.

Honey, '...and your bra, and your dress!'

Honestly, leaving things behind can be an expensive mistake to make. Thankfully the lovely Honey posted them back to me first class in time for my next gig!

Last weekend, I had all the luck to be performing at the Isle of Wight's 'The Cream Tease'. Oh how I love a big beautiful stage! The very cute Lady Catalina and Stuart run this very professional night. If you are bound for the Isle of Style or are lucky enough to live there I would urge you to make a point of searching it out. Top class performers in a fabulous venue make for a very, very good show.

I met the Darlings Divine: Miss Cherry Pop and Miss Fan-Teasy, saw Banbury Cross again (we performed the week earlier at The Glitter Room) and The Divine Miss Em who I met back when Glitter Room was Annie's Bar Burlesque!

We all sweltered away in the dressing room as we primped and preened, discussed Colleen in the latest goss mag and the merits of latex clothing, and avoided costuming up until the last minute to avoid decidedly unglamorous sweatiness and bra marks.

I had such a fabulous time. I have my fingers crossed to perform there again soon, although next time I intend on staying the night in one of the sweet B&Bs nearby and really enjoying the Isle. The shame of travelling for work is that I don't often get to see much of the surroundings! If you have any suggestions of what to see when I'm there next then by all means drop me a message.

It was the virgin flight of my revamped costume for 'Na Touche Pas' and from the audience's response I can only imagine it was a great success.

Speaking of costumes, you might have noticed recently that there has been a little change to my website. There is an exciting new tab at the bottom of the menu.

'Whatever is this tab for?' I hear you ask.

Well, over the next few months you will begin to see newer and more fabulous costumes than you've seen from me before, and you know I already love a little Razzle Dazzle. It's all due to my collaboration with the Curve Couture label. Chrissie Nicholson-Wilde is the talented designer behind the label and her skill as a costumier has me very excited!

Ladies...she has a talent for making THE most flattering shapes to grace a woman's curves and makes exceptional occasion wear, wedding gowns and corsets so make sure to click on the Curve Couture tab and see what it's all about. Naturally, I will have pictures of my new costumes up as soon as humanly possible!

I have to say I'm having great fun revisiting my collection of old musicals, vintage couture books and researching hairpieces from the various eras. I've also been converted to the dark side that is genuine Swarovski crystals. I've finally had to admit to myself that nothing really compares to their sparkle and despite the cost I am drooling over the colour chart as we speak.]

Bella de Jac has performed for Burlesque Against Breast Cancer and will do again at The Ocean Rooms in Brighton, on October 16th. You can see more of her at http://www.belladejac.com/

You spin me right round baby, right round...

Lately I've been feeling a bout of serious 80's inspiration. Watching Ghostbusters last night was the catalyst. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's start at the beginning.

I have been rather quiet on the blog front for a few weeks as I've been enjoying some down time. Fitting in so much can be very exhausting and it's great to have a rest.

Even so, there's much more to burlesque than gigging. I've had a choice opportunity to re-evaluate a few of my routines, consider a few very exciting new possibilities, rehearse, perfect, meet with the dress maker, contact the prop makers and generally plot and plan like an evil nemesis out of a Bond film.

For the next month and a half my red angel routine is temporarily out of commission while it is revamped. Fear not, with it's sparkly relaunch it will be a knock-out headliner.

Additionally Living Doll and Na Touche Pas! are experiencing a fixer-upper however will still be available for bookings while work is being done.

I've also had time to sketch out some potential new costume designs. As is the case with many performers I have pages and pages of ideas for acts and shows. However I subscribe to the school of thought (and this is a personal preference, not a dig at anyone else) that it's better to invest in props, costumes and time for rehearsals for a few great acts, than to have lists of acts that are thrown together in a minute.

For my own comfort I feel better onstage knowing I've put everything I possibly could into making this one act as great as it could possibly be. Unfortunately this does mean that I end up with many potentially fabulous acts locked away in my head clambering for attention and I wish I could realise them all. So it's very exciting when I'm finally in a position to start looking at plucking one of the wriggly little ideas out of my head and fleshing out the fantasy!

Unfortunately as my circus skills are still limited my fabulous trapeze ideas will have to wait, but I am looking at three different idea from very different era's. I'll keep you posted.

So this weekend....

Yesterday morning I went on a photo shoot at two contrasting locations and was very lucky to encounter a genuine 1930's motorcycle called a Red Indian.

I got back home in time for a quick rehearsal of a Boston version of my Psycho GoGo Wipeout act, and a bit of last minute tassel stitching. A Boston or Sunday School version is a toned down version of an act to make it appropriate for a more 'family' audience or back in the day was what the girls did when they knew the police were in the house.

I was rehearsing my Boston version for a private gig at a partnership wedding that night and simply involved not taking my bra off. However in such a fast paced act a fair bit of extra choreography was required to fill the time, hence the rehearsal.

Ultimately I like this version so much that I'm going to extend Psycho GoGo Wipeout to fit the new choreography in. More bang for your buck!

The wedding gig went brilliantly, the guests were lovely and the grooms looked absolutely radiant with happiness. Anyone who opposes gay marriage must have flies in their brain. Something that can create so much joy should be celebrated, and celebrate they did!

