Susan Slept Here

Though this is semi-unrelated to burlesque, it's campy and dancy enough that i feel like everybody could benefit from or at least enjoy) seeing this. and wasn't debbi reynolds cute back in the day?

dita von teese and a tiny child

http://thesuperficial.com/2009/12/this_looks_appropriate.php

I think I would much prefer my child idolizing Dita von Teese than a lot of other prominent women in the news today.

PROPS

Alrighty ladies,
Please list your props in the comments. Mine are:

3 oversized cardboard books
1 rolling cart
1 giant stamp

The intro act has:
2 giant umbrellas

YOUR TURN.

choreography break it DOWN:

new shit after the asteriks!!

Choreography refresher!
We enter in this order: Elyza, Tiff, Katie, Marissa, Cait, Sarah, Marla, Rachel

Written breakdown of choreography:
-3 counts of 8: run in. Stand w/ hand on hip, legs straight.
-4 counts: bend at the knees
-4 counts: turn to center
-8 counts: swimming!
-4 counts: snorkel down
-4 counts: snorkel up
-4 counts: baby steps into a straight line
-4 counts: hand waving and bend down
-16 counts: each girl turns for 2 counts each
-8 counts: butt wiggle
-8 counts: step & stir forward
-8 counts: step & stir back
-3 counts 8: circle train!
-8 counts: pose!
-4 counts: down to ground
-4 counts: end w/ legs in the air

***************************
-4 counts: open legs
-4 counts: close legs
-2 counts cross, 2 counts open
-2 counts cross, 2 counts open
-8 counts crazy legs doodoodolodoodoo
-8 counts alternating up & down legs (odds start up, evens start down; 2 counts for up/down, 2 counts up/down, etc)
-8 counts everyone alternates their legs, starting with right (1 count per leg)
-16 counts of left legs going down, 2 counts per person
[Marissa points in shock at the shark on the second 3-4]
-16 counts running in chaos, finding your spot in the V
-4 counts of continued horror
-4 counts of settling into hands on hips, facing each other
-8 counts jazz hands + leg extensions
-4 counts jazz hands + leg extension
-4 counts "sunrise"(?) arms and leg extended
-8 counts Marissa & Cait walk back
-8 counts Katie & Sarah walk back
-8 counts Tiff & Marla walk back
-8 counts Elyza & Rachel meet in the middle, high give, EVERYONE TURN ON 7-8
-4 counts Marissa & Cait step out, turn heads
-4 counts Katie & Sarah step out, turn heads
-4 counts Tiff & Marla step out, turn heads
-4 counts Elyza & Rachel step out, turn heads
-4 counts bring your "inside" leg in, while turning body twds audience
-4 counts "sunrise arms", hands on hips
-4 counts Elyza & Rachel bend
-2 counts Tiff & Marla pose (?)
-2 counts Katie, Sarah, Marissa, & Cait pose (?)
-8 counts everyone forming the arch way
-8 counts Marissa & Cait walk forward
-8 counts Katie & Sarah walk forward
-8 counts Tiff & Marla walk forward
-8 counts Elyza & Rachel walk forward
-8 counts POSE (odds are up; evens are down)
-8 counts POSE (odds are down; evens are up)
-4 counts TURN AROUND!
-4 counts LOWER ROMPER! gorgeous faces over yo' shoulders!
"give me a kiss" *DA DUM DUM*

HOT HOT HOT. Remember, point yo' toes!

NEXT STOP: ELLEN.

More Rehearsals!

Don't forget! We scheduled a last-minute meeting for THIS WEDNESDAY from 10pm-12am for a final dance workshop before break.

We once again have the Meyerhoff Fitness Center Studio reserved. See you there, ready for some Busby Berkeley style radial leg action! Please come with ideas!

Also, mark your calendars for January 24th 8pm-10pm and January 27th 10pm-12am for rehearsals next semester!!!

Choreography refresher!

We enter in this order: Elyza, Tiff, Katie, Marissa, Cait, Sarah, Marla, Rachel

Written breakdown of choreography:
-3 counts of 8: run in. Stand w/ hand on hip, legs straight.
-4 counts: bend at the knees
-4 counts: turn to center
-8 counts: swimming!
-4 counts: snorkel down
-4 counts: snorkel up
-4 counts: baby steps into a straight line
-4 counts: hand waving and bend down
-16 counts: each girl turns for 2 counts each
-8 counts: butt wiggle
-8 counts: step & stir forward
-8 counts: step & stir back
-3 counts 8: circle train!
-8 counts: pose!
-4 counts: down to ground
-4 counts: end w/ legs in the air

Yay! I think this is accurate, but I may be mistaken in the step & stir counts. Is it 4 or 8 in each direction?

postcards and another meeting?

