I went and saw Burlesque for the 80 billionth time now. Every time I see the film I discover suttle nuances to the picture and fall in love with it more and more.  This is primarily due to the on-screen chemistry between the timeless Cher and the comedically-talented Stanley Tucci. The movie - though not receiving great praise from critics - is slowly and surely becoming a fan favorite. The soundtrack is blowing up the charts and most recently held the #2 ranking on the ITUNES chart. The movie was successful in that they incorporated classic components of a great romantic comedy with undertones of fame and achieving one's dreams and all that hooplah. Those components would be:

(1) Aspiring young blonde talent from podunkville nowhere who use to work in a bar/pizzaeria

(2) Hot man for girl to fall in love with and generally be nude throughout the movie

(3) A brassy club owner with a chip on her shoulder who decides to give the young blonde talent from podunkville nowhere a chance.

Then I realized that with a few modifications this could aptly describe a number of movies. The one that popped into my head the most was Coyote Ugly . The 2000 romantic comedy features Piper Perabo as an aspiring song writer who moves to New York with dreams of fame and success only to find herself working at Coyote Ugly - a bar featuring female entertainment - run by the sassy Maria Bello who decides to give this no-name girl from Jersey an opportunity. Similar to Christina in Burlesque, she is an instant success at the bar but of course struggles with family, work, and relationships on the road to overcoming her stage fright to finally save the day.

Thankfully, movie-goers can be rest assured that you will not find such trifiling crap in Burlesque. Instead of New York in a bar, we find ourselves in LA at a Burlesque club - which is so much better. The movie also leaves out such things as character development and sustainable plot and in lieu of that adds more dance/musical numbers. There were two things that held my attention and captivated me throughout the movie.

(1) Cher - This queen is 80 years old and doesn't have a single line on her. She is positively ageless and looks remarkable in this movie. She even debuts a track in the movie from her upcoming album entitled "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" - how appropriate seeing as how most people thought that after her farewell tour 20 years ago that she would leave the stage for good. Her voice is phenomenal throughout the show however I did notice that Cher doesn't really move at all during the movie. The dance sequence in the beginning features her standing and looking from side to side. Her face also doesn't move which made it really funny to see her do the dramatic serious scenes. I understand that Cher's pioneering efforts put plastic surgery on the map and it certainly shows in this film.

(2) Cam Gigandet - famous for his rather unfortunate brief appearance in Twilight, Cam is the one ofthe main reasons that I continued to watch the movie during scenes when Cher was not on screen. Aguilera's attempt at acting was laughable at best but Cam's rippling muscles and adorable personality - as well as him getting butt ass naked in the movie - managed to hold my focus.

Burlesque is definitely worth seeing - multiple times in fact. As long as you are not one of those movie-goers looking for the answers to life in the framework of a movie. The movie features flashy dance numbers exhibiting outrageous costumes, comedic wit served by Tucci, and I even appreciated Kristen Bell's jealous bitchy character. 

Most exciting though. The premiere of Burlesque, I believe, is going to mark the 3rd age of Cher ... THE RESURRECTION!!!! I see a flood of new movie offers coming her way which will coincide nicely with the new tour that she is developing as well. All Hail CHER!!!  

I heard a rumor through the grapevine that the iconic entertainer and drag queen role model Cher was playing on putting on another tour once her contract at Caesar's Palace expires. I immediately begin scouring the internet looking for any and all information about the Diva's return to the touring stage. There wasn't a whole lot of information about it - sadly and disappointing enough. A bay area radio station's website explained that she was working on a new album and the soundtrack for her upcoming film Burlesque with Christina Aguilera. Reports state that she already has a hit lined up for the album entitled Already Been There which she intends to premiere in a few weeks at the World Music Awards. Cher, has already previously put on the Farewell Tour - which she said was going to be the last time she ever performed in a touring concert series, though she would still record music. The tour lasted from 2002 to 2005 and was the second most successful tour by a single solo artist at the time.

God bless you Cher. Not only do you provide makeup and wardrobe inspirations for all of us queens out there but here you are 63 years old and having a second farewell tour. The comedic gold of another Cher Farewell Tour is going to be epic especially coupled with Whitney Houston's current cancellations of more concert dates of her own comeback tour.Poor Whitney, she has been seen with Bobby Brown and her old friend cocaine again.

