Blazing Burlesque Stage at South Park Festival

And fifth belated post! I might even end up catching up? :-D

Some burlesque history has been made this year in Finland! (and more on this as soon as I manage to actually catch up). Finland is a country in which in summer music festivals happen literally every weekend during the summer. But this year, for the very first time, a festival had a BURLESQUE STAGE! <3

The festival was South Park in Tampere, and the masterminds behind this were our fellow burlesque collegues Olivia Rouge and Albine A. Dorable, and Petra-Miisa Juusenaho. We had our own tiny cute stage, cozy backstage with views to the lake, and even a Sailor Jerry rum counter nearby! 

I was asked to do my absynth fairy act on Friday, and both my brand new act "Algae" and the kitties duo with Gigi Praline on Saturday. 

Upper left: La Fée Verte, Upper right: kitties duo with Gigi 
Praline, Down: Algae
Pictures by Milla Kouhia Photography

We had such a kick-ass team! Petra-Miisa acted as the MC, and the rest of the line up was composed by Miss Acrolicious, Chrissy Kiss from Estonia, Olivia and Albine, and the headliner: mindblowing aerial, fire and burlesque performer Natsumi Scarlet <3

Besides these amazing ladies, we could enjoy gorgeous Elisa Day as our pick up, Tiina Nevametsä as our DJ and Vappu a.k.a. Stella Polaire, who run from a place to another and made sure that everybody had everything they might need at all times <3

And last but not least, we had our very own lovely photographer Milla Kouhia, who has unfortunately since passed away. Unluckily enough I didn't have the chance to get to know her properly, but she was sweet and definitely had a talent for photography, and I can only imagine the pain her family must still be going through.

Curtain call shot! <3
Picture by Milla Kouhia

The weather wasn't all the best for the first set on Friday, but even in the pouring rain we had some audience, which seemed to be getting bigger with each set and as word spread. So by Saturday it was a full house and big success! And if we certainly had tons of fun on stage, let me tell you that was nothing compared to the fun we had behind the scenes! I absolutely adore these ladies, and it's always such a great party with them. Looking forward to the next one! <3

Backstage fun! ;-D
Picture by Milla Kouhia

Vienna baby! <3

Belated post number three! The Boylesque Festival Vienna <3

I'm still so full of love when I think about this festival and what a good time we had, that I don't think I'll be able to translate even half of its awesomeness to words. 

So in the end of May I had the great honour of being part of the mindblowing lineup of the Boylesque Festival Vienna, which happens to be the first Boylesque Festival in Europe! So you might be wondering, "Wait, boylesque? How come your performed there?". Well, as it happens, the organizer Jacques Patriaque decided to have a Queerlesque Teaser Party the day before the main even, for which he aimed to get a collection of as many and varied burlesque acts as possible. The next piece of amazing news was that not only did I get into such a fun event, but also my gal Gigi Praline with her leatherdady/Lucia act, our charming gentleman Sir Willy Waterlily and our dearest Drag Queen Lola Vanilla. Finland was well represented! <3

We rented a room with Gigi and Lola, and on the day in which we were performing we had the crazy idea of walking all the way to the venue with our suitcases! Which might not have been that bad of an idea after all, since due to unexpected *coughcoughhungovercough* circumstances we didn't really have the chance to see much of the gorgeous city that is Vienna. 

The lineup was EPIC! And When I say epic I really mean it, I have never performed in an event with so many performers, and I barely stopped laughing the whole time we were backstage. I have probably also never been in so many backstage group pics, but I'll try to be nice and not spam you too much :-)

before the show shots backstage!
[upper pic by Sheila Wolf, lower pic 
by Lola Vanilla]

Since our tech rehearsals happened to be pretty early, I decided to sneak out before the show to try and check a vintage store that one of our lovely stage kittens Philippe had recommended. The store did indeed have some gorgeous items, but unluckily enough out of reach of my current money situation :-D