My taxi arrived as I heard the first bars of 'I heard it through the grapevine' and with my pay in my purse I was itching to hit the town. I did, of course, resist. My night's earnings are my deposit for the dressmaker. Besides which, it was unlikely I would find a club playing the kind of music I wanted to hear. If anyone knows of regular club nights in Brighton playing 60's music please tell me! Born Bad and Da Doo Ron Ron are only once a month.

Well that's my weekend. I arrived home to watch Ghostbusters where I triggered on some fabulous 80's inspiration and went to bed far too late after sketching away at some costume designs. The lack of sleep caught up with me this morning when I woke up (with difficulty) at midday. Hmm, half the day gone, but then what are Sundays for if not recovery.

Till next time, keep it glamorous. I for one am going to get out of my dressing gown and into my warm-up gear, work on some choreography then bake a chocolate and beetroot cake. I'll let you know how it turns out!

www.belladejac.com

Ivy Paige and The Chaps

Just a quick little update for you on a very wonderful weekend.

Friday night was the first time I ever went to see Ivy Paige's Scandalous. I tell you that girl is inspirational. It was the first time I'd seen the show advertised down in Brighton so I jumped at the chance to get in an infamous show without the trek up to London. It certainly didn't disappoint.

In fact at one point I think I may have picked my jaw off the floor and was so astonished by the sheer talent and spectacle that I forgot to keep taking pictures (I was trying to get a couple of good pics for the promoter).

I shared my table with Therese la Tease, Baby Bones (when she wasn't busy organising as the promoter of the night), and Emma of Peep Toe Magazine, along with a few lovely ladies I was introduced to that night. However as they don't have performance names and I'm not sure if they'd want their names in my blog I'm sure you understand I can't share them. We were even lucky enough to chat with Ivy after the show when she could impart a little performer wisdom.

Ultimately, as I have already come to understand, it comes down to plain, damn hard work and a whole lot of creativity.

Moving swiftly on, my plans to finish making my polka dot dress were foiled as it was already very late by the time I got home and I had a very big day ahead. The Chap Olympics!

I met Infinity Favour on the train up to London on Saturday with one of the lovely ladies who I met at Ivy Paige. Let's call her Princess Shoes for now...she'll know what I mean!

We must have looked a very interesting sight indeed. Three ladies who looked like something out of a period 1940's film complete with picnic basket. I managed to finish my hair on the train, rather impressive considering the lack of mirrors. Although I must say, a train window in a tunnel does make a pretty good substitute.

It was a great trip up as we debated the merits of bullet bras and non stretch versus stretch fully fashioned stockings. Lipstick on, hair done, gloves in place and skirts tugged and smoothed we arrived like a whirlwind into London Bridge station and began the underground battle to the gardens. After going the wrong way for a turn and discovering a 'voluptuous underground station' we made it!

What a day! It was the most fun I've had in such a long time. We laughed at the Bounders event where the gentlemen had to approach ladies on the track and say something so caddish as to receive a slap, stuffed ourselves with cupcakes and cherries, promenaded to check out the talent in the tweed jackets and bowler hats, and danced in the rain with cups of tea until it was dark. As far as 'the scene' goes, the Chap Olympics is really one of the events of the year and you can see why.

When we finally left in search of a pub before the journey home, walking out onto Tottenham Court Rd was like walking through a portal into another world. I love the city as much as the next girl but after a day of gentle manners and tea and cake in the gardens it felt overwhelming, loud and garish. The old-fashioned pub with it's stained glass windows and beautiful vintage looking bottles of tonic water was a blessed relief.

Alas, but all good things must come to an end. After such a busy weekend it was nice to spend Sunday drinking milo and planning out the rest of my year and looking over my acts to make improvements while BW worked on his scripts.

In addition to all of this I have come to understand that I don't seem physically capable of writing a little update. Isn't it wonderful to learn new things about oneself?

Finally, I have a few more bookings to update shortly for August and October so keep your eyes on the events page if you want to make any of the great new shows coming up.

Have a lovely week you lovely people.

Tasseltastic!

Burlesk was absolutely wonderful! I've only been to Hastings once before and this time I saw a very different side of it. Venue is tucked down the sweetest little lane of cute stores and relaxed drinking spots.

I arrived after making a mental note to take the train for a day trip along the coast one weekend. I didn't realise how easy it was to travel from Brighton to Hastings and beyond. It was my blessed luck to be doing a prop free act and one without a corset to boot, as it was ticking on past 7pm and the sweltering heat hadn't abated.

Domino and Severine run a burlesque taster class for beginners before the night begins so I tried to find the dressing room inconspicuously but it wasn't to be as a gent out the front had directed me to the first door on the left which led to the tiniest dressing room I've seen. Realising there was no way they could squeeze 10 girls in there I gave Honey Wilde a call. She laughed and explained they were up the back above the bar and gave me a little wave from the window.

This was more like it! Dumping my bag down on one of the chairs I proceeded to pull my costume out and make some last minute alterations of an extra clasp as it had been popping open during rehearsals.

