It's your last chance…
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
To come and dance with the Kittens this month!
Don't miss out on our last weekend of burlesque classes in October, and our special introductory offer: Pay as You Play! No registration or sign up fees in October, and each class is only $10.00.
In Dallas:
Saturday's Schedule
Balletlesque 3:30 - 4:30 pm
Burlesque Basics 4:30 - 5:30 pm
Sunday's Schedule
Burlesque Basics 5:30 - 6:30 pm
The Velvet Kitten Dancer 6:30 - 7:30 pm
The Burlesque Teaser 7:30 - 8:30 pm
We'd love for you to RSVP for one our last weekend October classes if you can make it. We are also accepting drop-in students this weekend, but it's on a first come basis and RSVP students receive priority.
In Fort Worth:
Last class in October is Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at the Vault in downtown Fort Worth from 7:30 - 8:30 pm.
RSVP today!
We'll be releasing our November schedule soon, with added cities, times, and classes.
Let us know if you have any questions!
The Velvet Kittens
Balletlesque: The Burlesque Toner Class
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
This Velvet Kitten specialty burlesque class is designed to work your muscles to the core!
Beginning with ballet (the world's oldest beauty exercise), followed by pilates, and ending with a fun and sassy burlesque combination, Balletlesque presents a unique burlesque class unlike anything offered in the area. Tone it, and then shimmy it, in this signature class designed by the VK!
Try balletlesque this weekend on Saturday at 3:30 - 4:30 pm at our Dallas location.
RSVP today!
~Balletlesque: The Burlesque Toner is part of the Velvet Kittens designed burlesque class curriculum, and only available thru the Velvet Kittens and one of our personal instructors.~
If you would like to offer Balletlesque at your studio or venue, please contact us.
Kittens on the tube!
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
Velvet Kittens Skye Vega and Stevie Swan will be appearing on the national TV show Body Shots!
Pictured: Velvet Kitten Stevie Swan, Body Shots host Chelsie Prendez, and Velvet Kitten Skye Vega
What is Body Shots about?
Body Shots is a show that teaches you all about alcohol, your favorite types of alcohol, where it's made, where it comes from, and how you can make your own. The host, Chelsie Prendez, guides you through the process of alcohol production and consumption while two bikini girls, Tawna and Jayme Lynne, tag along to spice up the ride. The show includes great How-to segments, on-location trivia contests, product giveaways, and much more.
Body Shots is currently airing on MAV TV, on Mondays and Thursdays – 8:30pm PST.
You'll catch the Velvet Kittens on the Prohibition episode.
Stay tuned!
Pictured: Stevie Swan and Skye Vega being interviewed by Body Shots host Chelsie Prendez
Wanna book the Velvet Kittens on your TV show or upcoming film project?
Contact us!
Becoming a Burlesque Performer, Part IV
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
"How to become a performer in burlesque" is one of the most popular questions I receive. I currently have an on-going series on the VK website answering this question in more detail.
If you're new to the series, begin here:
Part I, Understanding Burlesque
Part II, Creating Your Character
Part III, Music Selection and Preparation for Composition
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Part IV
Composition:
Choreographing and Staging your First Number
Learning to choreograph is a process, and individuals will find what method works best for them. Below are guidelines on learning your own process.
1. Begin choreographing. You can start with a beginning position and build from there. You can also play the music and freestyle (ad-lib, improvisation, and vamping are also terms to refer to freestyle). At this point you will begin to find what works for you to choreograph.
2. Be sure to write down your choreography! If you're new to dance and/or choreographing, I suggest writing down the exact placement of everything. By practicing this you will begin to teach your mind to examine and remember these details subconsciously.
3. Choreograph to counts. Sometimes you'll want something on a particular word or sound in the music, and previously if you've counted out the music, it should be easy to place the movement onto the count. If movements aren't placed directly on a count and well rehearsed, the choreography can come across as "milky" and undefined, and the movements sloppy. Don't let your choreography be a distraction from your performance.
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Tips of the trade:
~Remember, choreographing is an art within itself, and it can be a lengthy endeavor. It's not uncommon for a song that lasts 3-4 minutes to take 8 - 10 hours to choreograph. Be patient with yourself. You'll also eventually formulate a method that works for you.
~Don't be afraid to start over. Go with your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, then go back. You may find you'll have to re-do an entire 8-count or more, but in the end it's worth the work.
~Don't over-choreograph. Allow yourself time to fully to execute your movements. When working with props or costuming, be sure to choreograph with these as it can change the amount of time you will actually need to complete the visual movement you desire.
~Play with oppositions. After a few counts of fast movement, switch to something slower or even pose and hold a count or two before moving again.
~Choreograph with a mirror. The newer you are to dance and choreography, the more important it is to see what visuals you are actually creating.
~Video your routine, and watch it objectively. Is it the visual pictures you wanted to display? Allow yourself time to alter any choreography that isn't accurate of the image and feeling you wanted to create for your audience.
~Keep in mind that with every venue, there's a new stage. Try to choreograph with the idea that sometimes you'll have a large stage and others much smaller than what you expected. It's best to choreograph a number that can encompass a large stage, and conform to the limitations of space on a smaller stage.
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If you have a particular question regarding becoming a performer, or any questions for the Velvet Kittens, please contact us !
The Burlesque Teaser!
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
The Burlesque Teaser is a combo class of our newly designed and original burlesque class curriculum in our distinctive burlesque style! Enjoy all of our signature classes in one, and find the right Velvet Kitten burlesque class for you!