Nevertheless, that trip allowed me to again see a little bit more of Vienna, and most importantly, to discover the Majolica House. I stumbled upon this drop-dead-gorgeous building on the way back to the venue, and I literally spent five minutes staring at it WITH MY MOUTH WIDE OPEN. This unbelievable piece of art noveau awesomeness was built in the years 1898-99, and is named after its facade, which is completely covered in painted ceramic tiles (majolica) that form the biggest art noveau pattern I have ever seen in my life. The poppy-like flowers climb all the way up to the roof, and the balconies are decorated with something reassembling lotus flowers. Of course in that moment I had no clue of what that building was, but a bit of googling provided the info I needed, and let me find out that the beauty continues in the inside. I'm in love <3

The Majolica House! <3 <3 <3
[upper left pic by justvienna.com, upper right pic by 
blackeiffel.blogspot.com and lower pic by jellbellfrhell.blogspot.com]

After my little escapade I headed back to the backstage, and I had the chance to meet the whole bunch of amazing performers with whom I'd be sharing the stage that night. I was performing about half-way through the second set, which meant I wasn't able to watch anybody else's act *sniffsniff*, but we had a hell of a time backstage anyway! We also had the chance to share the stage with the non-burlesque headliner artist of both nights, 2014 Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst! And I'm afraid that's the one picture I should have taken and did not, but I'm shy! :-D

The stage was huge, and the audience outstanding! I was a real pleasure performing in such a huge and gorgeous old theater, which was sold out!

Big stage! And one of our stage kittens, plus absolute
sweetheart and perfect assistant Philippe <3
[upper picture by Philipp Lipiarski, www.goodlifecrew.at
lower picture by Bernie GoGo]

After performing, and while waiting for the curtain call, it was time for more pictures! I couldn't be happier about having been able to see World Famous *BOB* again (who was the festival's MC), and tell her how useful the workshops she tought in Helsinki quite a few years ago have been <3

left with World Famous *BOB*, and right with Polish 
boylesque performer Jimmy Bottle
[first picture by Gigi Praline, second by Jimmy Bottle]

At this time, I will use the chance to introduce you to the mastermind behind the whole event, who worked very hard in order to make his dream come true! Ladies and gentleman, Jacques Patriaque! I think none of us can thank him enough for the wonderful experience <3

The mastermind behind Boylesque Festival Vienna, 
Jacques Patriaque!
[picture by Bernie GoGo]

Another one of the highlights of the Boylesque Festival Vienna was that I got to see a very dear friend again, after over 3 years! We met in Helsinki almost 8 years ago, when we were both metalheads (I still am, I just don't look like one anymore! :-D), and hadn't seen since Marisha moved to Cologne in Germany quite a few years ago. As luck has it, she happened to be visiting the city around the same time, so she came to see our show and we could do a bit of catching up afterwards <3

Before we left the venue, we were invited to the afterparty in a legendary rock club in Vienna, that, if I understook correctly, belongs to the husband of lovely Austrian performer Kitty Willenbruch. Marisha joined up for the afterparty, and we were able to share some more fun until yours trully and the rest of the Finns (except Willy) decided that we might be "a tad" too tipsy and should leave to the hotel. Btw! My friend Marisha is an excellent seamstress specialised in reproduction historical clothing, so please do check her facebook page out while the official website is under construction! 

upper pic with Marisha at the venue, and
below with Gigi at the afterparty
[pictures by Marisha]

As you can probably guess, the next day we woke up to the hangover of the year! We barely made it to breakfast before it closed, and I really had to make use of all my stubbornness in order to be able to go see Vienna on the only free-ish day we had. So I had some painkillers, gathered myself, and dragged Gigi and Lola out with me, since I was told there was some paintings by Klimt in a museum called Leopold Museum. My convincing skills weren't strong enough to drag Gigi and Lola into the museum with me, so I visited it alone while they had a coffee nearby. I loved it! Not only did it have some of Klimt's art, but it was full of gourgeous jugendstil, art deco and arts & craft paintings, illustrations, furniture and several other kinds of items. 