I really do aspire to be like Cher. Her tenacity, smart business sense, and incredible determination and work ethic got her to where she is now. I hope that at 63, I still look that hot, and my picture is slapped in the dictionary under fabulous, sparkly, and iconic. I hope that she is still descending on adoring fans from a crystal chandelier when is 80 ... then not so many people will judge me when I do it at 85.

Well, my brief hiatus and vacation from A'DOLLed Fantasy has come to a close and it's time to start rehearsals again. It will actually kind of be nice to get back into dancing and rehearsals.

I find that without my dance classes, I have less energy, my flexibility has definitely gotten worse, and I find myself randomly stretching in public spaces.

That being said, A'DOLLed Fantasy is holding open auditions for both MALES & FEMALES of all ages, sizes, shapes, and experience. We are looking to fill spots for headliners, chorus girls, and singers.  No prior dance training is required or necessary to try out. Just bring all your sexiness, energy, and excitement to the auditions. Women are expected to wear heels and both men and women are expected to wear appropriate dance apparel. There are two different rounds of auditions: Saturday May 8th from 1pm to 4pm or from 5pm to 8pm. Auditions are located in the NEVADAN HOTEL in Ballroom's B & C - located on the 3rd floor of the NEVADAN.

If you would have asked me even a year ago, if I was going to move from Wisconsin to Nevada & be a part of an amazing cabaret and burlesque company I would have told you that you were crazy - although a small part of me probably wouldn't have been surprised. However being a part of the company has fundamentally changed me in a positive and uplifting sort of way. I was never truly comfortable with my body - always being the pale plus-sized girl in the class. Though, when I started dancing and performing with A'DOLLed Fantasy suddenly I saw my body in a different light and through a different perspective - your whole mentality changes when you take off your top with nothing on but nipple pasties and the crowd cheers wildly. During shows, you get to contrive these false identities and personas for the night and do & say things you probably wouldn't otherwise.

Similarly, I really really really really all the gentlemen callers that are interested in cabaret, dancing, singing, or more to audition for the company. We have a few males lined up that are interested in being a part of the show, but I really want a strong turn out from guys. It would just overall enhance what we are able to do creatively with the show. Similarly ... I could be escorted on & off stage by a male dancer wearing practically nothing .... is all I'm saying.

I am still in recovery from the show on Saturday. I woke up yesterday morning feeling like a hot tranny mess that just got blind-sided by a semi, and then as I lay tired & emotionally spent on the ground a small child walked over and jumped on both of my feet  - that's how much pain I was in.

A'DOLLed Fantasy had its premiere show this past Saturday at the Cal Neva Events room. Overall the show went well - with just a few issues and problems. I'm sure it was part nerves, part performing in a new space, and finally part of the joys of doing a live show. I probably prepared & rehearsed more for this show than any other show in my career and this was the show I was most nervous about. Upwards to 300 people were going to come see us perform in a casino - a statement of fact that continues to warp my Midwestern mind. I was stressing about my hair, outfits, choreography and all the while I was emotionally eating my stress which did not help the overall situation. However, I knew everything was going to work out okay when I went to the Chocolate Walrus mere hours before call time for the show to pick up some eyelashes. My quick trip to the Chocolate Walrus turned into so much more, when I decided to peruse the shelves and see if there was anything else I needed. Then I saw it. I saw this sequins corset on the wall in front of me, saw the artificial lighting of the store reflecting off the shiny surface of the corset, gave the GAY GASP, and then impulsively bought it. I needed some retail therapy before the show. So while I should have been getting my makeup done, I was being cinched into a corset. The second that I walked out of the dressing room to the ooohh & aaahhs of the random customers of Chocolate Walrus I knew that I needed this corset and that it was going to be a good show.

