The post Character Portrait: Lucinda Panties by Arnika Traill appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>Once I read it, I knew I had to share it – the text below feels to me a lot like a painted portrait, but with so much more depth and honesty than I could possibly imagine, and it’s humbling to have an artwork of this kind created about me. Enjoy:
“Lucinda Panties is not PC”
I’ve known Sylvia Sippl for years. Today, I’m interviewing her by appointment about her cabaret-host alter ego Lucinda Panties. Lucinda Panties is the comic matriarch of Lady Velvet Cabaret. A “side-gig” that now has its own side-gigs: including Fringe Festival shows. I knock nervously on the door of Sylvia’s modest townhouse, hoping Lucinda will answer. Though Lucinda dominates Sylvia’s social media, I’m yet to meet her in person.
Sylvia opens the door in a rush of warmth and envelops me. It’s good to see me. It’s been too long. Is my daughter really three now? How quick they grow! She ushers me through to the kitchen. Her flat is small and packed to the ceiling with bookshelves. She clears the music equipment from the kitchen table, and we sit down, nursing our cups of tea. Sylvia apologises for the mess – “You’d think a singer wouldn’t have that much equipment – but no. This is all Chris’ band gear”. Her long-term boyfriend plays in a local metal band. This explains the eclectic mix of décor-come-clutter spilling from the bookshelves. Sylvia gestures to the room behind her: “When two worlds combine!” Heavy metal meets the performing arts. I notice the skull propping open the door has been given a top hat.
We launch into the interview, and as Sylvia speaks I search her countenance for hints of Lucinda. Her eyes flash brightly, framed by ornate vintage spectacles. Her only makeup is sharp, quizzical eyebrows that perfectly match the arch of her glasses. They are arresting. I find myself locked in her gaze. I ask where Sylvia stops and Lucinda starts. “Mmmm” she ruminates in a deep, husky voice. “Lucinda is me with the volume turned up. She says whatever she wants and she does whatever she wants … when you’re wearing a wig and ten pounds of makeup, people let you do what you like.”
Sylvia skips over the topic of “plus size” woman in burlesque. It strikes me that the term has no place in describing the woman before me. Her clothing size seems irrelevant. Though I’m not sure if either Sylvia or Lucinda could be contained within a slighter frame. Her generous curves seem necessary. Her shoulders slope gracefully to frame elegant, expressive hands. Her right hand performs as she speaks about her passions. There is a cheeky snort in an eruption of laughter. Sylvia tells me about Lucinda’s upcoming show and I mentally pencil it into my calendar. As we say goodbye at the door the shoe-rack catches my eye. Pink sneakers jostle for space with a single leopard print heel – “yeah that’s pretty much my life” says Sylvia, shrugging. I can’t wait to see Lucinda Panties in heels.
Arnika Traill
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]]>The post Happy Birthday LVC: Thoughts on Lady Velvet Cabaret’s 10th Birthday appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>When I first discovered the Perth burlesque community, it was 2009 – I didn’t realise that at the same time, a brave young woman working for a bank was deciding that she was ready to start the ‘side gig’ she’d always dreamt of but always been told was not an acceptable career path. As I was enjoying my first burly performances at roller derby bouts and Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, Stella Hui was developing a business plan.
It didn’t take me long to realise that I’d never be a talented burlesque dancer, but I soon found my own ways to celebrate and engage with burlesque. I produced burlesque-inspired artworks for my art degree, and hosted my very first burlesque show (for International Women’s Week, at the UWA Tav no less, and on the same night as ‘Sombrero Night’ – boy did those worlds collide in a unique way). All the while, Stella was taking the plunge, defying the expectations of her family, and forging a new path for herself as a businesswoman and artist.
