Nellie: “Boiling Point Burlesque – THIS SATURDAY!”

The weather this summer has sucked so far, quite frankly. So Big Moves is doing our part to turn up the heat with our appearance at this Saturday’s Boiling Point Burlesque show at the Cambridge YMCA in Central Square! Join us and our friends as we give you a night of sexy, saucy, hilarious burlesque, brought to you by Axe To Ice Productions.

More details and ticket info below!

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From the creators of Mary Dolan Presents…Vaudeville! comes the next BIG night in dazzling entertainment.

Bringing together the biggest names in Boston burlesque for two shows in one HOT night, Axe To Ice Productions presents: BOILING POINT BURLESQUE (It’s too Hot to keep it on!) Advance tickets and show information at http://www.axe2ice.com.

This can’t-miss night of entertainment integrates all forms of Burlesque – from its bawdy, comical, and satirical roots to seductive and electrifying striptease acts. Get there early for pre-show performance, art gallery installation and Olde Tyme concessions! Do not miss the hottest show this summer!

Date: Saturday, June 27th, 2009
Location: Cambridge YMCA Theatre
Tickets: $15/advance, $20/door, available in advance at: www.axe2ice.com
Show Times: 7:00pm and 9:30pm
Show Run Length: 90 minutes total

Boiling Point Burlesque is an all burlesque cabaret bringing you acts from the cream of the crop in Boston and beyond! Get there early to catch the pre-show performers strut their stuff and check out our very own in-house Artist…

This June catch:

Gallery Art by Emma Weisman
Featuring Performances by:
Big Moves
Babes in Boinkland
The Steamy Bohemians
Can Can Revolution
The Boston Hoop Troop
The Naked Comic
Miss Nicholle Pride
UnAmerika’s Sweetheart Karin Webb
86-years-young Mary Dolan
Sugar Dish
and MORE!

Marina: “The REAL Fat Camp”

In a lot of ways, Fat Camp was a pretty typical Big Moves Boston production: sexy, upbeat, rah-rah-go-fattie in as many ways as we could jam in the show. There was so much of that energy that it tended to spill over the top and mix up into the rest of our lives.

The show ran for two weekends in the Boston area, and one jam-packed weekend in Philly, and every day of the run felt a little to me like Fat Camp: in-jokes, shared snacks, generalized lechery. On tech night the cast sat down and hand-colored the covers of 300 program booklets (very art cabin!). One evening before call, we all sat out in Harvard Common and put our heads on one another’s laps and nommed down sushi and bubble tea. Add onto that the whole story arc of Fat Camp, four weeks in the life of a body-positive summer camp, and then, I mean, we’d been working together for three and a half months, so yeah, very realistic feel of collective effort and fun.

But I didn’t know how much that came through until one of the dancers, Colette, shared a conversation she had with an audience member in Philly. It was at intermission, and Colette was mingling in the audience (she was playing a camp counselor, so that was an important part of the role). This guy came up to her and said, “So, is Fat Camp for kids, or adults too?” Colette was, like, wait, you already saw the first act, you don’t know? But she said, “Oh, we’re playing adults, you know, it’s like summer camp for adults.” And he said, “No, I mean the real Fat Camp.”

Excuse me. I just got teary-eyed all over again.

I mean, it’s not like we don’t have enough going on. Even the thought of adding a summer camp program to our offerings gives me speed-induced vertigo. But the fact that someone in our audience believed so much in the world that we created that they wanted to join us, well… actually… that’s the whole point.

In a lot of ways, Fat Camp was a pretty typical Big Moves Boston production: sexy, upbeat, rah-rah-go-fattie in as many ways as we could jam in the show. There was so much of that energy that it tended to spill over the top and mix up into the rest of our lives.

The show ran for two weekends in the Boston area, and one jam-packed weekend in Philly, and every day of the run felt a little to me like Fat Camp: in-jokes, shared snacks, generalized lechery. On tech night the cast sat down and hand-colored the covers of 300 program booklets (very art cabin!). One evening before call, we all sat out in Harvard Common and put our heads on one another’s laps and nommed down sushi and bubble tea. Add onto that the whole story arc of Fat Camp, four weeks in the life of a body-positive summer camp, and then, I mean, we’d been working together for three and a half months, so yeah, very realistic feel of collective effort and fun.