My girl Ariel Lea did my makeup and I looked fierce and ferocious for the night. I walked through the casino with my big diva-is-a-female-version-of-a-hustler sunglasses on and worked it. Live shows are always a mix of sheer insanity coupled with a lot of praying and our show was no exception. Girls were having to do quick costume changes in order to transition from one number to another - bras, panties, corsets, and more flying everywhere is quite the sight to see. Also we had some technical difficulties with the first act of the show. Unfortunately during the song "Come Together", our singer Fleur was on top of a table when that table started buckling and she started sliding toward the ground. Apparently she caught herself and stuck the landing but was so shook up she couldn't finish the song. It was nobody's fault for what happened. This is part of the gamble of running a live show. In a live production there are so many details that need attention and focus and so many things could potentially go wrong at any second - the power goes out, sound board gets fried, girls fall off tables, etc. The important thing to remember is to continue with the mother fucking show. The audience is out there waiting to be entertained and 99% of all audiences are amazing and forgivable and will appreciate you picking yourself up and continuing with the show.

One of the best parts of the show I thought was our trio number I performed with Lady Lola and Gigi to Michael Buble's "Feelin Good". In the song, I am supposed to play the sex kitten that exudes sex from my pores. My solo in the song involved me taking off my corset and flashing the audiences. My choreographer told me I didn't need to show my boobs and I thought: F thought, go big or go home. So I slapped on some boobie tassels and mentally prepared myself to undress on stage - something I had never done before. When I showed the audience my boobs they went NUTS and I still laugh at myself that in a burlesque show full of really hot attractive girls, the only person to show off their boobs was the drag queen ;)

The show was completely sold out & and actually we had to turn away about 60 people from seeing the show. I cannot wait to work out some of the issues in our show and put another one on as soon as possible. After the show we decided to have a little celebration at EDGE Night Club at the Peppermill. I am always a little nervous when I go to public spaces as Ginger - that aren't gay establishments. We had some connections in the club so we bypassed the whole line - which if you have never done is one of the most delicious things ever in life - and entered a packed club. The night was amazing and I even had four or five gentlemen callers courting my affection. Of course, when you are wearing a tight majenta bedazzled corset you tend to draw some attention to yourself.

I ALSO GOT RECOGNIZED AT EDGE - I had my celebrity moment for the night. I was dancing to my jams and all of a sudden I hear through the noise of the club "GINGER!!!! GINGER!!!!!". Two fabulous ladies who came to the last A.Love.Nouveau show were at EDGE and we reminisced about Michael and him taking his clothes off. It was an incredible night but wearing heels for 10 hours straight was quite possibly the stupidest decision of my life. I have been wearing my Crocs ever since and probably will not wear anything else until the next show. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to support the show. Stayed tuned for more information about upcoming shows in the future.

An article just came out in the RGJ about the recent rise of burlesque and cabaret companies in the city of Reno. The author of the article examined each of the companies and attempted to answer the question of: Why burlesque? Why cabaret? It seems that most shows these days peg themselves as a cabaret show. I think that cabaret is a large umbrella term used to convey the richness and variety of a show without having to go into too much detail. Cabaret could apply that there is a comedic element to the show with stand-up or little skits/sketches or could simply imply to the use of music and singers to move a show along. When I use the word cabaret to describe a production I think the biggest element to factor in is the connection and relationship that the actors/actresses on stage have with the audience. Cabaret is all about the audience - whether it is a extremely sexy & talented and yet incredibly humble host mingling & bantering with the audience during the show or audience members getting dragged up on stage and thus becoming part of the overall production. 

In some ways, it is always about the audience. You have to deliver a show that is catered to them, one that they will enjoy. Slapping the label of cabaret onto the title of your show allows for greater creative and artistic freedom. It gives the opportunity for the company to be exploratory in what they put on stage and not have to adhere to certain rules and regulations.

Funny story about the article is that unfortunately there were one or two typos in the piece. The article called me the producer and director for the company - a statement that did not go over too well with the actual producer and director for the show. He acknowledged that it was a mistake and not a big deal .... then I had to inform him that they spell his name wrong .... that was more of a bigger deal ;) But other than that it is a fabulous article. Check out a copy of the article here or visit my PRESS ROOM for a copy of the article

This drag queen is moving on up, moving on up to a deluxe stage in the CAL NEVA!! We just got some of the shots from the photo shoot that we had this past Friday. Some of them turned out ridiculously well - our girls are so hot and beautiful. Make sure to check out my picture gallery with all of the photos from the night.