Some of our signature burlesque classes included in this month's Burlesque Teaser:
Burlesque Basics I, Balletlesque, Boa Burlesque, The Velvet Kitten Dancer , and The Burlesque Burn.
And remember…October is "Pay as You Play" $10.00 (cash) per class. No sign-up or registration fees.
You have only one more weekend Dallas to take advantage of our trial introductory offer!
RSVP today!
Wanna be in the annual Burlesque Nutcracker?
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
In 2006 the Velvet Kittens premiered our first Burlesque Nutcracker in our holiday show, Un Noel Coquin: A Naughty Christmas. Included in our Nutcracker were singers, dancers, actors, a live jazz band…and an interesting twist on this yearly holiday classic.
Friend, fan, and local playwright Mark-Brian Sonna (who you may know as "Johnny Johnson," our lovable emcee from our Rembrandt shows) was so inspired by our version that he wrote a fictional play about the Velvet Kittens performing a Burlesque Nutcracker. Mark-Brian Sonna's play, The Beulaville Baptist Book Club Presents: A Bur-less-Q Nutcracker, is performed yearly in Dallas, Texas.
This comical play and dancical, has become so popular that last year there were more performances of this Burlesque Nutcracker than Texas Ballet Theater's “Nutcracker”!
Mark is still casting dancers to play the roles of the "Velvet Kitten Burlesque Dancers."
For the role of one of the Velvet Kitten burlesque dancers, Mark is looking for the following: trained dancers with acting abilities.
Some roles require more acting than others (especially for the role of the artistic director of the VK, Jana). The "Kitten" performing the dance role of the Sugar Plum Fairy must have strong classical ballet training.
To schedule a dancer audition, please contact Mark-Brian Sonna of MBS Productions at 214.477.4942.
For more information on his theatre company, visit here.
For reviews and more information on past performances of A Bur-less-Q Nutcracker, visit here.
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A brief synopsis of A Bur-less-Q Nutcracker:
The women of the Beulaville Baptist Book Club are in dire straits financially, and as a last ditch attempt to save their book club they decide to do a fund raiser and hire the Beaumont Ballet to perform Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker". Madge's Piña Colada Casserole unfortunately sickens the entire cast with food poisoning and they are unable to perform. Luckily, there is another dance troop in town. It seems the Velvet Kittens Burlesque Dancers are stuck in Beulaville because their van broke down on their way to New Orleans. Madge has never heard of Burlesque, or as she pronounces it "Bur-less-Q", and in an act of necessity hires the dance troupe to do "The Nutcracker". The end result? The most original, unusual, and comical Nutcracker you have ever seen!
Burlesque Show tonight!!
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
The Velvet Kittens of Le Cabaret Burlesque will be returning tonight to Ridglea Theater for a show in Fort Worth!
Also on the playbill this evening:
Rabbits Got the Gun, Shining Silence, Fatback Circus, and Spoonfed Tribe.
Shuttle will be playing in the upstairs lounge.
Doors open at 8pm. The Kittens take the stage at 11:00 pm-ish. Spoonfed takes the stage at midnight.
The Velvet Kittens are excited to be returning to both the Ridglea Theater and the city of Fort Worth tonight to present one of our Velvet Kitten burlesque performances in our exclusive burlesque style! For those of you who loved Hyena's Red Light Burlesque Revue in downtown Fort Worth, here's your opportunity to walk down memory lane: the choreographer/director of the Red Light is now the choreographer/director of the Velvet Kittens…and two of tonight's performers in this Velvet Kitten show performed on-stage for you every weekend in the Red Light Revue. Come by and say hello, Fort Worth!
Ridglea Theater is located at 6025 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76116-5621.
Dallas Burlesque Class - The Velvet Kitten Dancer
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
Learn the actual burlesque dances the Velvet Kittens perform on stage! This specialized VK burlesque class is available at our Dallas location.
And remember…you only have two more weeks to take advantage of our October introductory special: "Pay as You Play" $10.00 (cash) per class. No sign-up or registration fees.
RSVP today!
For more information about our signature burlesque classes in both our Dallas and Fort Worth locations, please visit here.
Tick-Tock
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
You have only two more weeks to take advantage of the Velvet Kittens "Pay as You Play" burlesque class October special!
RSVP us here, or email us at velvetkittens@ymail.com
Each class is only $10.00 (cash) during the month of October.
~We will allow drop-ins for the Dallas burlesque weekend classes. Class space is limited. RSVP students will receive priority over drop-ins, and drop-ins will be allowed on a first come basis.~
(We strongly recommend you RSVP to ensure a place in the burlesque class of your choice!)
Saturdays classes include: Balletlesque and Burlesque Basics I.
Sundays classes include: Burlesque Basics I, The Velvet Kitten Dancer, The Burlesque Teaser, and Teacher's Choice.
Find out more about our Dallas and Fort Worth Burlesque Classes and newly designed Velvet Kittens Burlesque Class and Workshop Curriculum here.
Got a traffic violation?
Posted by Jana Edele | Filed under News
Starting in January 2010, Velvet Kittens Skye Vega and Stevie Swan will be part of your on-line defensive driving course! Yup, these lovely Kittens will be teaching you about traffic safety: from speed limits to drinking and driving. This course will be available on-line at Comedy Defensive Driving .
Here's a sneak peek:
(Caution: There's some adult language, so don't watch in front of the kiddies!)
Yes, those are your Velvet Kitten burlesque instructors. And no, they will not make you dance to a song about speed limits. But enjoy the video!
Stevie Swan teaches Balletlesque in Dallas at 3:30pm on Saturdays, and Skye Vega teaches burlesque classes in both Dallas and Fort Worth.