By the time I joined the ranks of LVC, the troupe had been going strong for around three years already. After my first gig as a guest host, I was surprised and happy to be invited to the annual LVC Christmas party. I remember sitting at the table in a Northbridge restaurant surrounded by all these gorgeous girls I had worked with only once or maybe twice, working very hard to memorise not only their stage names but their real names too. I remember Stella turning to me at that first Christmas party and asking if there was any chance I could teach music, and drama? I remember later my job interview, where Stella may-or-may-not-have finished reading my resume, and her complete surprise a few months later when she found out I’m an accomplished violinist (“But it was on my resume!” “It was waaaay too long, I stopped reading”). I remember feeling over the moon after my very first gig with LVC as a guest host, when Stella asked me to MC the next show too, and then the one after that, until eventually she didn’t need to ask anymore, we all just assumed. Most of all, at that first Christmas party I remember feeling stupidly happy. After a couple of years hanging around on the fringes of the burlesque scene, knowing people’s names and faces but mostly keeping to myself, I had found this bunch of friendly, humble, passionate girls who welcomed me with open arms.
By the time I became the manager of the troupe, Stella had already done something absolutely incredible. She’d started a side-hustle, but she’d approached it using the skills and knowledge from her degree in commerce. She’d poured everything into it and it had already expanded to the point where she now owned and operated multiple businesses, including a bricks-and-mortar dance studio from which she could permanently base her operations. She epitomised both Burlesque Babe and Businesswoman, in her tireless approach to running the studio, and in her amazing performances as a dancer and fire performer (if you ever get the chance to watch her onstage ever again, you must take it).
Now this isn’t just one long-winded post about Stella (she’ll be relieved at that actually), but I’m also planning to ramble about what she’s created, so strap yourselves in. As someone with well-documented problems recognising and differentiating people’s faces (I’m SO sorry if I’ve ever blanked you or re-introduced myself to you for the fourth time), one thing that struck me about this new troupe I’d joined was that everyone was so different. My LVC sisters were women of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. There were no rules about who could or couldn’t perform – what you needed was passion, a desire to constantly improve, and pride in your work. It literally never occurred to me at one single point since joining LVC in 2012 that my size or looks may affect my position in the troupe or their willingness to have me host their shows. Instead, I got to focus on improving my skills and gaining more experience. As manager of the business, at no point did I ever need to even consider excluding a student from enrolling in LVC classes due to a disability, their size, their gender or sexuality. If anything, we spent our energy finding ways to make sure all of our wonderful and diverse students found our classes and performances comfortable, welcoming and accessible.
Diversity was and is also a big part of LVC’s professional shows, featuring performers of all genders and backgrounds as well as all disciplines – this was truly a Cabaret Troupe, not just for burlesque. LVC shows featured (and still feature) singers, dancers, acrobats, circus artists, comedians, actors, fire performers, musicians, and yes, even masked Luchadore wrestling. As an artist who still doesn’t quite know which category I fit into, what better place could there be for me to perform, learn, and make friends? The troupe was never afraid of a collaboration, or bringing in external performers to help a show or entertainment booking be the absolute best it could be – no politics or rivalries here! Over the years working for LVC, I personally have worked alongside artists from all sorts of backgrounds, from Kung Fu to stand up comedy to aerial circus. This has helped me build connections outside of the burlesque community, and really shaped my experience working in the entertainment and performing arts industries in WA – plus it’s exposed our audiences and clients to such a diverse range of performers from many different companies, not just LVC.
Our professionalism and diversity make me proud of LVC – and I’m proud that the achievements of this troupe have been recognised. There have been Eros award nominations, the Fringe World 2012 People’s Choice Award, Miss Burlesque state and national titles, international festival gigs, Stella being named in the Top 50 Australian Small Business Leaders, and then of course the Optus Australian Businesswoman of the Year. In 2016 we all exploded with pride when we heard that on the other side of the country, Stella had won the award and was having to make an acceptance speech (ha, ha). With the advent of the Australian Burlesque Museum, with which I’m involved as a WA research team member, I started to really look back at how Perth’s burlesque community had grown since the neo-burlesque revival. I was so proud that LVC was recognised by the Museum as one of Perth’s core burlesque troupes (and boy are we in good company). After so many years of working so damn hard, it was wonderful to step back and take in just how much that work had been seen, supported and appreciated by the Perth community. It was something I hadn’t really thought much about while I was in the thick of it, instead focusing more on the next show, the next course, next year’s Fringe festival, the next corporate booking, on shipping the next LVC performer off to take over the world one new city at a time.