After that we went back to the hotel and got ready for the mindblowing succession of world-class boylesque performers that was the main evening of the Boylesque Festival Vienna. Omg! Used as we are to get just a few boylesque performers per event, getting one after another, after another, after another, was unbelievable! And Gigi had booked us tickets in the very middle of the second row, so we had a perfect view! (may I say that maybe even too perfect sometimes? As Gigi put it "I don't think i've ever seen so much testicle hair before")

After the main event, with Lola aka Bent van der Bleu 
and Lady Francesca <3
[picture by Lady Francesca]

After the main event the party continued in another club, but unfortunately we had to leave early due to our early flights the following day. 

What can I say? Vienna, you and your charming people stole my heart! I want more! <3

Easter in the countryside

I had the pleasure of spending Easter in one of my favourite places in the countryside (my gal Gigi's and her husband's place, aka Mäkelä farm), with some of my dearest people <3

Lassi and me arrived a day earlier, because Gigi and me had planned to do some costuming that day. As some of you know I'm working on my new act "Algae", which will be premiered in a month at the Sinsational Spring Awakening in Kaisaniemi (get your tickets HERE, the lineup is superb!) and I'm currently in the middle of a crazy costuming spree! I was silly enough to only bring two bottles of Jewel-it glue though, so I run out of it already by Saturday morning and that was the end of costuming for me that weekend :-D

costuming time!

On Saturday morning we woke up to a lovely surprise! Aatu (aka Gigi's husband) came to tell us that one of the cows was giving birth, and that if we hurried we were still in time to see the little calf be born! It was really exciting since I've never seen a birth in real life! 

few-hours-old cutie <3

Soon after that I had to borrow Gigi's car and leave to Järvenpää for a couple of hours of Tribal Fusion choreo rehearsals with the Kaira Tribe gals and our teacher Laura Luna, and by the time I came back some of the rest of the guests had already arrived. Unluckily enough not everybody could make it, but it was blissful to be able to spend some quality time with these people! <3

hungry people waiting for food
picture stolen from Gigi

The dinner was organized potluck style, so that everybody brought something. There was organic lamb marinated and slowly cooked in the oven with mint jelly, mango salsa, homemade bread, tofu and veggies vietnamese spring rolls with two different kinds of sauce, egg salad, wakame, tofu salad, oven-baked potatos with fresh thyme, fresh green asparragus and an absolutely delicious lemon and liquorice charlotte cake as dessert. Oh my, where's the extra belly-space when you most need it? 

food is love!
picture stolen from Tuomas

The rest of the evening mostly consisted of sparkly, sauna and jelly beans (actually jelly beans were a constant during the whole weekend! :-D ). And as proper adults (*coughcough*) some of us went to sleep as early as midnight and woke up to a wonderful breakfast consisting of pink soda and pink sparkling wine! Plus all the tons of delicious leftover food from the previous evening. 

breakfast of the champions!
picture stolen from Gigi

The rest of the weekend consisted of relaxing in the sun (I can't even remember last time it's been so warm at this time of the year!), walking on the grass without shoes, some wine drinking and chatting, and basically just enjoying a weekend off. Thank you so much everybody involved, and extra thanks to Gigi and Aatu for being such amazingly generous and welcoming hosts <3

Gigi's cat Pertti! She likes sleeping on my bum :-D

1 weekend, 5 costumes!

I don't even remember last time I've been this tired! I had a week full of work (and some double shifts), and I've been coughing more or less for the last two weeks, so I was already pretty tired by the time the weekend began. On Saturday I performed at an event called Kevätuhri (The Rite of Spring), with a bunch of other lovely Finnish performers. I was originally booked to perform only one act, but unluckily enough three of the performers got sick in the last moment so some of us performed twice to fill in the gaps. 

My first act of the night was one of the "extra" ones, and I decided to go with my Absynth Fairy act (which is the first act I ever performed and I'm happy I still perform it). It's such a silly and easy to understand act that I most often perform it at private parties, but it was fun to do it at a burlesque event for a change!

La Fée Verte
pictures by Jari B. Miettinen

My second act that evening, and the one that I was meant to perform originally, was an act that I last performed at a public gig almost two years ago. The main reason is that the makeup change takes quite a lot of time, so it requires that I'm either only performing one act that evening or that I have pleeeenty of time to do the makeup again, which is something that rarely happens. 

