Also, Extravaganza

As many of you may know, this past month featured the 4th Annual Michelle Mynx Pole Dancing Extravaganza!

It was my second year performing, third year attending, and it was just as good as any other year.  I performed my own compilation of two Frank Sinatra songs: "I've Got the World on a String" and "Come Fly with Me," and learned a great deal in the process.

1) How to mix music.
2) How to compress music files.
3) How to alter a men's shirt into a woman's halter top and add trim and sequins, all by hand.
4) How to get over big ambitions to make something work (though I really thought I'd learned this before).
5) How to stop worrying and love the bomb... er... how to stop worrying and just dance, because there's nothing left to do.

And now, for photos.

Photo Courtesy of Virginia C. Harold

Photo Courtesy of Ricky Sherman

Photo Courtesy of Ricky Sherman

Photo Courtesy of Ricky Sherman

Photo Courtesy of Ricky Sherman

Favorite Photo, Courtesy of Ricky Shermam

On Not Having Willpower

Well... it's been a long time.

To be honest, this is my constant curse about taking up long-term projects.  Or hairstyles.  I get distracted.  Or I lose the enthusiasm I had when I started.  I'm excellent at making excuses.

My lack of stick-to-it-ivness is one reason Alec was very hesitant for me to get my own pole two years ago.  I had been taking classes for a few months, and since that's on the high end of my time limit for new projects, he didn't want me making a big investment on something I was going to get bored with in a matter of weeks.

And yet, here I am, over two years later, and still going.  Now, admittedly, I don't practice at much as I should at home.  The pole is generally more of a big, shiny fixture in the middle of what would normally be a dining room.  But there hasn't been a month that I've skipped.  It's probably my longest-lasting hobby, next to reading, writing, and cooking.

A lot of that has to do with the huge group of friends that exists within the pole community here.  While other activities are solo projects, or done with one or two others, the circle of friends I've met through pole is huge. We go to shows together, have parties together, and just hang out.  We make use of each other's various talents, and we support each other's endeavors.  It's an amazing group of boys and girls of so many different backgrounds.  For me, at least, the pole community provides the perfect level of competition (i.e. 'I can't stop going to class or I'll be so far behind everyone else'), as well as the reminder that everyone has their strong suits and problem areas.

In other news, I've been baking for burlesque all over the place: Beggar's Carnivale as usual, as well as adding in the Randy Dandies, who have moved their show to 2720 Cherokee and who just put on another delightful Choose Your Own Adventure Show.  (This one was a nautical adventure theme, so of course I highly approved.)

I'll also be selling alcoholic/autumn-themed cupcakes at the upcoming First Annual Pumpkin Patch Ball at the Third Degree Glass Factory.  It looks like it's going to be an amazing event, and I'll be trying out some brand new recipes!

And, finally, I'll try to update a bit more often.  Really, I will.

SlutWalk

SlutWalk is coming to St. Louis tomorrow.

I, for one, am going to be involved.  Not because I've been called a slut (at least, not to my face).  I am participating because the idea that a victim of rape or assault can at fault is ridiculous to me.  The way a person is dressed, or their reputation, or their attitude, does not take away their right to their own body.  A girl wearing a short skirt is not "asking for it."  Also?  Victims of rape and assault are not just girls dressed like "sluts."  They are children.  They are elderly.  They are men.  They are everyday people who were not even in a so-called compromising position.  They did not deserve to be assaulted.  None of them.

Of course, the St. Louis burlesque scene is going to be involved.  Because, well, these are boys and girls who take their clothes off in front of an audience and flaunt their sexuality freely.  What sluts, right?

Wrong.

Many of us will be marching tomorrow morning in the SlutWalk itself.  But there will also be a burlesque/polesque show tomorrow night at the Fox Hole.  I won't be performing, but I'll be picking up all the clothes strewn about the stage and cleaning the pole.

And you know what?  I won't be wearing a lot.

But you know what that DOESN'T mean?  It doesn't mean I'm "asking for it."  Because I'm not.  And it doesn't mean I'm a slut.  Neither does the fact that I pole dance and enjoy it a hell of a lot.

Come out.  Join us.  Wear what you want, whether it's a miniskirt or jeans.  Go to the workshops, or the march, or the burlesque show.  Participate, or just watch.

But this is important.  Don't ever blame the victim.

SlutWalk St. Louis

SlutWalk St. Louis Pole Dancing and Burlesque Showcase

SlutWalk St. Louis Workshops and Presenters

A Note on Improvisation

Didn't I just say that my two worlds often combine?  Tonight has been no exception.

I am a strict recipe girl.  I fully admit it.  I have never been one to just throw something together and see what happens.  It comes from being a natural baker, but it applies to my life outside the kitchen as well.  I plan things.  My pole performances are strictly choreographed, line by line.  I don't freestyle.  I don't improve, in or out of the kitchen.  I can adlib to fix a flub, but then I'm right back on track.

But lately, that's been changing.  At least, in the kitchen.  I suppose I've been seriously cooking for long enough now that I'm actually gaining some confidence.  I've started tweaking, adding to, and changing recipes depending on what I'm in the mood for.  I wanted a cream sauce for some gnocchi last week, so... I changed the recipe.  I substituted.  It turned out amazingly.  Tonight, I wanted meatloaf.  I found a basic recipe, glanced at it, and then... made meatloaf.  I added what I wanted, put it in the oven, and hoped for the best.

I had serious doubts.

But, you know what?  It was delicious.  (Tastes a lot like my mom's recipe, but what else do you expect from watching her make meatloaf for over half my life.)  I experimented, I went with my gut, I went from memory, and it worked.  It's not always going to work, I realize, but it's good to know that I can make something good without going line by line through a recipe.

And, since things in my life always seem to go together, pole class tonight was no different.  Michelle, that minx, made us freestyle to two songs of her choice.  (Her choice, note.  Not ours.  Even more out of my control.)  As soon as she mentioned freedancing, my heart dropped.  I hate being the center of attention unless I know exactly what I'm doing.  I hate looking like I don't know what I'm doing, and I hate the potential for messing up and, as I consider it, looking stupid.  I'm the kind of actor who wants a strict director with a very specific vision.  Improving with an audience?  No thanks.

But, again, I was pleasantly surprised.  (I bet no one else was.  After all, don't we all have more confidence in each other than in ourselves?)  I didn't look like an idiot (at least, I don't think I did), I didn't fall, I didn't stop, and I believe I managed to keep a smile on my face the whole time.  I listened to the music, went with my gut, and, when all else failed, fell back on the old standby tricks until I could think of something else.

Life imitates art.  Or, perhaps, food.