But I didn’t know how much that came through until one of the dancers, Colette, shared a conversation she had with an audience member in Philly. It was at intermission, and Colette was mingling in the audience (she was playing a camp counselor, so that was an important part of the role). This guy came up to her and said, “So, is Fat Camp for kids, or adults too?” Colette was, like, wait, you already saw the first act, you don’t know? But she said, “Oh, we’re playing adults, you know, it’s like summer camp for adults.” And he said, “No, I mean the _real_ Fat Camp.”

Excuse me. I just got teary-eyed all over again.

I mean, it’s not like we don’t have enough going on. Even the thought of adding a summer camp program to our offerings gives me speed-induced vertigo. But the fact that someone in our audience _believed_ so much in the world that we created that they wanted to join us, well… actually… that’s the whole point.

Nellie: “Drag Queens and DykeMarches and Bears, OH MY!”

It’s just about that time in Boston.  You can feel it in the air.  That’s right, folks.  Pride Week is about to begin!

We’re so happy to be super-involved in Pride this year, starting with the Pride Day kick-off event at Faneuil Hall this Saturday.  We’ll be doing a revue-style, 30-45 minute performance that will hopefully knock the socks off the audience in a way that only the crazy, chaotic dancefest that is Big Moves Boston can.  We’ve been prepping for it for the last couple of weeks, and I’m so incredibly excited to hit up a new audience – some of whom will undoubtedly be seeing us for the first time.

On top of that, some of us are volunteering at the Dyke March, and then, for the first time ever, we’ll be marching as Big Moves in the Parade on the 13th with some amazing folks. Several LGBTQ (and allies!) dance groups in Boston decided to band together and march as one to increase our presence.  Big Moves was invited to participate, and we’re so incredibly honored and excited to be a part of this year’s festivities.  Hope to see all of you lovely, lovely folks there!!

Coquette: “AFP + TTO = Best Night Ever”

A whiiiile ago, I was invited to perform as a go-go dancer at the Theater Offensive’s annual fundraiser, ClimACTS (which was on Tuesday, 4/28). It’s circus-themed, it’s in the Big Apple Circus tent, it’s $175 a ticket and well, just. Obviously, I said yes. Hi, have you met me?

What I didn’t find out until the night beforehand was that the ringmaster this year was Amanda Fucking Palmer. So the phone call to Dirty Nellie (who was also go-go dancing with me) went something like this-

Me: Um, did you know Amanda Palmer was hosting?!
Dirty Nellie: Wait…what?
Me: Because I figured you would have TOLD ME if you knew! And I didn’t know!
DN: Wait…what?
Me: OMG OMG OMG. OMG. OMG we’re going to dance in front of Amanda Palmer.
DN: Wait…what?

So yes, I got there and got all checked in and then put on my outfit, which was, from bottom to top: pink high-top converses, lace top fishnet thigh highs(over dance tights), black booty shorts with “Harlots like it on all fours” on the ass in red, black garter belt with pink velvet trim, short sheer crinoline flouncy-flounce skirt, black canvas corset with white polka dots, black satin bra, incredibly tacky black “onyx” and rhinestone necklace, pink satin ribbon tied around my ponytail, and a metric ton of silver glitter in my hair. I wore the high tops because I wasn’t sure how much dancing I’d be doing or for how long. And thank fuck I did that, because as it was, my legs almost fell off from dancing, and I can’t imagine how I would have fared if my feet were all busted up from wearing heels all night, too.

So, they gave us a tour of the whole place beforehand, so we could direct people, and lo and behold, in the big tent, there was Amanda Palmer, finishing up her sound check. Nellie and I mildly freak out. Somehow, we manage to just watch her sing and not run into the ring and molest her. N and I got selected to fire confetti guns at the end of the show, so keep in mind that for all my !!!, at the end of the night, I ended up basically assaulting Amanda just to look at her outfit, which was a flouncy Moulin Rouge-y corset made entirely out of blue sequins and gold beaded fringe. (Amanda barely noticed, she was talking to drag queens).

But! Before I had had enough to drink to manage Not Being An Idiot, there was the VIP reception! Which involved many go-go dancers, and me being ordered to mingle and be fabulous, and also being told that the drinks were being mixed to kill (and that was accurate – I had a martini, I thought it was going to mug me). And at one point, I accidentally walked into someone else walking cross-wise, and her drink ended up mostly all over me, and only somewhat back in her glass. I said, “Ohmygod, I am so sorry! Do you want me to get you another one?” And she said, “No, that’s fine. It’s…all over you.” [gestures to my rack] Me: “Oh, do you want to lick it off?” Her: “Okay!” And so that happened.