I luckily did have plenty of time to get ready last Saturday though, as I first performed early in the first set and I had the honour of being the last performer of the night too. I also realized how the first time I performed this act was the same day in which I met the mindblowing fellow performer Sir Willy Waterlily, who was also on stage last Saturday, how cool is that? <3

backstage silliness with Sir Willy Waterlily

My Fuyu Momiji (Winter Maple) Geisha act is the second oldest act I still perform. The costume and the choreography have slowly developed ever since I first performed it, but the whole act got a major revamping this time, when I finally managed to replace the old corset with an actual japanese style (over 4m long!) obi belt! Besides the costume upgrading, I also had the chance to refine the choreography by including more authentic japanese moves, which we learnt from at gorgeous Cherry Typhoon's workshops both this year and a couple of years ago (arigatou Cherry-chan, and kiitos Bettie Blackheart for bringing Cherry to teach us! <3). I must confess I'm starting to be much more confortable with this act now, so I'm really looking forward to performing it more often in the future! Maybe even somewhere nearby YOU! ;-D

Fuyu Momiji
pictures by Jari B. Miettinen

The day after the event we had a group video and photo shooting in Orimattila, and even though I did not stay to party after performing I didn't really get much sleep either! Luckily enough for me, my gal Gigi Praline (who herself lives in Orimattila) came to the show the previous night and offered me a ride with her, so I got to wake up in Orimattila in the morning and to sleep a couple of hours more. We had the shooting with Asko and Nadja, who aren't only extremely talented (Asko with the camera, and Nadja as a painter!) but also absolutely adorable <3

We recorded both our Crazy Kitties and Aurora Borealis acts' videos (hoping to be able to perform abroad with the gals!) and then took some pictures of the Aurora Borealis costumes. Unluckily enough we run out of time at the venue, so we had to move back to Kaisa's place. By then we were all quite dead, but we took a few nude pictures for a painting project Nadja has, and still a few in my Mata Hari costume as well, also for Nadja to paint. 

When we were finally done with all the pictures, we got to eat some absolutely delicious vegetable borsch with smetana and homemade bread and cheese that Gigi had cooked for us. Oh my, that really felt like heaven! <3

guess who was tiiiiiiired :-D
pictures on the right stolen from Sandy

Weekend report: Drag Me To HEL + Orimattila

Omg, what a weekend it was! It has taken me some time to write about it because I was starting to get a bit sick last Thursday and I haven't really gotten much rest after it, so I've been a bit under the weather. Nevertheless, it was definitely worth it! <3

On Friday I had the honour and pleasure of sharing the stage with some absolutely mindblowing Drag Queens and burlesque performers, and I can only say that I want MORE! Besides our own Finnish artists (such as Lola Vanilla, who's new number I loved, or my gal Gigi Praline with her crazy St. Lucia/Leather Daddy act <3) we had a few international performers, and two of them really blew my mind! The first one of them, Lou Safire, I had already had the pleasure of seeing live (and sharing the stage with) in the Stockholm Burlesque Festival last October, but this time I also got to see him perform a sideshow act! And I must confess that one of the things I most enjoyed about his performace was his exquisite sense of musicallity, sublime! The second performer who blew my mind was the fabulously glamurous Meth. Her acts were creative, and her stage presence powerful! Always such a pleasure to see people with so much experience and talent rock the stage <3

Gigi, Meth, Lou and me, and Abortia
kneeling down
(all pictures stolen from Gigi!)

The night also counted with the crazy presenter duo Abortia Clinique and Regina Squirts (the latter was having her debut, we hope to see more of her in the future!), who did a great job at keeping the audience entertained throught the night! 

