This delightful individual is another example of another deal sweetly done. In just a matter of hours, the pictures & the interview were well received (and grandly appreciated), so a friendly and very enjoyable relationship has started.
1) So now the big question… how did you ever became interested in Burlesque?
I am a Leo, so I am a natural-born superstar. I began my entertainment career with community theatre and dance, as well as choral music. I grew up listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Muddy Waters, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday. Hearing the tempered hum of my grandmother’s voice to this music.. .the vibrato and her sensual and positively feminine timbre made me want to explore the chanteurs and chanteuses of old. In my research, I ran across the great Josephine Baker and her banana dance. I took a look at her videos and became inspired by her spirit and comedic charm. I began employing this into my theatre acts. I enjoyed how welcome I felt in the warm embrace of the audience.
Anyhow, I continued my research and saw that she was known as a “Burlesque” performer, a striptease artist who uses satire or comedy in their displays... then I noticed that there weren’t many Burlesquers that shared my skin color, and I became devoted to changing that.
Save for Josephine herself, Gertrude “Baby” Banks, and Lottie The Body, there weren’t many Burlesque ladies of color back then.
2) You seem to have been involved in many different troupes; how do you handle working alongside many people in a creative way? Do you prefer being a solo act?
The New Orleans Burlesque scene is comprised mostly of a rotating cast of the same ladies. They rotate between troupes a lot, and it is like one big family. I began with Reverend Spooky and Her Billion Dollar Baby Dolls, oscillated between the Baby Dolls and the Storyville Starlettes, and recently became one of the founding members of the newly formed Slow Burn Burlesque Collective. I must say that there is an art to working with many people in a field that is so fueled by estrogen. However, I am blessed to work with such talented and dedicated women. They are inspirational in their own right because they are teachers, seamstresses, massage therapists, and service industry workers that work hard to do an art that doesn’t always pay back well. They keep me on my toes and allow my creative juices to flow freely than I knew they could.
As for being a solo artist, I have always considered myself that, because this is something that I want to do for a living and thrive on. While troupes are great, some of them have contracts that restrict performers on who they can perform with, where, when, etc. and anything that restricts, I renounce!
3) Are we very wrong in suspecting that there are not many African-American Burlesque performers? Maybe we’re completely off the track… but if not, how would you explain that fact?
There are not, you are correct. I may be wrong in saying this, but my primary speculation upon that fact and its reason is misinformation, or lack of education about Burlesque. When African Americans are educated about the Harlem Renaissance, or Black speakeasies of the time, they are only taught about Josephine Baker, and even then she is referred to as an “actress” or “comedienne”. Her banana dance is mentioned, but it is never referred to as “Burlesque”. That tidbit of information is valuable in that people can research it and learn how to follow in her footsteps and realize how much of a revolutionary art it was at the time. But, instead, the misinformation is carried on.
Also, going back to the past, the foundation of Burlesque was primarily white, and that is how it has stayed. There is a lack of African American Burlesquers, which creates a lack of exposure and education about it.
4) You are so incredibly cute & gorgeous that it’s almost impossible not to think about some movie work. Could you ever be interested in being involved in a film and what kind of character would you like to play?
Thank you, and yes I have considered doing movie work. As a matter of fact, I have applied to many agencies so that I might be looked upon for some “extra” work, at least! I have always wanted to play a more submissive, sparkly starlet who lights up the room with her sweet smile and soft, smooth voice… Something contrary to my otherwise Spartan demeanor.
5) What is your degree of enjoyment when doing more fetish-like photo assignments? Would you eventually like to explore working with latex, for example?
I am also a dominatrix. Need I say more?
6) Do you have a specific routine that you go through on a typical day when you’re performing?
I have about 15 to 20 rotating acts. They range anywhere from classic Burlesque to Gothic/Industrial pieces with gas masks and leather jackets.
7) Is Eartha Kitt still one of your primary inspirations? Any other artists-entertainers?
The Catwoman is timeless and she always will be. However, I have always been inspired by iconic sex symbols such as Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, Marilyn Monroe, and Sophia Loren.
My Burlesque inspirations include Blaze Starr, Dame Cuchi Frita of Brown Girls Burlesque (NYC), Sydni Deveraux of Blood Rhinestone Productions (Seattle, WA), all of Bustout Burlesque (New Orleans), Reverend Spooky LeStrange (New Orleans), Immodesty Blaze, Akynos (NYC), Perle Noire (New Orleans/NYC), and Tangerine Jones (NYC)! Saul Williams and GG Allin are my go-to inspirations for fearless performance art and that ultra SHOCK factor that is needed here and there.
8) Did you came up yourself with the “Dorothy Dandrige of the Darkside” description?
Yes! After seeing ‘Carmen Jones’ and ‘Tamango’, I couldn’t hold it!
9) What do you do when it’s time to relax and be yourself (no tight-fitting costumes, no tassles, no elaborate dancing scenarios, no hairdressing sessions…)? ;)
I am normally writing poetry, sleeping, reading, studying the occult, or cooking!
10) You seem to have an equally beautiful sister? Any chance of having siblings on Fetish Cult Sirens? :D
I actually am an only child, Maya is my spiritual sister, as she is old enough to be my mother and still maintains that sex appeal and esteem that empowers me. She is definitely an inspiration to me.
11) Do you know that there will be the First Montreal Burlesque Festival this upcoming September? Any chance to welcome you in our city very soon? We’re also planning more Cult Sirens shows, you know…
As for Montreal, maybe next year. The list of performers has already been released. As for the Sirens, hell yes. Only for the Sirens would I travel to Canada! Hahaha!