POSTCARDS ARE HERE!
They are gorgeous and waiting to find new homes all around Baltimore!

Also, is everyone up for one last dance workshop next Wednesday night? 10pm-midnight? We could probably definitely knock out that last half of Seaside Rendezvous!

I'll bring the box of postcards to the meeting if anyone wants to take any!!

MEETING MINUTES YAY

AMAZING meeting ladies! I sent a video to all of you on facebook with me counting 8-beats over the first half of the song, including the full instrumental part.

Here's da minutes in case you forgot (OMG I JUST FOUND OUT HOW TO DO BULLETED LISTS ON BLOGGER):

1. SEASIDE RENDEZVOUS

• costume production: Elyza = bodysuits (four red, four navy, sparkly spandex), Sarah = flowery swim caps
• set? do we still want to do some cardboard waves? like two identical ones? do we need them?
• I sent to all of your facebooks a video I made of me counting 8-beats over the first half of the song, and I stopped it after the full instrumental part. The instrumental part goes for 10 eight counts. Mahla Pahkah- will you post your notes on the choreography?
• another workshop? could y'all post your availabilities for the next two weeks and we can see if we can work on the dance one more time?
• I honestly can not STOP practicing what we already have done!! I have probably done it over 30 times just this morning! It's so cute and so much fun and I'm SO PROUD OF US!!
  

2. TICKET TABLE

• Marissa or Rachel, you said you could do this yah? Info on it should probably just be something like "The GalHaus Revue presents: THE BIG SHOW! 8 PM, tickets $5"
• ask Nellie, Genya, and/or Maria if they would be willing to do it? Tickets go on sale at 4pm; show's at 8pm; we will also need 1-2 people at the doors to take/rip tickets. So maybe it will be good to have more than one or two people.

3. PROMOTION

• as soon as I get the files from Justin, I'll print out the posters (how many do you think we'll need? we can also always print more after break) and order postcards.
• PRESS RELEASE - Marla will write it up, deal with Events Office?
  

4. final write up on your act!!!

• This NEEDS to be done ASAP. Once you are done with finals, get it all down and post it up here. It's important not just so you know what you're doing and what you need to make /practice over the break, but also so that Annie will know what our acts our like and how she can segway between acts.
• What you need to write: SPECIFIC details of how the routine plays out; what your costume is, how they come off; any additional PROPS (and will they already be onstage?); post the youtube video of your song if possible; music cues (will you be on stage when the song starts? do you want the song to start and then you walk on?) any lighting cues (are you starting from black out? starting with all lights on? spot light? this information will also be necessary to pass on to the BBOX technicians).

Over break, PLEASE, it's important to keep up with the blog!! I'll do my best to send out e-mails if there's something SUPER important, but keep up with the blog and keep everyone updated on what you're up to over break. Post photos of your costume, any videos you might have of you practicing your routine. Find people to practice in front of (yikes) if you can, practice in front of the mirror, listen to the song over and over.

When we get back from break, you should be ready to practice, with your costume, with your music, in front of the group, and also other people. Seriously.

We will post up a rehearsal schedule once we find out the availability of the fitness center. But we DO have an already confirmed FULL DRESS REHEARSAL in the BBOX the night before, 1/29/2010, at 10 PM.

THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING!!!

ELYZA!

Dance Workshop

Don't forget, we have a dance workshop this Sunday 12/6 from 8:00-10:00pm in the Fitness Center Studio in the Meyerhoff!

It was pretty steamy in there last time so dress for the occasion.

Please bring developed ideas for your routines, we have very few rehearsals after break and this is our LAST official meeting before finals and the holiday. Also, feel free to ask questions about costumes/prop construction.

trixie and monkey's visit

At the Trixie & Monkey talk, a couple things really stood out to me and I think would be useful for us as performers:

1. a "change" or arc in an act: Trixie was describing how in a lot of their acts they try to include a change from the beginning to the end. Example is her mermaid strip, where she starts out with a mermaid tail and ends up stripping off the tail and becoming a woman that can walk, or like her flea circus act where she is running a flea circus but in the process of losing her fleas, she has to remove all her clothes to find them. I think she made a good point with this since having an arc or a change or a story to the act makes it more dynamic and more interesting to watch.

2. thinking about AUDIENCE: Trixie & Monkey also talked about how they constantly think about the audience and how valuable performing in front of an audience of peers is. The way an audience reacts to different parts of the act can be extremely helpful in deciding what parts to play up, what parts to play down. We should probably schedule sometime in January when we're all back to have some of our own friends or some kind of small audience to a "preview" of sorts, which would basically be a dress rehearsal, just so we can get that kind of honest feedback Trixie and Monkey were talking about.

I had to leave the talk early though...any one else that was there, do you have anything else to add?