The event would already have been mindblowing if it would have ended here, but Abortia had a surprised hidden up her sleeve! So after the curtain call, when all the performers (including the organizer Lola Vanilla) were gathered on stage, she proposed to Lola on the day of their 5th anniversary! Let me tell you that Abortia and Lola (or Jac and Jari) are one of the cutest and sweetest couples I know, and I think all of us who were at Dubrovnik that night felt very special to be able to share such a magic moment with them. Congratulations and all the best for you both! <3

Abortia Clinique and Lola Vanilla, aka
Jac and Jari <3

After a night full of emotions and fun, Gigi and me headed to her place in the countryside. Gigi lives in a gorgeous farm in the countryside some 45mins away from Helsinki, and we were to perform at a venue in her neightbourhood the following evening. The event was a fundraiser (I can't remember what for), and we were the "surprise act" (a real surprise act, since we weren't even presented the first time we came on stage :-D). Just so that you get an idea, the rest of the performers were: a folk dance group, a couple of bands playing folk music, a very respected Finnish composer called Kaj Chydenius with the singer who usually sings his compositions, and a comic act that Gigi's husband does with some of his family and friends. Plus people at the venue were on average 55+ and most had never even seen burlesque before! There was 3 seconds of ackward silence after we finished our first act, after which (luckily) the crowd started to cheer and clap! 

Ready to go shock some people! :-D

Our first act had been a rather classic and relaxed feather fan dance, but for our second act we chose our Crazy Kitties act. I love performing this one! It's terribly silly and I get to play the stupid cat, plus puke a hairball on stage! ;-D (stay tuned, there might be a video coming in the near future)

Luckily the audience also seemed to like this one, and we got a lot of nice compliments afterwards, even from Kaj Chydenius himself! A weekend to remember <3

Kitty time with my gal Gigi! <3

Helsinki Burlesque Festival Week 2014 <3

I'm back! The whole festival was once again so absolutely mindblowing, that it took me this long to catch up with everything else and be able to write again. I can begin by saying that even though every year feels like the festival has already reached the top of awesomeness, producers Bettie Blackheart and Frank Doggenstein, and the whole Helsinki Burlesque crew manage to put together an even more epic show, and this year was no exception!

Although the actual events are only on Friday and Saturday, many of the talented international performers are invited to teach workshops in a wide variety of subjects, so the whole festival craziness actually lasts for about a week. This year my "festival week" started on Thursday, when I had the honour and pleasure of attending Perle Noire and Kitten de Ville's workshops. 

Perle totally blow my mind, both during the workshop and her acts! I don't think it's even possible to get the actual feeling of awe and energy she projects unless you see her live, but I can tell you that when you do you know you have a real force of nature in front of your eyes! <3

Kitten de Ville aka The Queen of the Quake definitely deserves this nickname, and she had us all sweating our bums off even before we were through with the warmup! I think her class was extremely useful for me because, after having been studying tribal fusion bellydance for the last year and a half, I have noticed that I really needed a reminder of how to really shimmy and shake burlesque-style, and this lady definitely knows what she's talking about! <3

after the workshops with amazing Perle Noire and
Kitten de Ville <3 (pics by Cherry Turrrbo-Cherry D
and Sandy Jungle)

After the workshops we headed for the hotel for a little meet & greet with some of the performers that had already arrived. It was so much fun! We got to both see some very dear friends again after a long time and make a bunch of new ones. It actually felt so cozy that it was difficult to leave and go to sleep, but I had to wake up early and go to work the following morning! 

with some absolutely amazing ladies! Mama Ulita from 
Germany, my gal Sandy Jungle and the lady with the
perfect hair, Koko la Douce <3 (pic by Sandy)

Two of the new friends that I'm extremely happy to have met are Mama Ulita and Lada Redstar <3

Mama Ulita has such a crazy positive and contagious energy that I just wish she moved to Finland and could go for a coffee with her everytime I have a bad day! I'm so so extremely happy I'll get to see her again soonish, since we're both performing on the same night of the London Burlesque Festival <3

I've been looking forward to meeting Lada for a long time now, so I was delighted when it finally happened! This lady isn't only drop dead gorgeous, but she is also intelligent and the kind of vintage enthusiast I can totally relate to, so chatting with her was a real pleasure! As was watching her on stage again, this fierce lady is definitely a source of inspiration <3

with Lada Redstar, Lassi, and the head of the
HBF photographer team Tuomas (pic by Gigi)