This is my second year working full-time for Azure Entertainment, the parent company of Lady Velvet Cabaret and our dance studio and hens party businesses. What started for me as a side-hustle, to get me through my early years as a graduate high school teacher, ended up completely taking over my life, and boy am I grateful for it every single day. Since 2012, I’ve developed real, true, powerful friendships with my troupe sisters. I’ve seen people go from casual LVC dance students to card-carrying LVC troupe members (just joking we don’t have cards) and absolute professionals. Never in a million years would I have thought that I’d end up cutting my school teaching career short to work full-time in the performing arts, but here I am. It’s not the easiest job in the world, and I have a lot more grey hairs than I think I’m meant to at this age.
The end.
No, I’m just kidding.
All the things that this strange, busy, quirky career has taught me would never fit in this one post, but I reckon I can fit one more paragraph in before you all switch off (hopefully). Lady Velvet Cabaret has let me grow in my own time. When this was just a side-gig for me, that’s all it needed to be, I was never pressured to do or give more than I could. When I was ready to push and grow and develop my character, LVC supported me, gave me feedback, told me what I needed to do to improve. When I let myself believe that all my prior experience as a visual and performing artist was “irrelevant” to my work as Lucinda Panties, LVC set me straight. Performing is performing. Experience is experience. Whether it’s as a public speaker, a musician, a teen playing the violin on tour in Europe, a roving character actor, it’s industry work and that’s what we are – an industry, not just a ‘scene’. LVC taught me that I don’t have to fit in a box, that my career doesn’t have to have the same shape as someone else’s, and that all those weird “irrelevant” parts of my background as an artist are core to what makes me different and what makes me special. LVC taught me I don’t need to fit a mould, I need to break it. I need to embrace what makes me unique and work to my strengths. LVC freed me from my own weird self-imposed restrictions and impostor syndrome, and put me in a position where I was able to help others do the same. How bloody good is that?
I’m writing this just over a week out from our 10th Birthday Burly Bash (I like alliteration, and I’m in charge of the show names now, okay?). Organising this celebration, right after our last 2019 grad show and right before our huge end of year studio showcase, has been a wild ride, but I’m grateful for the opportunity at reflection and goal-setting it’s given me. I’m excited to look back on the past decade and celebrate with friends, family and fans whether old or new. I’m excited to show off some of our artists’ “old favourite” acts as well as many brand-new ones. I’m excited to showcase the ‘next generation’ of LVC. I’m excited for LVC to return to our roots, having first produced regular showcases at Deville’s Bar 10 years ago, and now celebrating our birthday at the same venue, reimagined as Badlands Bar. I’m excited to give out prizes from my favourite sponsors ever, who have supported either LVC or my own personal cabaret journey right from the start. I am excited for a good show, interspersed with the occasional speech, poem, song, award presentation, and perhaps some interpretive dance. After all, how can I accurately express my deep love for this company and all the people in/around/adjacent/and even semi-involved in it, if not for interpretive dance?
xx Lucinda Panties
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]]>The post Get in your Head (Voice) – Finding your Falsetto appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>Read below, or book a time to visit one of our instrumental voice specialists!
What is the difference between your Chest Voice and your Head Voice?
The terms ‘chest’ and ‘head’ voice refer to where your sound is resonating. An easy way to think about it is that your chest voice is your normal speaking voice, and the register in which most people feel naturally comfortable singing or talking. Some instructors describe the head voice as the register you use when you’re talking in a ‘baby voice’ (the sing-song voice we sometimes use when talking to kids or squishy little adorable pets). Some singers feel that when they sing in this register, they produce a more ‘airy’ or less firm tone, and fear that they’ll miss a note or fall out of pitch.
How can I reach my Head Voice?
It may be easier than you think! A lot of the time when people feel they’re struggling to sing well in their head voice, the real problem is psychological. Because the head voice is the register we use to sing higher notes, it’s often accompanied by a fear of singing too high, or reluctance to really give it a go in case we don’t sound perfect. Don’t overthink the process – it’s not as complicated as you may believe!
