Girl on Fire!

Well this has been a wonderfully busy week!

On Sunday, on a whim, I got my hair cut! A combination of regular bleaching, constant heat styling, industrial strength hairspray and a kitten who apparently likes to groom (eat) my hair while I sleep had left my crowning glory in a rather miserable state. So in a fit of pique I marched into the hairdressers and demanded they sort it out!

New Hair! *Very* short!

That evening I was attending the premier of the film 'Burlesque Assassins' starring a host of Burlesque beauties, including the gorgeous Kiki Kaboom.

With the lady of the evening before she was mobbed by adoring fans!

I'm not going to spoil the film for you; if you get chance to see it though, you really ought to! Very funny, silly, tongue-in-cheek in a classic B-Movie style: I laughed all the way through and Miss Kaboom was awesome! The cheer that went up; both in the opening credits when her name flashed up, and on her first appearance in the movie (hi-jacking an aeroplane if you were wondering) was brilliant!

The evening, at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club, was hosted by Ophelia Bitz and opened with a showing of several short films that had been made by members of the Burlesque and Cabaret scene, including East End Cabaret, Meow Meow, Frisky and Mannish and, of course, Kiki Kaboom. They also showed the 'Cabariot' video which got a huge cheer!

It was lovely to see so many of the London Cabaret scene come out in support of Kiki: there was a great atmosphere and everyone had a fabulous night.

 

Kiki in front of the closing credits ** Playing out after the film

On Monday I had made plans to conquer one of my fears: I am terrified of fire - even striking a match freaks me out a little! So naturally I decided to take a fire class with Red Sarah at The Fire School! 

I joined five others in a freezing warehouse in Hackney for a beginners lesson in body burning and fire eating. It was a real mix of people, from those who had obviously come straight from the office, to stay-at-home mums looking for something exciting to do, to those who wanted to progress to performance level.

Red Sarah showed us the basics of what we were going to learn, then worked individually with each of us on each step, going from holding the wick on our hands, then arms, then tongue then finally eating the fire! 

 

Red Sarah demonstrating basic and advanced fire tricks

At the start of the class, my biggest worry was actually a mental one; would my brain allow me to physically put fire on my skin or in my mouth?! However, with Red Sarah taking us through baby steps at a really relaxed pace, and with constant reassurance at every point, I actually did it! 

I didn't burn myself to a crisp, though I did smell like a barbecue and my tongue felt like I'd been eating really spicy vindaloo! I bought some fire sticks that Red Sarah makes herself; I just hope I'll be brave enough to practise without her supervising me all the way!

On Wednesday I was back with Red Sarah! This time we were both taking part at a very exciting film shoot - 'Burlesque 3D' !! I took my 'Peacock Dance' routine and Red Sarah had her 'Cherry Balloon' act, both of which should look great in 3D.

 

Waiting around on film sets

Very expensive, specialist 3D camera equipment - I wasn't allowed anywhere near it!

It was a very long, cold day, but a very exciting experience: I think I pulled muscles in my arms from performing my fan/isis wing act about ten times in a row, and all I could think was 'thank heaven they didn't ask for one of my pointe acts!' However it was great fun and I can't wait to see our acts on screen!

 

Red Sarah on stage and screen ** Mirror Picture!

After the film shoot, I dashed off to Proud Cabaret for a packed out Christmas show with a typically fabulous and festive line-up including Mat Ricardo, Electra and the gorgeous Sophia St. Villier!

Mirror Picture! With Jolie Papillon, Dan Serra and Lili La Scala

 

Messing around backstage

On Thursday I woke up to very exciting news: an interview I did a while ago has been featured in 'Vintage Life' magazine along with a picture of me performing at Proud, taken by Neil Lewis for Behind Burlesque!

Vintage Life - December 2012

It was lovely to feature alongside one of my good friends, Dolly Rose, talking about Proud Cabaret, performing Burlesque and our inspirations and beauty tips! It's the second or third time I've had photographs of me in Vintage Life, but the first time I've been interviewed for it so it's a huge honour to have an article in my favourite magazine!

On Saturday I had a lovely little show at a gorgeous Casino in the West End - I don't think the guests were quite prepared for Burlesque during their dinner, but it seemed to go down very well!

Beautiful 'Capones Hideaway' themed venue

The rest of the week has been filled with admin, new act research (I have a new one on the way that I'm *very* excited about!) and taking time out for coffee breaks and pink wine with some of my lovely friends. 

Coco DuBois Vogueing at Proud Cabaret!

With being so busy at the moment, I'm finding it more difficult than usual to relax and switch off. I was recommended by Lili La Scala to try hypnosis to overcome my insomnia, so I downloaded a couple of 'deep sleep' apps that she suggested. I didn't fall asleep during the recording, even though I listened to it twice, however once the second time round came to an end, I fell asleep straight away! Apparently this is pretty normal for people with completely sporadic sleeping patterns and it should get better in a week or so, so fingers crossed!