After a long day at work on Friday, it was time for the real party to begin! My gal Gigi Praline and her husband Aatu (who was this year working his bum off driving all the performers back and forth between the hotel, workshops and venue) live in the countryside some 45mins away from Helsinki, so they booked a hotel room and were kind enough to invite us over for etkot (aka pre-party). The festival's theme this year was Tropical Tornado, so we ended up wearing swimwear on Friday! I got to wear my dear 1930's yellow woolen swimming suit, of which I'll post better pictures at some point in the near future. Just a bit before we left for the venue we were joined by our dear Pepper Potemkin from Stockholm, who is a real kick-ass rocker lady and a lot of fun to hang out with! She was on stage on both Friday and Saturday, and I'm delighted that she's also performing on the same night of the London Burlesque Festival as Mama Ulita and me <3

etkot! <3
(pic by Pepper Potemkin)

Friday was a blast! Such a blast that we only left the venue at some point after 3am, which meant just some 4.5h of sleep before Saturday morning's workshops, but it was so worth it! <3

with our dearest Scotty the Blue Bunny, HBF is
not the same without this humor and wit <3
and the combination of him and Minna Kivelä
must be my favourite presenters ever! (pic by Gigi)

Saturday was my birthday! And I couldn't have wished for a better one <3 (ok, I could have gotten a couple of hours more of sleep :-D). It started with the workshops of super creative and extremely inspiring Imogen Kelly, and one of the most respected photographers in the burlesque scene, Neil Kendal. 

Imogen's workshop was specially interesting because this lady has a background that is a bit more unusual in the burlesque scene; her roots are in the theatre and the circus and has been a theatre director for over 20 years. Her approach was extremely useful to me, since I am mostly interested in developing my acts and characters in a theatrical way, and having a storyline has always been vital to my performing style. 

After Imogen and Neil's workshops, my man treated me to absolutely mindblowing and delicious food in Juuri, which is a restaurant in Helsinki with food so unbelievably tasty that makes me feel like I'm back in the Basque Country. All the ingredients they use are organic (even the wines), and one can really tell since regular food from the store would never reach such intensity of flavours. After dinner, and with a very happy belly, it was time to head to the venue again, for another evening of awesome performances. 

My Saturday's outfit was partly inspired by Tribal Fusion bellydance, which itself uses different ethnic styles/adornments as inspiration sources. I will elaborate a bit more on this outfit also in the near future, but I can say that the facial decoration was inspired by a facial tattoo of a Berber tribe from Algeria, and the shawl that covered my head was a new Assuit shawl made in Egypt. 

with my dear Tiitta and Laura, tribal sisters <3
(pic by Laura)

The rest of the outfit had little to do with tribal inspiration, but I've had this crazy dress for years now and I only got to briefly wear it once (for obvious reasons) at a friend's birthday party! But hey, as my dear Gigi says "This year's festival was all about bums".

found a friend-in-outfit on Saturday :-D
(pic by Gigi)

Finnish burlesque at the Boylesque Festival Vienna! <3

As some of you know, yesterday was the first day of the Helsinki Burlesque Festival week! We've been waiting for this for a year, but yesterday exceeded even our wildest expectations! And that's because the Finnish burlesque scene received amazing news: my gals Gigi Praline and Lola Vanilla, our gentleman Sir Willy Waterlilly and yours trully have been accepted to perform at the very first Boylesque Festival Vienna! <3 <3 <3

This means Finland will be having an almost unprecedented representation in a international festival, and just so that you can imagine how amazingly kickass this festival is going to be I can tell you that it will be hosted by none other than The World Famous *BOB*, and besides Jacques Patriaque himself (aka the mastermind behind the event) the lineup will include such first class international performers as Tigger!, Russell Bruner, Rubyyy Jones, Conchita Wurst and Tamara Mascara (and who knows who else Jacques is still hiding up his sleeve?)

So if you don't mind, I'll just go continue jumping all around the place in excitement ;-D

Queer much?

And soooo excited to announce I'll be joining the linup of the craziest party in Helsinki this spring! You'll be able to see drag queens, burlesque and a rollercoaster of gender bender fun! Stay tuned for more info, and check the event's facebook page! <3