And then N and I noticed Amanda Palmer mingling in the crowd, and so I walked over and was all, “Hi, um, I’m really glad you’re here and I just wanted to introduce myself.” And she said thanks and she was glad to be a part of the event, and how great Theater Offensive was. And I agreed, and when she shook my hand, she held my hand with both of hers and it was awesome. And then she looked down at my rack, went, “Oh god, these are huge!”

And then she touched them.

…

And I was like, “Well, um.” And then WITH HANDS STILL ON MY RACK, she goes “I wish mine were bigger.” And then she grabbed HER boobs. And I was like “UM NO YOURS ARE GRATE. ALSOILOVEYOURBELLY.” And she was like, “now THAT is nice and big!” and she started rubbing her belly. And then I just…could not stand there anymore, and so I was like, “Well, I know you’re supposed to be shmoozing with donors, so I don’t want to monopolize you.” And she said, “Okay, byeeee.” And reached out and RAN HER HAND FROM MY SHOULDER ALL THE WAY DOWN TO MY WRIST and sloooooowly walked away, all the while looking at me.

YES I KNOW IT SOUNDS LIKE I’M WRITING FANFIC. I AM NOT. THIS SHIT HAPPENED.

Oh, and when we got back to the performer tent, there was a draq queen pillow fight. DRAG QUEEN PILLOW FIGHT. And I turned to Dirty Nellie and said, “this is seriously one of the best nights of my life.”

Coquette: “And This Is the Part Where I Freak Out.”

You GUYS.  We have tech tonight for our spring show.  (Details and ticket info in “Upcoming Performances” above, donchaknow?)  There are so MANY things about this that confuse me:

1) Since when is it spring, it’s been 40 F and raining since the dawn of time.

2) What crazy person booked us for the end of April, when I’m in the middle of finals?  (…oh, right.  I did.)

3) I tweaked my knee in rehearsal the other day, one of our dancers has a wretched cold, everyone’s stressing out, on our last runthrough I totally flipped my lines all around and bunged everything up…[breathes into paper bag]

…and so on.  I get like this, and I know I get like this — and yet somehow, awareness of getting like this doesn’t STOP me from getting like this.  So if you come see our show (which you SHOULD, because it is essentially a dirty/dirtier version of summer camp; all the youthful activities!  all the grown up hormones!), and I look a little crazy around the eyes, it’s not you, it’s me.  It’s my desire to have things be perfect in a universe that is just fucking determined to THWART ME AT EVERY TURN.

[breathes into paper bag some more]

I would write more — hell, I would edit this before posting it — but Dirty Nellie is downstairs with her car, waiting to do me the huge favor of taking me home so I can get my laptop and attempt to study and write some essays in the midst of Tech Night From Hell.  As a thank you for reading, here, stare at the near-incomparable adorableness that is the artwork for Fat Camp:

If that doesn’t make you want to come relive summer camp with us…you’re beyond help.

Marina: “CAKE!”

Big Moves Boston is barreling straight ahead into Tea & Strumpets 3 (the Copywrong Edition) on Saturday, March 21, and folks…if you’re in the Boston area, or can get here, you WANT to be there. First of all: BURLESQUE. Secondly: CAKE.

The other reason that you might want to be there is that hey, it’s our big fundraising event for the year. Your buying a ticket and throwing down a bunch of raffle tickets is going to help us keep doing what we do best: in-your-face, size-diverse dance and performance art!

You like that, baby? You like it in your face? Well, then buy a ticket at http://www.bigmoves.org/calendar (click on the listing on 3/21) and get your sweet butt there! And if you can’t make there, but you’re feeling generous to us artistic, sweaty fatties and fatlets, you can make a donation instead… details are up in the “donate & advertise” tab.

Nellie: “Johnny Blazes’ 25th Birthday Bash Benefit”

Yeah, yeah…I know. It’s been a while. But! We’re back! With bitchin’ new appearances and all.

Come see us and many other incredible Boston-area performers at Johnny Blazes’ 25th Birthday Bash Benefit! We’re doing one saucy number, and not only do you not want to miss us, you don’t want to miss any of the other performances either. This is a ridiculously talented, sexy, and hilarious bunch, so come check it out!

Marina: “How to Dance as Much as You Want, Tip #18: Stop Dancing for a Bit, and Do Something Else”

When I first started taking dance classes, I took ALL the dance classes. I was 28, and had never really learned to dance, so these classes were like crack and a nice, long drink of water, all at once. I wallowed in the abundance of dance, I frolicked like a mermaid through the unending sea of it. I mean, DANCE, right?