1. First, ensure your posture is good – feet flat on the floor, shoulders away from your ears, straight back and abdominal muscles “switched on”. We should always pay close attention to posture when singing, no matter how high or low the notes are!
2. Second, make sure you are taking full, deep breaths. You need to have enough air leaving your mouth to support the note and give it a rich, full tone (as opposed to an airy, breathy tone).
3. Thirdly, ensure you raise your soft palate – the back of the roof of our mouth. If you aren’t sure where this is our how it feels to lift it, do a big yawn… Do you feel the soft palate lift up right at the start of your yawn? This is a great movement to think about when preparing yourself to sing high notes in your head voice.
What if I can’t do it?
Keep practising! If you can’t do it now, you’ll be able to do it later, IF you put the work in to it. If you feel your voice or throat restricting and are finding it difficult to reach, try talking in your baby voice again to ‘loosen up’ and relax. A tighter, tense throat will never help you sing with confidence in your head voice – in fact it may result in damage and pain! You should always be thoroughly warmed up, and never push yourself too hard – exercises and warm ups should get progressively higher (i.e. chromatically) rather than jumping up too high too fast.
How should I practise at home?
Ensure you are comfortable and have good posture. You should be able to give it 100% so make sure you have time to yourself where you won’t feel like you’re disturbing anyone.
If you have an LVC private singing teacher, or participate in group classes like Musical Theatre, staff will give you plenty of exercises to try. You can always practise scales and other exercises to help increase your range and open up the voice too. Search YouTube for tutorials or backing tracks for scales and exercises. Ascending exercises are great for slowly and gently working higher up the scale and gaining confidence in increasing your range.
Want to find out more about singing and vocal tuition? Email info@ladyvelvetcabaret.com.au, or follow us on Instagram at @ladyvelvetcabaret for more tips and tutorials!
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]]>The post Lady Velvet Cabaret presents… PARLEZ-VOUS CABARET! appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>Join us for PARLEZ-VOUS CABARET, and you’ll be speaking our language!
Our first graduation showcase for 2019 has a flirty French twist and is the perfect way to treat yourself to a fun night out, and check out the work of our wonderful academy students and their staff and special guests. If you’ve been meaning to try burlesque or dance and want to catch our classes in action, this is a great way to familiarise yourself with the ins and outs of a burlesque show. A wild night of raucous applause and cheering for our hard-working (primarily) ladies in a safe and inclusive space – with plenty to keep our guests occupied, you’ll even have the chance to take out the Best Dressed prize or win in one of our legendary audience games.
If you’ve got a hankering for song and dance, variety acts, prizes, laughs, sizzling burlesque, and inSEINE amounts of talent – you are in the right place. Sit back and relax, enjoy a cheeky cocktail or delicious meal from Rosemount Hotel’s menu as you enjoy a magnifique showcase of the artists, students, and special guests of Lady Velvet Cabaret. Let us transport you to the cobbled streets of fair Paris for an evening of glitz and glamour with Lady Velvet Cabaret!
WHEN: Sunday May 5th. Doors open at 6.00pm, show starts at 7.00pm sharp!
WHERE: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth
TICKETS: $15+BF from Oztix.com.au, 18+ only
DRESS: Your cabaret best! Prizes for the fanciest frocks.
Email info@ladyvelvetcabaret.com.au for more information or to join our VIP mailing list.
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]]>The post AphroZodiac at Perth’s Fringe World Festival 2018 appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>Meet each of our stars and discover a side to the signs you’ve never seen before in this asstrological adventure for adults only. Be seduced by our all-star line up of burlesque and cabaret divas, and find out which signs you’re compatible with, or what fortunes await you, with our potentially accurate predictions (anything’s possible)!
With incredible talent, unique twists and plenty of tease, AphroZodiac is the cheekiest way to check your horoscope!
