Burlesque to Boudoir: Reclaiming My Body. Part 4

Continued from Part 3

June 2018

Tinka Boudit's back to the burlesque stage! New routines! New pasties!

It's been a few months since I've been on stage to perform, and nearly a year since I've done so at the amateur competition. I have two brand new performances I've been working on.

The first is based on a dance I did when I took professional dance classes...when I was a little girl. It's a cover of "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." That performance, as a child, was a tap dance. I do not have tap shoes. In this performance, I'm going for scared-innocent to encouraged to what I dubbed my "nearly naked number." It doesn't have a lot of skill, but it does have a lot of nerve.

The second song and dance is a cover of a cover of "Lady Marmalade." I found a YouTube singer I liked who changed up the lyrics slightly from the version from Moulin Rouge. It fit my performance and style and I really liked what the singer did with it.

Come on Tinka Boudit! It's been a year! Get naked like a champion!

Good. Start with your schtick! You don't want to come out on stage. You're shy.

That's right, Tinka. You didn't want to come out of the locker. You're shy. (*tries to hide laughter*) Sure!

There's no escape from the stage. You're there now.

Just give them a taste. Listen for the reaction. Taste it.

Yeah, Tinka! Smile! Give them the tease of that yellow polka-dot bikini.

Just a tease...for the moment.

You heard their reaction, and it felt good. Maybe you're not so scared.

You're not a kid anymore. You're not inexperienced anymore. Sure you aren't very graceful. You knew that. Keep going!

You're legs look amazing, by the way.

OMG! And your boobs! You have always been real and spectacular! You finally did that elegant thing in photos. Try not to screw it up!

Ah damn, you screwed it up with your face. The silk isn't quite moving the way you want it to either. You want it to look like waves, but it's all bunchy!

It's not looking like waves the way you want. But that's okay. You still look good, and it's gonna get better.

True story: I've never owned a string bikini before this; chances are, this is the only one I will ever own. I dotted and stoned it myself.

Now things get good...From the locker to the blanket...

From the blanket to the shore...

From the shore to the water... (Where bikini bottoms fly through the air!)

Now there isn't any more...

WOO!

Now you know why I called it the nearly-naked number. Oof. My hear races writing and remembering this.

SO much double stick tape. YEOW!

Now I gotta rush to get dressed and changed for my other performance, one that requires actual skill.

...shit.

...

...

Tinka Boudit to the stage: Hey sista, soul sista, flow sista, go sista... Snap along if the song moves you

This was a fun one to put together. I already had everything in my closet already, except the thigh-high fishnets, those were the only things I had to buy. Don't act surprised!

The white thigh-highs, I wore on my wedding day, and the black feather bolero, I've had since 8th or 9th grade.

I've always had that grin.

You're doing it, Tink. You know your steps. I can see you saying them in your head!

...Aaaaand that got the exact reaction you thought it would.

Hip circle, step, right, hip circle, step, left . Leg twist, leg twist, body roll, body roll.

Don't fall back. Don't fall back.

Give them a different reason to cheer.

Your garter straps popped, but it doesn't matter. Fix your face!

Better?

Better!

All your garter straps have popped. It wouldn't be one of your performances without some kind of costume problem, right?

That includes your halter-bra getting stuck under your corset. Sigh. Shocking.

Just roll with it. You always have, you always will.

That audience was yours. You had fun. You finally knew what you were doing, even if things go wrong, you know how to turn them right.

Stage call!

Who's the winner?

...

...

Side story. I had a teacher in college who told me about when he used to be a bouncer. One night at the bar he worked, things got crazy and a bunch of rowdy patrons ended up with their hands zip-tied behind their backs sitting on the curb waiting for the cops to come. One of these zip-tied patrons made a break for it and my teacher ran after him. This patron, mid-run, jumped, and in mid air, got his hands in front of him from under his legs and kept going. My teacher was in awe as this man sped out of site on foot. He said, "Yeah, if he can do that, he can get away."

That's how I felt when JuJu C Cummings won. And that's how strong her win was. The woman in the red dress on the end. I saw one of her performances. She was sharp, stunning, strong, and had a power in her that I cannot fully formulate into word. I wasn't mad, just impressed by her. She 100% deserved the win.

This was, far and away, the best performance night I had so far.

...Until later this summer!

See you in Part 5!