But about a year and a half into it, as I was preparing for my first recital at school, I became aware of the need to come up for air. Also, I was getting shin splints.

I learned the hard way that what seems like a paradox really works: by strategically not dancing, you can keep on dancing! Don’t let preventable injury, overwork, or stress sideline you. Take time off when you need, for different reasons:

- Dance is exercise, and like all forms of exercise, you can overwork. Even the hardest-core performers should take at least a couple days away from it each week. If you must move some every day, try mixing it up with different forms of movement: yoga, or volleyball, or yo-yos.

- Dance is mental, and like all forms of, um, mental, you can get obsessive and stressed from concentrating too hard. If you are in the middle of a class or rehearsal and you feel yourself going to a Bad Bad Place because you are getting lost or confused, yes, you can bulldozer through. Or you can STOP, just for a moment, just for a drink of water or a wipe of the sweaty brow.

- Dance is art, and like all forms of art, it benefits from hybridization. Keep that dance alive with non-dance things: paintings and garage sales and cooking and kids’ music and learning a new language. You did that stuff before you started dancing, right? And enjoyed it? Well, keep it up. Because frankly, your inner artiste needs to get out more.

- Dance is spiritual, and like all forms of spirituality, it can be pushed to fanatical extremes. Give it a rest, get into your body in some other way, gardening or walking or swimming or building sand castles. Not everything, or even most things, need to express the Deep Hidden Truths of the Soul. Even if they actually do.

Coqette: “Dr. Sketchy’s is Making Me Effin’ Crazy”

So tonight, in case you are somehow unaware, I am the artist’s model for Dr. Sketchy. (Details about the event are in the Upcoming Performances tab up top, or just one post below this one on the main page.) I’m modeling solo, because the organizer is trial-running a night-time version (usually it’s Sunday afternoons), and she was worried about the attendance, yadda yadda, only one model in case there’s no $.

I am not worried about the $. Spoiler alert: dancers generally don’t get paid very well. I am not even worried about sitting still for that long; I’m exhausted today, so if anything, I may end up taking a 20-minute nap on stage and start drooling. Sexass.

What I am worried about is going up there alone. Not because I don’t like being on stage by myself – I totally, totally like it, probably in a Secretly Very Revealing About Her Psyche way – but because I don’t like that I can’t move. If I can’t move, I can’t see how my jokes are going over with the entire crowd. I can’t make eye contact and charm people. I can’t say something and gradually smile while I say it, which is up there with, “nodding your head while talking,” in the list of ways to get people to subconsciously like you.

You’re reading this going, “Damn, Coquette tries too hard.” Maybe I do. But I don’t think so, because if you’re saying it, you probably already like me, and if you like me, then it’s probably because I’ve already charmed the hell out of you. Which is what I’m supposed to do – I’m a self-promoting performer. And it’s also what I’m supposed to do because, aside from the actual sketching, I sort of *am* the event…or more accurately, I’m the Key Prop. And if the Key Prop is a wet blanket, then it’s going to be a loooong 2.5 hours.

This was going to be the usual, “Hey! Event! Tonight!” excitement building post, and I would love to do that. But my mother is in town tonight (and will be at Dr. Sketchy’s — everyone come out and say hi to my mom! …yeah, still sounds weird), and today has been kind of awful on all fronts. Pretty much the last thing I feel capable of doing is being sexy and wonderful in front of strangers, but that would be why they call it acting.

So if you read this blog and you come out tonight (which you should – there will be Christmas music, because I’m unashamedly That Girl), think of yourself as getting the back-stage pass into my brain. And please feel free to come say hi and tell me if I’m faking it well or not.

Coquette: “Dr. Sketchy 2: Sketch Harder”

That’s right, darlings!  Dr. Sketchy’s model this time around is little ol’ me, and I will be glamming it up, Naughty Santa Style.  And!  It’s at nighttime!  Which is the right time…for sketching me.  Here are the official details:

Dr. Sketchy is what happens when cabaret meets art school.

Tuesday December 2, 2008 7-9:30pm
NIGHTTIME Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School Burlesque Life Drawing Session
featuring: Coquette! From Big Moves!
Great Scott
1222 Commonwealth Ave (corner of Harvard and Commonwealth), Allston
$7 7-9:30pm 18+ (bring your ID, this is a bar)
We’re going to try an evening Dr. Sketchy to see if it’s attractive to folks. So write this in your calendar and please join us after work for evening drinks and drawing. Feel free to bring dinner with you, or have it delivered!

Come on out, stop in for a drink and a sketch. Mention the blog and I’ll kiss your cheek!