Tickets go on sale on November 15th only from www.fringeworld.com.au. With just two dates, do not miss your chance to catch this wild new show at 8.00pm on the 1st of February, or 8.30pm on the 2nd of February. Performing at the beautiful Sunset Veranda big top once again, after a sell-out season in Scarborough in 2018, the Lady Velvet Cabaret crew are excited to share this unique show with you, proudly supported by the City of Stirling.
More about Lady Velvet Cabaret:
With sellout seasons each FRINGE WORLD festival since 2012, Lady Velvet Cabaret’s glamorous burlesque and variety showcases are a true feast for the senses.
Established since 2009, Lady Velvet Cabaret produces shows and provides entertainment services for venues and clients around WA, as well as regular hens parties all over Perth and a full timetable of burlesque, pinup, dance, music and acrobatics classes from their Subiaco studio.
The troupe’s unique blend of specialist performers brings together burlesque artists, dancers, singers, comedians and variety performers with years of experience professional performance. The performers of LVC have collectively wowed crowds all over Perth, Australia, and even as far afield as Europe and the U.K.
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]]>The post Lady Velvet Cabaret presents… BOOBTUBE! appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>Featuring burlesque, cabaret, song and dance, acrobatics and more, BOOBTUBE will entertain and seduce, with plenty of laughs too. Sit back and relax, enjoy a meal from Rosemount Hotels delicious menu as you are teased and entertained by the beauties of Lady Velvet Cabaret – including professional performers and students! Inspired by all your favourite screen shows and icons – whether they be big screen, small screen, or even just on your phone screen – BOOBTUBE is definitely not to be missed!
WHEN:
7th October
Doors open 6.00pm
Show starts 7.00pm
WHERE:
Rosemount Hotel, North Perth
TICKETS:
$15 +BF from oztix.com.au or $20 at the door, 18+
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]]>The post Lady Velvet Cabaret presents… STRIPPIN’ IN THE RAIN! appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>With saucy burlesque, sexy song & dance, and bawdy Broadway hits, Strippin’ in the Rain is serving cabaret classics, with a cheeky twist! Warm up with delicious food and drinks from the Rosemount kitchen, and enjoy a feast for the senses courtesy of Lady Velvet Cabaret’s award-winning artists and talented students. Hosted by the inimitable Lucinda Panties, this showcase promises all the usual hijinks, plus the coveted best dressed prize is up for grabs once again too!
WHEN: Sunday 15th of July. Doors open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm SHARP!
WHERE: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth
TICKETS: Tickets just $15 + BF from oztix.com.au or $20 at the door (18+ only).
FACEBOOK EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/2032872250296224/
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]]>The post Cabaret Noir appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>A feast for the senses, Le Cabaret Noir showcases the talents of the award-winning performers and producers of Perth’s Lady Velvet Cabaret in a spectacular evening of burlesque and variety performances for one night only.
Be lead into temptation by dazzling burlesque starlets and enjoy a wicked night of entertainment where nothing is taboo and every dark temptation will be explored.
Le Cabaret Noir embraces all that lurks in the shadows – proceed with caution, because something wicked this way comes.
Tickets on sale now (seating limited) from http://www.ellingtonjazz.com.au/
18+ only
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]]>The post Beauty and the Tease! appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>Sit back, relax, and enjoy food and drinks from the Rosemount Hotel’s menu as you’re teased and entertained by the beauties of Lady Velvet Cabaret!
Tickets $15+BF from Oztix (18+ only)
Doors Open 6.00pm
Show Starts 7.00pm
The Rosemount Hotel, North Perth
www.ladyvelvetcabaret.com.au
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]]>The post Lady Velvet Cabaret presents… Symphonies of Sensuality 2: We’re Bach! appeared first on Lucinda Panties.
]]>Expect the unexpected in this fun and sexy showcase, hosted by our very own maestro. Don’t miss out on your ONLY chance to catch this legendary FRINGE WORLD Festival lineup as part of City of Stirling’s Summerset Arts Festival 2018.
February 4, 8.00pm
Sunset Veranda Pop-Up Venue
Brighton Reserve, Scarborough
Proudly supported by the City of Stirling
Tickets from www.fringeworld.com.au
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