Our first show at the Cal Neva is going to be Saturday April 17th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. Admission to the show is going to be $10 and the event is located in the Events Room in the Cal Neva. Although I cannot give all of the details of the show away - mainly because a very tall choreographer man would be very upset with me - I can tell you that we are pulling out all the stops with A'DOLLed Fantasy's premiere show. The show will feature headliners, solo numbers, epic groups numbers, and beautiful singers filling the ballroom with their majestic voices. Of course I will be there, providing comedic relief, as well as continue my never-ending search to find a MANS in the audience to be my new boyfriend .... 0 :) It is one of the perks of being the host of the event. I was also informed by my director that we are auditioning some male dancers!!!!! Is it bad that part of their job will involve coming out on stage with me during the show so that I may oogle them and generally objectify them?

Make sure that you do not miss this event; it is going to be an incredible night of hot dancing, sexy girls, ridiculous drag queens, beautiful singing, and hopefully some male dancers :)

Stay tuned for more information about the show as well as some sneak peaks as we get closer to the event. Thank you Cal Neva for the amazing photo shoot and the poster!!!

We are about one month from the big premiere of A'DOLLed Fantasy at the Cal-Neva April 17th. The show is going to be absolutely incredible and with a blend of cabaret-style skits and songs mixed in with hot sexy burlesque numbers. The Cal-Neva decided to have a photo shoot for us for promotional materials to advertise the show. I have never done a for real real, not for play play photo shoot so I was ecstatic for the opportunity. I decided to break out my corset - to give me the girlyish figure possible, and also hide and conceal all that is bad from the world and only accent that which is beautiful ;)

Now, getting myself ready is an all day process that usually - if not always - relies on the kindness of strangers and friends to help me become ... well ... me! So I began the grueling shaving process early in the early morning and then headed over to Kitty Sixx's house where her friend Edin Carpenter - a professional hair and makeup artist - was going to get a few of the girls ready. Edin has done professional hair/makeup on TV & movie sets and even did Rhianna's makeup for the Video Music Awards. So holler!!!

First of all, I love days with the girls. We ate pizza, watched Katt Williams, and got incredibly sexy. However it is a long process to get ready so I was exhausted before we  even arrived at the photo shoot. I also had to go get my corset re-cinched, so there I am holding on for dear life while the wonderful staff at the Chocolate Walrus pulled on strings until I couldn't breathe ... and then she pulled some more. Some pre-teen girls were starring and laughing at me - WHAT haven't you ever since a plus-sized drag queen getting her corset re-tied on her way to a photo shoot. Don't be hating pre-teens because I look better than you ever will. I stared them down and gave them that look that said "In the immortal words of one miss Beyonce 'You Must Not Know About Me, You Must Not Know About Me".

So we arrive at the Cal-Neva and I realized that I was going to have to walk through the whole casino wearing a tutu, a corset, and big sunglasses. I strutted through the casino like I was a famous celebrity or dignitary but also kept thinking in the back of my mind "I am not getting hate crimed here, I ain't going out like that".

The photo shoot was amazing, and when we have all the photos I will make sure to put them up. The people at the Cal-Neva were absolutely amazing and accomodating and so excited that the home for A'DOLLed Fantasy is the Cal-Neva. At the end of the photo shoot though I may or may not have gone a little crazy. It might have been the heels, the corset, or the pounds of detangler that I sprayed in my hair but I decided to have a mini photo shoot with myself. I figured I am all dressed up looking fabulous - I cannot waste this opportunity. ;)

Finally, and this is a word of advice to all gentlemen and female callers out there. When a devastatingly beautiful woman spends all day shaving her legs, getting her hair done, and getting pounds of makeup slapped on and she asks you how she looks, do not respond with "good" or "fine". Those are incorrect answers that may or may not cost you your life. Instead the correct response is that "no woman has look more beautiful than you do now nor will any look better than you in the future" - that is the appropriate response, just an FYI.

I am super excited to announce the premiere of A'DOLLed Fantasy Burlesque and Cabaret Company. A sister organization to A.Love.Nouveau, A'DOLLed Fantasy incorporates traditional elements of burlesque and infuses with contemporary styles of choreography - Jazz funk, hip hop, and lyrics. The show will also feature jazz lounge singers to provide a different layer to the show give audiences the feeling they are in a true cabaret show. I am still going to be the host for the event, keep audiences laughing all night, and also shamelessly flirting with all of the young attractive eligible bachelors in the audience. Make no mistake, I will most likely find my future husband in one of these shows so I need to make sure to keep my drag queen eyes open.