While I stitched Honey and Khandie Kisses were getting made up as they were in the first act and before too long the two of them had me in stitches. Discussing false eyelashes, Khandie mentioned that she had so many in her bathroom cabinet she thought they might turn into one big eyelash and crawl around her apartment. Which wouldn't half make a bad short film!

Before we knew it the girls for the first act were hurried off to the backstage area and as the show rolled on I managed a peek at the acts while I attached pasties, covered myself in body shimmer, backcombed my hair and untangled my tassels (the ones on the dress not on my chest!).

Piratica did a brilliant debut performance to Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend from Moulin Rouge and I'd seen Honey's 'How to Burlesque the British Way' at LBF and it was as hilarious as I remembered. I hadn't seen Khandie's Blitz Belle act, man that girl has energy! I loved the fact that she got down into the audience and all the more incredible considering she wasn't feeling very well. The sign of a true showgirl.

Unfortunately I missed Domino's first act as I was hurrying to do my final touches before interval.

The girls of the second act were warned by the girls of the first act that it was VERY hot backstage, which wasn't what I wanted to hear but at least we were warned.

Waiting backstage I couldn't help but feel a dose of nerves. I had created the Psycho GoGo act for a pulp press launch and we didn't end up using it, going with Na Touche Pas instead. So this was actually to be the first real performance of this act and I felt like a new performer all over again. It's been a very long time since I debuted an act.

I needn't have worried, it all went brilliantly. One of the girls said afterwards that she wished it had gone on longer which is nice!

Throwing on my new 60s shift that I bought last week in London I dashed out to catch Domino's act which was just fantastic, and Sev's inspiring finale on the Burlesque ban in Camden. I'd love to see a licensing officer go a few rounds with her, she'd have them under the point of her stiletto before you can say Burlesk!

After the show I popped upstairs to sort my things out. Due to the heat no-one had opened any of the wine so I uncorked a red and poured myself and one of the girls who'd been helping out (and a budding burlesque contortionist!!) a glass and went down for a mingle and a nose through the Equilibrium stall onstage.

I contemplating spending my earnings from the night on a pair of sailor shorts and then thought better of it but did have a lovely chat with the owner who's other half was an absolute gentleman and helped me down the stairs with my bag and put me in a cab to the station.

I settled in for an uneventful journey back to Brighton but it wasn't to be as three lads jumped on the train about halfway along. You can always tell if people are safe or not and they were harmless enough, although one was exceedingly drunk and very amusing. In any case, listening to his drunken tangents passed the time until I arrived in Brighton and jumped in the first cab home. There is something to be said for performing mid week and that is that no-one is lining up for the taxi's at the station.

Oh the bliss of flopping into bed, exhausted after a long day! Now who says I'm not rock'n'roll...

Bella de Jac is a performer for BABC

Guest Blogger: Bella De Jac

I hope everyone that came along on Saturday had a fantastic time.

Festival of Sins. Gluttony was a riot!

My favourite part (I have to say) was Nathan Shame dressed like Ronald MacDonald how he would really look after scoffing all those cheese burgers. Very evil!

I get up to London quite frequently as so much of the burlesque work is centered there. What doesn't always happen is that I have enough spare time before the show to get in something to eat that isn't picked up from Victoria station between National Rail and the tube.

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to fit in a quick catch up with my friend and burlesque performer Duchess Divine at The Diner in Camden. Diners are a bit of a weakness of mine and friend of mine introduced me to this gem late last year. There is something fabulously kitsch, American and comforting about diner food. I mean American diner food, not truck stop diner food. It fuels my ever increasing fascination with certain elements of the vintage US culture.

I figured an enormous milkshake before a performance was not such a hot idea so I ordered a soda float and hot dog as we babbled about the hot topic of the moment. Camden Council and their determination to stomp out low budget burlesque night. See any of the online communities for the full story, in particular Burlesque Women's Institute is documenting it pretty well.

So...backstage.

The curious part, I find in English buildings and transport is as Summer slowly creeps in, the temperature inside soars up. Backstage areas particularly become little sweatboxes. Trust me, trying to pat translucent shimmer powder over your entire body when you're as sticky as the inside of a toasted marshmallow proves counterproductive at best.

Aside from the relentless heat, the atmosphere backstage was friendly and fun and I took comfort in the fact that at least I didn't have to lie down starkers while being covered in prosthetic makeup and sweets to look like a garroted victim of some evil sweetie fairy, like one brave lass was.

My other distinct pleasure of the evening was getting to meet the unfairly gorgeous Mr Mistress, and Vicky Butterfly with her divine costume. My act went off with a few minor hitches, in fact it was the first time I'd ever had my music stop dead in the middle of my act before. Not to worry, the audience didn't seem to be bothered and after a bit of cheesecaking from myself the DJ got the music back on before too long.

Burlesque tip: there is nothing that can go wrong on stage that can't be handled. If the music stops just ham it up until it comes back on.

As it stands, everyone I spoke to after I did my bit was gushing in their praise so it can't have been too bad!

Bella de Jac can be found at www.belladejac.com and has performed for BABC in Brighton.