A'DOLLed Fantasy was created by choreographer Nayte Tavcar - voted one of the best choreographers by in the RN&R in 2009 - and features many of the girls who were formally a part of A.Love.Nouveau. We also have a new home!! We are operating out of the Cal-Neva and will have our first couple of shows there but hope to be performing in different venues at different events throughout town.

Check out the facebook fan page for the group HERE in order to stay up to date on everything that is happening.

Hey everyone!!

I just got the rest of the photos from the last A.Love.Nouveau show in the PICTURE GALLERY. There some really good shots in there and a few scary drag queeny ones ;). I didn't realize until I looked at the photos that during the bad romance number I kept popping in out and out of my corset allowing everybody to get a free look at the goodies. Thankfully moments before heading on stage, someone offered me some pasties. This girl loves to accessorize and the pasties were little hearts, so how could I say no - it turned out being my saving grace otherwise that audience would have seen a little too much of Ginger. All photos taken at the show are courtesy of SURAC Photography. Thank you so much Shannon for capturing these moments and making me look beautiful.

Hope you enjoy the photos and stayed tuned for clips from the show soon!

So these past couple of weeks, it's been crazy with a lot of changes and new transitions. One of them is my move to A'DOLLed Fantasy Burlesque and Cabaret Company. Although I enjoyed my time with A.Love.Nouveau, it was time for me to move forward to new projects. Amazing choreographer god Nayte Tavcar decided to branch off from A.Love.Nouveau and form his company including many of the girls from the previous troupe and myself.

Now, I have never been to a dance class or taken a dance class ever in my life. I do not know how to point my feet, I do not know what the hell an A-ron-jeu-lon is [or really how to spell it - it is supposedly a Rond De Jambe], and apparently until last night I did not truly understand the meaning of the word pain. Dancers are epic … dancing is ridiculous, and I was physically and mentally unprepared for what is about to happen. I thought that a “strength and conditioning” course was going to include some free weights, some light callisthenics, and some aerobics. What actually occurred was a very tall very angry choreographer standing over me yelling at me to dig deeper for my center splits. I didn't know that there was 15 different ways to work my splits and stretch out those muscles.

I think I knew that things were heading toward a downward path of destruction when Nayte told all us girls to find a place along the wall. He then informed us to face then wall in center splits and push ourselves as close to the wall as possible …. ummm excuse moi …. you would like me to do the splits and then purposefully push myself up into the wall? Oh hell no. However, tall angry choreographer man had a different outlook. Should it look like we weren't trying hard enough, he threatened to come up behind us and push our butts to get a deeper stretch. In the immortal words of one miss Beyonce “You must not know about me, you must not know about me”, he was so lucky that he did not try, otherwise he would have needed to pray for his life.

So once all that crap was over, I couldn't feel my legs and I stood there wondering if I would ever have the ability to procreate. Then things just got worse. Nayte wanted us to do some squatting exercises which of course is one everyone's favorite past times. On top of my legs generally checking out for the night, I had mowed down on some In & Out prior to practice, and my body was so not mentally and physically prepared to “squat”. It took all of my strength to keep from accidentally farting during the middle of rehearsal. Now normally, I have no problem farting in public and completely owning up to it, but it was our first practice and didn't want to be “that girl”. “That Girl” that then gets blamed for any future mysterious unexplained smell that occurs during practice.

To make the night of torment truly complete, we ended our “strength & conditioning” with an ab workout. Now, nothing makes me feel more like the fat kind in middle school gym class than sit ups and ab workouts. The only workout my abs get is the giant sit up I do in the morning to wake up – and half the time I cheat & roll over my side anyways. I was pretty thankful that nobody was watching me because I am fairly certain I looked like a lost and confused whale flailing on the sand. Not necessarily a pretty sight to behold.

Thankfully I survived the practice, although I am still sprawled out in bed as I write. I am still sore and recovering from the experience and hope to God that this gets easier in time. I really love all of the girls in the company and cannot wait for our first show together.